At a glance
Folks interested in “Dynamic Aging” attended a seminar by the same name on the Alfred State College campus May 27. Nearly 120 people gathered to hear key note speaker Jo Reed talk about The Maturing of America.
Folks interested in “Dynamic Aging” attended a seminar by the same name on the Alfred State College campus May 27. Nearly 120 people gathered to hear key note speaker Jo Reed talk about The Maturing of America.
Only 46 percent of American communities have begun planning to address the needs of the exploding population of aging Baby Boomers. The Baby Boom generation—born between 1948 and 1964—is rapidly approaching retirement age. When this trend hits its peak in 2030, the number of people over age 65 in the United States will soar to 7.1 million—twice their number in the year 2000, or one in every five Americans. Communities, service providers, governmental agencies, and other entities across the country need to find ways to design services, programs, and neighborhoods to meet the needs and desires of our seniors. Breakout sessions on topics such as healthy aging, workforce and life-long learning, and community engagement were facilitated by experts in the field.
Additionally, several area agencies mounted exhibits to showcase their services: ACCESS Allegany; ACCORD Corp, Inc.; Alfred State College; Allegany County Community Partnership on Aging; Allegany County Department of Social Services; Allegany County Office for the Aging; Allegany County Senior Foundation; Allegany/Western Steuben Rural Health Network, Inc.; Southern Tier Home Health Services, Inc.; Total Senior Care; Visiting Nurses Association of WNY, Inc.; and WILLCARE, Inc.
Reed, n4a senior program manager for Maturing of American, is responsible for overseeing n4a’s (advocacy, action, answers on aging) Maturing of America Benchmarking Survey, which tracks how communities are preparing to support people of all ages. She also coordinates n4s’s AAA/Title VI Capacity Building program which assesses development needs among local aging services network leadership and delivers targeted training and support. Reed holds a master’s degree in social work from San Diego State University with a concentration in aging and a bachelor’s degree from UCLA.