Senior Care and Services

There are more senior citizens in the U.S. today than ever before. Public services for seniors are rapidly changing and expanding as this diverse population ages. This collection of essays describes key developments in services being provided in cities across the nation. Topics include seniors and the U.S. government; health and wellness; longevity; caregiving; housing and accommodations; Social Security and finance; immigrant, minority and LGBT issues, and life-long learning and technology.

Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III, Ph.D., is vice provost for global affairs as well as chair and Mayor George Christopher Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University. He founded GGU’s law enforcement and security program and is a San Francisco advocate for the safety and security of Filipino American kids and their families.

Roger L. Kemp, Ph.D., ICMA-CM, has been a city manager on both the East and West coasts for more than 25 years. He is presently Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University and a Fellow of The Academy of Political Science.

Willie L. Britt, DPA, is Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at the Department of Public Administration and Doctor of Business Administration Program of Golden Gate University. He is also the vice president of the Pilipino Senior Resource Center and business manager of Makati Chiropractic Center in the U.S. and the Philippines.

Edited by Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III, Roger L. Kemp and Willie Lee Britt

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 314
Bibliographic Info: appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7327-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3882-9
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1

Part I. Introduction
A. Our Seniors and Our Cities
1. Who Knew? Life Begins (Again) at 65 (Bruce Horovitz) 7
2. Three Ways Cities Can Navigate the “Silver Tsunami” (Elisha ­Harig-Blaine) 10
3. Aging in Place and Smart Growth (International City/County Management Association) 13
4. DeKalb County, Georgia, Senior Services (DeKalb County Office of Aging) 19
5. City and County of San Francisco’s Aging and Adult Services (San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services) 29
6. Empowerment of the Aging: Policies and Programs in Local California Communities (Flora G. Becket and Willie Lee Britt) 33

B. Seniors and the U.S. Government  
7. Older Americans Act and Timeline of Programs for Older Americans (Administration for Community Living) 39
8. U.S. Healthcare: From the 19th Century to the Affordable Care Act (Willie Lee Britt) 45
9. Navigating Benefits.gov User Series: Senior Citizens (Benefits.gov) 51
10. The White House Conference on Aging (White House Conference on Aging) 54
11. The Elder Justice Act (Administration for Community Living) 57

Part II. Services, Innovations and Challenges
A. Health and Wellness
12. Seniors and Health Care and Service: My Administrator’s Perspective Willie Lee Britt 63
13. Breaking Through the Noise: The Facts About the Medicaid Program Brendan Flinn and Jean Accius 70
14. Getting Started with Medicare Medicare.gov 74
15. Why Older Adults Should Eat More Protein (And Not Overdo Protein Shakes) Judith Graham 77
16. Before the Fall: How Oldsters Can Avoid One of Old Age’s Most Dangerous Events Matthew Lee Smith, Ellen Schneider, Marcia G. Ory and Tiffany Shubert 80
17. Making Smarter Decisions About Where to Recover After Hospitalization Judith Graham 83
18. End-of-Life Planning Jeanine R. Kelada and Willie Lee Britt 87
19. No Cure for Alzheimer’s Disease in My Lifetime Norman A. Paradis 96
20. Guidelines Proposed for Newly Defined Alzheimer’s-Like Brain Disorder National Institute on Aging 99

B. Longevity
21. As Life Expectancies Rise, So Are Expectations for Healthy Aging Marcia G. Ory, Basia Belza and Matthew Lee Smith 102
22. Research Shows Old Age Is Getting Younger All the Time Warren Sanderson and Sergei Scherbov 105
23. It’s Time to Measure 21st Century Aging with 21st Century Tools Warren Sanderson and Sergei Scherbov 108
24. Patients Experiment with Prescription Drugs to Fight Aging Marisa Taylor 111
25. A “Fountain of Youth” Pill? Sure, if You’re a Mouse Marisa Taylor 114

