Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Len Fishman, President and CEO, Hebrew SeniorLife, 1200 Centre Street, Boston, MA 02131, (617) 363-8211, fishman@hrca.harvard.edu

The seniors we are serving today are different from the ones we served 10 years ago and are vastly different from the ones we will be serving ten to twenty years from now. The future generation of seniors will be better educated, on the whole wealthier (although income disparities will be greater), more diverse, and yes, more demanding of the needs for supportive, affordable, and safe housing options as well as for a comprehensive, flexible and robust long term care system. Providing options to help seniors remain in the community is a challenge for the current senior care system, involving both societal values as well as money. Draconian choices in the future are real possibilities if housing and long term care issues are not resolved in better ways.

This presentation will highlight challenges and innovations related to housing and long-term care, e.g. achieving a balance between society's support for older adults and personal responsibility; options and payment for services for the most vulnerable older adults. Insights will also be provided on how one organization serving seniors-Hebrew SeniorLife-has tried to adapt to a changing and challenging environment.

Despite the turbulent and difficult times we are living through, we are standing on the threshold of the most exciting years in the history of long-term care, senior housing and other community-based services. Something old is dying and something new is being born. None of us know exactly what this new thing will be, but I do believe that the future of our field will be better than its past. And that's a good thing, because none of us should be satisfied with the system we have today.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the current state of housing options for older adults.
• Identify three challenges related to housing and long-term care
• Identify three potential innovations in housing and long term care to address current problems.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation