Volunteers of America National President and CEO, Chuck Gould, Recently Interviewed by the Inside Elder Care blog.

Inside Elder Care’s goal is to educate and inspire people to make their elder care experiences positive for the caregiver and the family. Ryan Malone, the blog’s founder, recently interviewed Chuck Gould about our Aging with Options™ initiative.

Listen to the interview.

Aging with Options™ – Enabling Seniors to Live at Home

Volunteers of America’s National President and CEO Chuck Gould discusses our Aging with Options initiative’s main goal -  allowing seniors to live at home regardless of their means.

As mentioned in the video, we are just now starting to see the unprecedented growth in the number of seniors in our country. Starting today and over the next 20 years, the number of people over the age of 65 will double to approximately 70M people.  The systems currently in place just are not sustainable. We will offer people real options to stay in their homes with support systems that allow for this.

Volunteers of America President and CEO Discusses Aging with Options on Comcast Local Edition

Volunteers of America National President Charles W. Gould recently appeared on Comcast Local Edition to discuss how we will change the aging experience through our most aggressive initiative to date ― Aging with Options.

Kay Toran, President and CEO of Volunteers of America Oregon, Discusses Why We Must Look at Aging In a New Light

Kay Torna, President and CEO of Volunteers of America Oregon

The current generation of seniors will live longer than any other — and have less retirement security than any group since Social Security was enacted.

We as a community must begin to look at aging through a new lens. The public and nonprofit sectors generally consider services to the elderly to be a social service function. I would make the case that these services are also part of the community’s economic development strategy.

Dollars spent to provide in-home services and support family caregivers are an investment that pays huge dividends to society. Active, vital seniors living in their own homes contribute greatly to society. They volunteer, support schools, engage in historical and cultural events, and are active participants in a healthy economy.

In order to start a community dialogue about how we contribute to a vital aging process, Volunteers of America Oregon, in collaboration with LifeWorks NW and the Urban League of Portland, produced a report entitled “It Takes a Village to Live a Life — A Community Assessment on Aging.” This report, commissioned by the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, highlights the results from surveys conducted in the last two years and offers creative suggestions for new programs and solutions to address common needs for both older adults and their caregivers. The report is a call to action for the Portland area.

The report documents demographic trends driven by the growing percentage of older adults and their extended life expectancy. It also delineates what impacts these trends will have on the Portland metro region and offers public policy recommendations to address them.

Highlights of this report will be presented to community leaders on Aug. 27. The purpose of the meeting is threefold: to raise the level of awareness of those who can assist in making change; to seek a commitment from area foundations, government, nonprofits and others to join the effort to inform and educate their constituents and the community; and to gather input and support for a call to action.

Working together we can help foster the leadership, political will and momentum to create the kind of community we would all hope to enjoy as we begin our own aging process.

Long-Term Care Needs to be Part of the Health Care Reform Debate

By Charles W. Gould, President and CEO, Volunteers of America

With Congress now focused on health care reform, we need to urge legislators to include long-term care as part of any reform proposal. For vulnerable people, such as those with disabilities and chronically ill seniors, these services are critical to promoting health and preventing illness.

Last month, Volunteers of America hosted a panel discussion at the National Press Club on the future of senior care in America. Two of the nation’s leading health care reform advocates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, were joined by myself and cultural anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson. The panel was moderated by Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile.  The discussion explored the health care and other needs our nation faces as Baby Boomers grow older in record numbers. The panel also focused on many of the issues included as part of the current health care reform debate in Congress.

In preparation for the upcoming and unprecedented growth in the senior population, Volunteers of America has made a strategic decision to focus more directly on the needs of older people and those who support them. Called Aging with Options^TM, this initiative aims to transform the current senior care system by providing people with guidance and control over their care, and allow older Americans the freedom to receive care while living longer in their own homes.

As Congress debates its proposals for health care reform, we need to make sure long-term care is on the table and any proposal includes the following six elements:

1. Coverage that is available to everyone, including seniors, those with disabilities, and anyone who might be excluded from private coverage. These might include people with family histories of certain chronic medical conditions.
2. Consumer choices that include home and community-based services.
3. A sound fiscal model that relieves pressure on Medicaid and in turn helps prevent states from cutting these necessary services.
4. Coordination of care, so that all doctors and caregivers working with a patient are talking to each other. This can be done through programs such as the highly successful PACE (Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) program.
5. A person-centered approach, promoting increased access to information and benefits.
6. Adequately paid and high-quality care workers, promoting not only better care but also job growth.

As hearings and meetings continue through the summer, I urge everyone to reach out to their legislators in Congress and let them know that health care, and particularly long-term care, should be a top priority and is of critical importance for Americans of all ages.