C. Caregiving
26. Strengthening the National Family Caregiver Support Program: The Time Has Come Lynn Friss Feinberg 120
27. Frail Seniors Find Ways to Live Independently Judith Graham 123
28. Seniors Helping Seniors: Maximizing Potentials Sunday Akin Olukoju 126
29. A Critical Examination of ­Long-Term Care in the San Francisco Bay Area (Irina Reykhel and Willie Lee Britt) 128
30. Without Safety Net of Kids or Spouse, “Elder Orphans” Need Fearless Fallback Plan Judith Graham 132
31. Understanding Loneliness in Older Adults—And Tailoring a Solution Judith Graham 135
32. Social Isolation, Loneliness in Older People Pose Health Risks National Institute on Aging 139

D. Housing and Accommodations
33. Housing Policy Solutions to Support Aging with Options Shannon Guzman, Janet Viveiros and Emily Salomon 144
34. The Need for Safe and Healthy Homes in Order to Age in Place Rachel L. Fontenot and Willie Lee Britt 152
35. Engaging Nonprofit Sector Institutions for Housing Seniors Joshua Odetunde 158
36. Advancing Independence, Integration and Inclusion Throughout Life Administration for Community Living 161
37. Accessibility Solutions for Colton Hall Claire M. Rygg and Willie Lee Britt 164
38. Township Taps Former Mayor for ­Age-Friendly Initiative International City/County Management Association 169
39. Seniors and the California Courts Ruth Astle Samas 172

E. Social Security and Finance
40. Social Security: Who’s Counting on It? Alison Shelton 180
41. Five Things to Consider Before You Collect Your Social Security Benefits Stacy Canan and Hector Ortiz 184
42. Top 11 Elder Scams (U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) 186
43. Guaranteed Returns in Retirement Savings Plans: Are They Worth the Cost? William G. Gale 190
44. Seven Ways to Keep Medical Debt in Check Gail Hillebrand 194
45. Consumer Advisory: Don’t Be Misled by Reverse Mortgage Advertising Nora Dowd Eisenhower 196
46. Four Things Older Americans Can Do About Debt Collection Problems Nora Dowd Eisenhower 198

F. Immigrants, Minorities and LGBTQ+
47. Kimochi: Japanese ­Self-Help for the Elderly Paul Mico and Willie Lee Britt 200
48. The Pilipino Senior Resource Center, a Glimpse of Our Very Essence Gabby V. Moraleda 204
49. Advocacy for Aging World War II Immigrant Veterans Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III 208
50. San Francisco and Older Adult LGBTQ Population San Francisco Human Services Agency 215
G. Intergenerational Lifelong Learning and Technology
51. The Intergenerational Imperative Irv Katz 218
52. Intergenerational Outreach Yueqing (Queenie) Lin 223
53. Belichick Versus McVay: An ­Age-Old Question of Leadership Megan Gerhardt 226
54. Seniors and Lifelong Learning Alan R. Roper 229
55. Participating in the Arts Creates Paths to Healthy Aging National Institute on Aging 234
56. Public Service Delivery for Aging Populations: Using Social Media to Support Seniors Jeffrey Zimmerman 238
57. The Use of Social Media Platforms to Support Seniors Andrew Vaz 240
58. Emerging Technologies to Support an Aging Population Task Force on Research and Development for Technology to Support Aging Adults 242

Part III. The Future
59. Keep Age Out of It: Ageism Has No Place in Hiring Practices Robert Shapiro 249
60. Seniors Increasingly Getting High, Study Shows Carmen Heredia Rodriguez 253
61. Day-Tripping to the Dispensary: Seniors in Pain Hop Aboard the ­Canna-Bus Stephanie ­O’Neill 255
62. Lethal Plans: When Seniors Turn to Suicide in ­Long-Term Care Melissa Bailey and JoNel Aleccia 258
63. Does a Year in Space Make You Older or Younger? Susan Bailey 265
64. NASA Twins Study Reveals Health Effects of Space Flight National Institute on Aging 268
65. State Revenues and the Aging Population Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene 271

Appendices
Appendix A: Glossary of Senior Care and Services Alan R. Roper 275
Appendix B: Older Americans Month: Profile America Facts for Features U.S. Census Bureau 284
Appendix C: Senior Citizens Services Act State of Washington: Chapter 74.38 RCW 288

About the Contributors 295
Index 299