June 8, 2006

Seniors &
Extreme Heat

175 - average number of Americans who die of heat-related illnesses each year

1,879 - total number of Americans age 60 and older who died of heat-related illness between 1995-2004

1995 - year of the infamous Chicago heat wave in which 739 people died over a period of five days

73% - of Chicago's July 1995 heat fatalities were over age 65

Source: National Weather Service

Help your clients stay safe in the summer heat

According to the Centers for Disease Control, people age 65 and older are more prone to heat stress than younger people for several reasons:

• Elderly people do not adjust as well as young people to sudden changes in temperature.
• They are more likely to have a chronic medical condition that upsets normal body responses to heat.
• They are more likely to take prescription medicines that impair the body's ability to regulate its temperature or that inhibit perspiration.

You can help the seniors that you serve beat the heat this summer by downloading and distributing a guide from the Environmental Protection Agency. Through its Aging Initiative, the EPA offers It's Too Darn Hot, a guide for older adults and family caregivers about ways to manage the high temperatures of summer, in several languages including English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Portugese and Haitian Creole.

You can also download a "Beat the Heat: 8 Simple Steps for Older Adults" poster to display in your facility.

CAC presents... 

Long-term care presentation by IDA Director - June 14
The University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community will host a public forum with Indiana Division of Aging Director Steve Smith on June 14 at the University of Indianapolis campus. During this forum, Smith will discuss the how the Division's OPTIONS program changes Indiana's long-term care model.

CAC is hosting Smith as part of our "IN Place" speaker series. There is no cost to attend and a continental breakfast will be provided.

Event details include:

Date:  June 14, 2006

Location: University of Indianapolis, Schwitzer Center Dining Room

Time:  8:00am - Continental breakfast
           8:30am - OPTIONS program presentation
           9:30am - Q & A

Contact Lidia Dubicki today to reserve your complimentary seat, (317) 791-5930.

For directions to the University of Indianapolis, please click here. Due to the summer break, parking is readily available.

CAC, CICOA & WFYI to present Spirit & Place program
A program to be presented by the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community, CICOA Aging and In-Home Solutions, and public broadcast station WFYI has been accepted as part of the Indianapolis Spirit & Place Festival.

The program, "Almost Home: How Options for Senior Living Are Changing," will be held in Room 010 of Schwitzer Student Center on Thursday, November 9 from 6:30-8:30pm.

The evening's discussion on living options will be facilitated by viewing Almost Home, a film on the innovations that are taking place in a Milwaukee nursing home as the staff moves to person-centered care. Themes to be explored include the transition in the traditional relationship between parent and child and the role of caregiving. CAC, CICOA and WFYI hope this event will be a catalyst for an on-going community conversation around the role older adults can play in the community.

For more information, contact CAC Senior Fellow Kay Crawford at (317) 791-5934.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day - June 15, 2006
The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) is sponsoring the first annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on Thursday, June 15, 2006. INPEA encourages people to wear purple on June 15 to raise awareness of neglect and mistreatment of older people. Visit INPEA's website to download a tool kit to help you plan Elder Abuse Awareness Day activities in your own community.

Around the state

Elder Rage author to speak in Fort Wayne -- On Saturday, June 24, the Family Caregiver Support Program at Aging & In-Home Services of NE Indiana, Inc. is bringing Jacqueline Marcell, author of the best selling book Elder Rage to Fort Wayne, Indiana to present a seminar for caregivers. "Laughter and Tears During the Caregiving Years" will be held from 9:00am - 4:00pm at the Grand Wayne Convention Center. Meet the author from 3:00 - 4:00pm. Lunch will be provided. Seating is limited. There is no charge to attend, but donations are greatly appreciated. For reservations, call (260) 745-1200.

Prime Time Walk -- Hendricks County Senior Services will sponsor a 5K walk for people of all ages on Saturday, June 24. Check-in will take place from 7:30-8:30am at the Plainfield Recreation and Aquatic Center, 651 Vestal Road, in Plainfield, Indiana. Registration fee is $20. Supervised children age 10 and under may walk for free. For more information, contact Sharon Severy.   

Talks to cover final expense planning -- Flanner & Buchanan Mortuary, 635 E. Market St. in Indianapolis, will offer "Tea Talks" on Tuesdays from 2:00-4:00pm. These free forums will cover a wide variety of topics related to final expense planning. Periodic guest speakers will share expertise on legal and medical issues as they relate to estate planning. For more information, contact Barbara Milton at (317) 472-9690.         

Legacy of Longevity -- The Center on Aging and the Life Course (CALC) at Purdue University is holding its 10th Anniversary Symposium: The Legacy of Longevity on September 25, 2006. For more information contact CALC at (317) 494-9692 or via e-mail at howelle@purdue.edu. 

