Speaker: 'We need to see elderly as a resource'

Kelcy Dolan
Posted 10/20/15

“There are only three stages of life,” Bill Flynn, executive director of the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island, said. “Youth, middle-aged, and you look fabulous.”

One hundred and 60 …

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Speaker: 'We need to see elderly as a resource'

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“There are only three stages of life,” Bill Flynn, executive director of the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island, said. “Youth, middle-aged, and you look fabulous.”

One hundred and 60 “fabulous looking” individuals attended last Friday’s 8th Annual Statewide Senior Conference & Expo at the Crowne Plaza. The event hosted workshops, lectures and resource exhibits all concerning senior health.

Flynn said that the Coalition’s mission is to promote senior community integration to avoid nursing homes as well as “expose and motivate” seniors to get involved in different opportunities to connect with their local communities.

“We know societal engagement and positive relationships help people live longer. Isolation is a big factor to longevity and we want our seniors to stay active and engaged,” he said.

Governor Gina Raimondo was the first governor to speak at the conference and was also the first ever invited.

Flynn explained that with the past two governors the coalition wasn’t confident that senior health and progression.

“We needed a governor that saw seniors as a priority and make Rhode Island a better state for them. Now we finally have one,” Flynn said.

Raimondo said at a young age she learned to care for the elderly because her grandfather had lived with her family.

She said, “I believe the reason he lived so long was because he had home care surrounded by friends and family who loved him.”

The elderly, Raimondo said, are an important part of the community and have the right to live out their life in dignity surrounded by their communities. She wants to promote more community programs to keep seniors healthier while controlling healthcare costs.

Keynote speaker Dr. George Rebok, a professor from Johns Hopkins University, spoke about a study done by the Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health concerning the community program Experience Corps.

Experience Corps, what Rebok categorizes as a “win-win program,” originally based in Baltimore, is a high intensity volunteer program for seniors where participants dedicate more than 15 hours a week to working in an elementary school to provide both behavioral and academic support. Not only did students see improvement both academically and socially, but seniors who volunteered saw some major social, emotional and cognitive benefits.

Participants found they were walking more and watching less TV. Volunteers far outperformed a control group in cognitive tasks, and with MRI imaging the study was able to prove that participants in Experience Corps were improving brain function, seeing stronger brain activity than before volunteering.

“Many volunteers have lived very successful lives, but they say this is the single most meaningful thing they have done in their life,” Rebok said. “To know they are making a difference in someone’s life keeps these seniors motivated.”

Last year, seniors volunteered more than 110,000 hours as part of Experience Corps. The successful model has expanded to more than 25 schools in Baltimore with programs in more than 20 states with a retention rate year to year of more than 80 percent.

“The program has empowering capabilities for seniors,” Rebok said. “They know their wisdom isn’t outdated, they have something to contribute, that people respect and appreciate them. Similarly, the senior, especially in urban areas, provide stability, consistency and role models for students.”

Rebok said studies show volunteerism helps to reduce mortality and depression in seniors while improving their quality of life and physical ability. Similarly, those who feel as if they are making a difference with more social relationships are less likely to develop dementia.

Most importantly, he said senior volunteerism helps evolve the societal perception of aging. At a time where the elderly population is not only living longer but also living better, it is essential to do away with the outdated image of aging as “decrepitude and loss and a departure from society.”

“We need to reset our thinking and recreate the framework in the way we think about aging. We need to see elderly population not as a burden but a resource,” Rebok said.

For the first time in history the senior population is nearly equal to the youth population and is estimated to nearly double it by 2050, he said. Every day 5,561 people celebrate their 65th birthday and 4,525 celebrate their 75th.

Through volunteer programs such as Experience Corps, this population can continue to contribute once they finish in their working and parental roles. Not only are they benefiting their own communities but themselves as they see emotional and physical improvements through volunteerism.

Rebok said he hopes to be able to update the list of participating states to include Rhode Island in the near future. He said the coalition is working on bringing the Experience Corps program to the state.

@C_Cutline:SPECIAL PLACE: Governor Gina Raimondo said that the senior population has a special place in her heart because growing up her grandfather lived with her family. She learned firsthand how to care for him and believes that he lived so long because those he loved surrounded him.

VOLUNTEERISM: Dr. George Rebok from Johns Hopkins University presented on Experience Corps as the keynote speaker for the 8th Annual Statewide Senior Conference and Expo. He said that senior volunteerism has been incredibly successful and has both community and individual benefits.

ONE-ON-ONE: Governor Gina Raimondo talks with Donna Martin at Friday’s Statewide Senior Conference & Expo held at the Crowne Plaza. (Warwick Beacon photos)

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  • Justanidiot

    Soylent Green Senior

    Tuesday, October 20, 2015 Report this

  • bbeaudreau

    Dr. Rebok's entire 53-minute presentation will be posted on Serve Rhode Island's YouTube account this afternoon. Excerpts can also be found on YouTube. See: https://youtu.be/5SAyOMG4juo

    Thursday, October 22, 2015 Report this