WHCOA: LeadingAge Summary

Posted by Dr. El - July 15, 2015 - Communication, Dementia, Inspiration, Technology, Transitions in care - No Comments

I wrote about the White House Conference on Aging last October, noting that it was a “once-a-decade” national conference about the needs of our aging population.” (McKnight’s LTC News, October 2014)

Below, LeadingAge summarizes the 2015 White House Conference on Aging, which took place on Monday:

10 Things that Happened at the White House Conference on Aging

After a year’s worth of collecting data and opinions, experts from the field of aging presented new ideas and initiatives at the 2015 White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA).

The White House Conference on Aging facilitated a national conversation on growing older in America through live-streaming social media. LeadingAge hosted a watch party and found the following highlights noteworthy:

  1. A Call for Caregiver Support Systems: Panelists stressed the importance of establishing support systems for the nation’s 50 million professional and family caregivers, whose numbers will double by the year 2050.
  2. CMS Proposed Rule: CMS proposed Reform of Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities, which would affect more than 15,000 nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities. A element of the proposal is new standards for coordinating facility-to-facility patient transfers in order to improve quality of life, enhance person-centered care and services for residents in nursing homes, and improve resident safety.
  3. HHS Secretary Announces Funding for Workforce: Sylvia Burwell, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced $35.7 million for a new Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program, preparing the health care workforce to respond to the needs associated with advancing age.
  4. Dementia Friendly America: A coalition of private sector organizations announced the Dementia Friendly America initiative, which was created to foster communities that are equipped to support people with dementia and their families. There are currently plans to build 15 new pilot sites across the country.

For the rest of the article, visit:

10 Things that Happened at the White House Conference on Aging

WHCOA