Health & Wellness

Inner and Outer Peacemaking

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At this time of year we often see cards that say “Peace on Earth.” Gatherings of family and friends make us think of our bonds to other people and a wish for peace. But what does peace really look like in our lives?

Take a moment to think about how peace looks (or would look like) in your life. Then think about how it would manifest in the life of the world.

Is it calmness and tranquility? Complete lack of conflict? Is it about reconciliation of past differences? Is work involved? Is there any struggle or challenge? How is your vision of peace similar to or different from what you see and read about?

Active Peacemaking

I try to practice active.... Read More

             

Diverse Perspectives on The Older Americans Act

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A year into working at the Diverse Elders Coalition, I’ve been struck by the learning curve for the range of issues facing the elder constituencies our member organizations serve. I have worked on some of these issues in previous jobs, and I have some experience in policy areas such as immigration, LGBT equality, language access, and cultural competence. What has been exciting in the past thirteen months I’ve been with the DEC is thinking about these issues and their impact on the range of programs, legislation, and policy that specifically relate to aging populations. From Social Security to Medicare, applying an intersectional analysis has allowed me to think about how different kinds of discrimination such as ageism and xenophobia “intersect”.... Read More

             

By 2020, 70% of Those Living With HIV Will be 50 or Older

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This post originally appeared on the SAGE blog and continues our weeklong commemoration of World AIDS Day.

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Did you know that 50% of those living with HIV are age 50 or older? By 2020, that number will grow to70%. The latest national data show that adults 50 and older account for 17% of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses and 29% of all persons living with AIDS. Research also finds that over 50% of adults age 65-74 and 26% of age 75-85 are sexually active with more than one partner. But ageist misconceptions, combined with poor sexual health education, contribute to the growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS.... Read More

             

World AIDS Day 2015

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On December 1st, individuals and organizations around the world commemorate World AIDS Day, an acknowledgement of how far we’ve come in fighting this disease and how much work is still to be done to erase stigma, find a cure, and support survivors. The Diverse Elders Coalition has worked since our inauguration in 2010 to lift up the stories of diverse elders with HIV and to raise awareness about the ways in which our communities are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS.

cupcakesThis year was an important one for the prevention of HIV: in July, the White House released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Updated to 2020 (PDF) that calls for a more coordinated.... Read More

             

Hispanic Older Adults Face Food Insecurity and Hunger at Unacceptable Levels

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An older adult at the National Hispanic Council on Aging’s (NHCOA’s) community forum in Miami was frustrated at the difficulty of her life and those of peers. “Why,” she exclaimed, “in the richest country in the world can we not eat three meals a day?” It was a direct statement of the plight of Hispanic older adults that NHCOA heard over and over again as the organization spoke with seniors and their caregivers across the country. Hispanic seniors, they heard, were simply not able to make ends meet. Their low fixed incomes simply did not cover the monthly expenses of rent, food and medical needs. Seniors were deferring medications to cover meals and not eating meals to cover.... Read More

             

What Should We Hope To Achieve Through Health System Transformation?

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This is the first in a blog series outlining Community Catalyst’s policy priorities for Health System Transformation. Each subsequent blog will take a deeper dive into one of the six areas we believe must be addressed to achieve better care, better value and better health.

Although much work remains to fully realize the coverage vision embodied in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), another aspect of the ACA—how we deliver and pay for health care—is receiving increasing attention. To date, the bulk of this attention has come from providers and public and private payers. But consumer advocates are coming to the table, increasingly recognizing that critical decisions about access, quality and affordability are being made.

With.... Read More

             

Memories Worth Fighting For

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I remember the day I graduated from college like it was yesterday. My family flew in from our small town in South Texas to watch me become the first person in our family to graduate from college. The look on my mother’s face as I walked across the stage on that sunny DC day will be with me forever…or at least I hope it will.  Memory is more fragile than we think, particularly for Latinos.

While not widely known, Latinos are 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanic whites to get Alzheimer’s, a progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and is ultimately fatal. According to researchers, Alzheimer’s disease contributes to the deaths of.... Read More

             

Getting The Word Out: Obamacare Is For Native Americans Too

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As we approach another round of ACA open enrollment, and in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we’re re-posting this article from Kaiser Health News about accessing Obamacare in Native communities. 

By Anna Gorman, September 8, 2015

Landscape en route to Gallup, New Mexico, on Highway 491 (Photo by Heidi de Marco/KHN).
Landscape en route to Gallup, N.M., on Highway 491. (Photo by Heidi de Marco/KHN)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As a member of the Navajo tribe, Rochelle Jake has received free care through the Indian Health Service (IHS) her entire life. The clinics took care of her asthma, allergies and eczema – chronic problems, nothing urgent.

Recently, though, she felt.... Read More

             

Barriers to Accessing Adult Vaccines

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image003Earlier this week, I had the honor of being a panelist at an “Adult Vaccines Save Lives” briefing on Capitol Hill to help launch the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition. The Coalition brings together leaders in health and public health to raise awareness and engage in advocacy on the importance of adult immunization. With the aging of the U.S. population, the public health impact of vaccine-preventable diseases and their complications in older adults is likely to grow.

Why Should We Vaccinate Older Adults?

The diminishing function of the aging immune system reduces the immune response to vaccination and underscores the need to develop more effective products for older adults. People age 65 years.... Read More

             

What Does HIV Look Like in Our Diverse Elder Communities?

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I had the pleasure of attending a Grantmakers In Aging webinar yesterday that focused on the impact of HIV on our elders. Speakers on the webinar included Ben de Guzman, our National Managing Coordinator, as well as Mark Brennan-Ing of ACRIA and Aaron Tax of SAGE. As someone who is relatively new to both HIV and aging advocacy, the experience was extremely valuable to me – especially because by 2020, over 70% of the people with HIV in this country will be 50 or older.

During the presentation, Mark Brennan-Ing shared some health information about older adults with HIV. Adults over 50 years old account for 11% of new HIV infections in the United States. Additionally, elders.... Read More

             
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