Hoosier Heritage Night 2006 -- Heritage Place will honor six Hoosiers for lifetime achievements during Hoosier Heritage Night 2006 at Oak Hill Mansion on June 22. Honorary chair of the event is Gerald Bepko, IUPUI Chancellor Emeritus and Inaugural Director of the Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence. Tickets are $80/person. For more information, call (317) 283-6662.

Sign up for AdvantAge Initiative e-news -- The AdvantAge Initiative is a community planning and advocacy effort focused on creating a vibrant and elder-friendly, or "AdvantAged," Indianapolis that is prepared to meet the needs and nurture the aspirations of older residents. It is being led by CICOA Aging and In-Home Solutions, the state's largest area agency on aging. To receive the AdvantAge e-newsletter, e-mail Dave Sander. For more information about the AdvantAge Initiative, visit their website.

Vistas Options for Seniors -- Family Service of Central Indiana has introduced Vistas Options for Seniors, a geriatric care management program developed to help older adults, caregivers and others who work with older adults meet the challenges of aging. Vistas' goal is to help older adults maintain their dignity and independence while providing peace of mind for family members. Master's level gerontologists and social workers can evaluate older people in their homes to ensure they are receiving appropriate medical care; living in a safe environment; eating well-balanced meals; taking medications as prescribed; communicating with family and friends; and living a happy, meaningful life. If someone in your program could use these services, please encourage their family to call the Vistas intake coordinator at (317) 634-6341 for more information.

Nonprofit News

Survey offers glimpse into charitable contributions
According to a recently released Harris Interactive DonorPulse survey only 12% of the reported charitable contributions went to organizations that specifically serve the aging and elderly. Of those contributions:

• 22% came from persons 65 and over
• 10% came from 40-49 year olds
• 12% came from those 50 to 64 years old

The challenge, therefore, to senior-serving organizations is to educate donors -- individual and organizations -- about the value of both older adults and programs that serve those adults. We have to effectively communicate the message that adequately funding programs and projects that benefit older adults is a worthwhile investment in our communities and in older adults as assets to those communities.

Other information highlighted by the Harris Interactive DonorPulse survey includes that in 2005, the largest percentages of donors gave to:

• churches and religious organizations (50%)
• disaster relief organizations (47%)
• community groups and programs (35%)
• human service organizations (34%)
• organizations that serve youth and children (30%).

Of those surveyed, 92% say they or someone in their household made a financial contribution to a nonprofit organization in the past year - up from 80% from October 2005.

The good news is of those considering making contributions in 2006, 68% say they expect to give about the same amount they did in 2005, while 17% say they expect to give more and 16% say they expect to give less.

Earned Income: Assessing Your Nonprofit's Revenue Options
Whether your nonprofit is considering an earned income opportunity or is already pursuing one, this new course from The Foundation Center outlines the real potential -- and possible pitfalls -- of this revenue stream.

Through small-group exercises, you'll learn about the characteristics of successful earned income activities and assess the potential impact of such an undertaking on your current programs, management, and staff. With the knowledge and tools this course provides, you'll be better prepared to develop a strategy or fine-tune an existing earned income program.

Course date: June 21 in Fort Wayne
Course fee: $195 per person. Save $25 on each additional registration. Additional registrations must be made at the same time.

Register online at http://fconline.fdncenter.org/pnd/10002770/ei_ftw_06212006.html

View other courses offered by The Foundation Center, including Proposal Writing offered in Indianapolis on June 22, at http://fconline.fdncenter.org/pnd/10002771/ei_ftw_06212006.html  Register for more than one course and save $25 on each course.

The resource file

The National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) has released a report from the National Consensus Project for Caregiver Assessment that calls for significant improvement in health care and long-term care that relies too much on families without recognizing and assessing family caregivers' own support and health needs.

The final report has two parts: Volume I, Caregiver Assessment: Principles, Guidelines and Strategies for Change, reflects the professional consensus achieved among nationally recognized experts and stakeholders on fundamental principles and practice guidelines that apply to a range of practitioners in a variety of settings. The strategies focus on stimulating caregiver assessment as a basic component of practice. To download Volume I, visit: http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content/pdfs/v1_consensus.pdf

Volume II, Caregiver Assessment: Voices and Views from the Field, provides four background papers and two personal accounts. Chronic illness and disability, as these accounts reveal, affects not only the lives of the individual, but also of family members who provide the care and support. To download Volume II, visit: http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content/pdfs/v2_consensus.pdf

For more information, please contact Lynn Friss Feinberg at lfeinberg@caregiver.org or (800) 445-8106.

Have something to say?

If you have an idea or suggestion for the IANA e-news, or if your organization has an announcement you would like published, please contact Amy Magan at amagan@uindy.edu or (317) 791-5933. All submissions are subject to editing for length and clarity.

The IANA e-news is published the second Thursday of each month by the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community.

University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community
901 S. Shelby Street  Indianapolis, IN 46203
(317) 791-5930 PHONE  (317) 791-5945 FAX  http://cac.uindy.edu