UB Center To Present Conference On Promoting Independence, Improving Quality Of Life For Elderly

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- An international conference on promoting independence and improving quality of life for older persons will be held Dec. 2-4 in the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va.

The conference will be presented by the Rehabilitation Engineering Center on Assistive Technology for Older Persons (RERC-Aging) at the University at Buffalo. Co-sponsors are the National Learning Center of the American Society on Aging (ASA) and the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA).

David Satcher, M.D., surgeon general and assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will open the conference with an address entitled "Setting Our Goals for an Aging Society."

Key players in the field of aging, including researchers, consumer advocates, service providers, home and workplace modification personnel, government officials and representatives of employment and aging programs, as well as nonprofit and for-profit health-care agencies, will analyze the problems of providing appropriate supportive services. Participants will develop clear guidelines to ensure that older persons with disabilities have the services needed to remain independent, and will submit those guidelines to the appropriate federal agencies.

Keynote speakers will include Gloria Gutman, president-elect of the International Association of Gerontology and chair of the 2001 World Congress of Gerontology, and Patricia A. Moore, a principal with the BRESSLER group, a research-and-design firm specializing in the delivery of solutions for quality life.

The program also will include three pre-conference workshops on "Using Technology to Promote Independence in Older Persons;" Home Modifications Skills, Approaches and Teamwork," and "Aging with a Disability."

For more information, contact Karen Inman at 829-3141.