In Support of Seniors

We all grow old, for it’s part of the continuum of life. In New York State, private colleges and universities are exploring the complexities of aging by conducting critical research, educating professionals, and reaching out with special programs for mind and body. In the process, they’re changing attitudes and helping us perceive that being old, after all, is not the same as feeling old.

Research that explores the experience of aging.

The Center for the Active Life of Minority Elders at Columbia University has established a Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) to create culturally sensitive strategies and measurement tools for use in aging research with older minority populations.

For too many people, old age leads to social isolation. Cornell University’s Applied Gerontology Institute focuses on applied research and intervention studies that promote the social integration of older individuals into the community, enhancing their physical and mental well-being.

The interdisciplinary staff of the Third Age Center at Fordham University focuses its research and programs on three areas: the process of growing old in society, disability and the structures that deal with it, and religion and aging. Also at Fordham, the Ravazzin Center for Social Work Research on Aging is conducting research on aging issues and how they affect seniors.

New School University’s Health Policy Research Center seeks to enhance the health of all Americans by connecting science with equitable and efficient health policies. Center researchers recently compared health and social policies for the frail elderly in world cities. Among their findings: Asthma is an unexpected health risk for New York City seniors, especially those living in the poorest communities.

Falls in older adults can be extremely debilitating, for they often result in hip fractures. Researchers at New York Chiropractic College’s Gait Analysis Laboratory are investigating the reasons behind these all-too-common falls.

Aging well means maintaining good health. Pace University’s Institute for Healthy Aging was established to educate health care professionals and the general public about aging, disease and disability prevention, the management of chronic illness, and strategies for staying healthy.

The International Center for Hearing and Speech Research — a collaborative program between the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of Rochester, and SUNY University at Buffalo — is one of the nation’s largest research projects on age-related hearing loss. Since its creation in 1989, the program has made significant discoveries toward the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of hearing loss.

Awareness of the social policies that affect older Americans is the focal point of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School Center for Policy Research where researchers examine the interactions between socioeconomic status and health.

Programs that nurture mind and body.

Seniors and their families flock to Albany Law School on Senior Citizens Law Day, an annual event of free seminars on topics related to aging, such as planning for long-term care.

The more we know, the more we can manage our health. Albany Medical College offers free health seminars that help participants understand the implications of diseases that affect the elderly.

Together, Cazenovia College, the telephone company, and a local coffeehouse owner have created a stress-free environment where seniors can master the computer.

Ithaca College is a partner in Ithacare, a senior living community where residents, students, and faculty benefit from an intergenerational lifestyle.

Individuals over 50 receive information on topics about aging at Nazareth College’s annual Gerontology Conference.

The College of New Rochelle faculty share their expertise and their stories with a varied senior audience at the local senior center. Presentations have included “Body, Mind, and Spirit”and a talk on Black History Month.

The Center for Creative Retirement, founded at Long Island University’s Southampton College, is conducting a survey of the most senior of Long Island’s senior citizens to find out why some people live not only longer but healthier lives.

Seniors find affordable social and intellectual stimulation through courses at Marymount Manhattan College’s Center for Learning and Living. The New York Institute of Technology’s Adele Smithers Parkinson’s Disease Treatment Center offers patients individualized rehabilitation programs. The center is also a research center and clearinghouse for educational materials on Parkinson’s.

St. Francis College annually presents free six week sessions designed specifically for seniors, including a hands-on computer workshop and the Seniors’ Writing Project.

An annual fall lecture series draws 250 older New Yorkers to Skidmore College. Among the recent topics: “Russia’s New President: A Fresh Start for Russian Democratic Reform or a Return to Tsarism.”

Education that advocates.

Ithaca College’s Gerontology Institute helps individuals and agencies address the needs of the older person by encouraging academic and experiential education in gerontology and by facilitating research of the aging process. .

As the population ages, more people will be working with seniors. The Gerontology Association at Marymount College promotes the personal growth and professional development of students interested in advocating for older adults.

Nazareth College of Rochester and the Finger Lakes Geriatric Center are working to develop educational programs for health services professionals to enable them to provide culturally appropriate health care to seniors from diverse backgrounds.

An aging population needs expert health care designed for the older patient. New York University’s John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing is identifying and developing best practices in nursing care for seniors, striving to establish new national standards.

It’s not what you think.

There are many perceptions about aging -- and not all of them are based on fact or experience. Utica College’s Gerontology Institute is fighting hard to change perceptions about aging and to advocate for seniors. The Institute has recently initiated a national project that is confronting stereotypes about older Americans and aiming to address issues on aging in elementary and secondary school textbooks and lessons. It also works at the grassroots level to help everyone understand aging. The director, who writes a monthly column on aging issues in Utica’s daily papers says, “We have to squelch this attitude that the elderly are liabilities.”

Initiated at Utica College in 1981, the Institute of Gerontology fosters a multidisciplinary approach to all aspects of aging, including a study of the health-related, sociological, economic, behavioral, environmental, and political factors associated with aging.