[Federal Register: November 29, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 228)]
[Notices]
[Page 71531-71534]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29no05-59]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration on Aging; 2005 White House Conference on Aging
AGENCY: Administration on Aging, HHS.
ACTION: Notice of meeting and final Annotated Agenda.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), notice is hereby given of the
2005 White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA) meeting in December 2005
and the final Annotated Agenda for the 2005 WHCoA. The Policy Committee
approved this final Annotated Agenda during a meeting held by
conference call on November 3, 2005. The Annotated Agenda covers six
broad areas that reflect major issues facing older individuals now and
for the next 10 years.
The 2005 WHCoA will be open to the public. Individuals who wish to
attend should call or email the contact person listed below in advance
of the meeting and inform her of the day they wish to attend; since
space for the public is limited, attendance will be on a first come
first-served basis. Individuals who need special assistance, such as
sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, should
inform the contact person of the type of assistance that is desired.
DATES: The 2005 White House Conference on Aging will take place from
Sunday, December 11, 2005 to Wednesday, December 14, 2005.
ADDRESSES: The 2005 White House Conference on Aging will be held at the
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, NW., Washington, DC
20008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rada Spencer at (301) 443-2496, or e-
mail at Rada.Spencer@whcoa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Older Americans Act
Amendments of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-501, November 2000), the President will
convene the White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA) not later than
December 31, 2005. Specifically, the statute requires that the WHCoA
shall gather individuals representing the spectrum of thought and
experience in the field of aging to develop not more than 50
recommendations to guide the President, Congress, and Federal agencies
in serving older individuals. The 2005 WHCoA will be held at the
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC from Sunday, December 11,
2005 to Wednesday, December 14, 2005. During its open meeting on
October 1, 2004, the Policy Committee approved a proposed broad agenda,
with the knowledge that work would continue on the Annotated Agenda.
The broad agenda focused on six areas: Planning for the Future,
Employment, Our Community, Health and Long-Term Living, Social
Engagement, and Marketplace, and it was placed on the WHCoA Web site at
http://www.whcoa.gov for public comment. The Policy Committee received
comments from testimony and reports submitted from over 400 Listening
Sessions, Solutions Forums, Mini-Conferences, and Independent Aging
Agenda Events held and attended by approximately 130,000 individuals,
as well as from unsolicited public comments to refine the proposed
Annotated Agenda. Section 202 (b)(1) of the statute requires that the
agenda for the WHCoA shall be published in the Federal Register not
later than 30 days after the agenda is approved by the Policy
Committee. The Policy Committee approved the final Annotated Agenda,
dated November 3, 2005, during a meeting held by conference call on
November 3, 2005. The six broad areas have been refined to read: (1)
Planning Along the Lifespan, (2) The Workplace of the Future, (3) Our
Community, (4) Health and Long-Term Living, (5) Civic Engagement and
Social Engagement and (6) Technology and Innovation in an Emerging
Senior/Boomer Marketplace. The entire text of the final Annotated
Agenda is published as an Appendix to this notice.
Dated: November 23, 2005.
Edwin L. Walker,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Programs.
Appendix 1--2005 White House Conference on Aging Annotated Agenda**
Final--November 3, 2005
I. Planning Along the Lifespan
Social Security, pensions, savings, and wages each serve an
important role in ensuring financial security in retirement. A
cornerstone of achieving financial security in retirement is planning
throughout a lifetime. Effective savings incentives and financial
education are essential planning tools. Starting to save for retirement
as early as possible ensures the miracle of compound interest, and
provides optimum leverage. However, accumulating savings by itself does
not guarantee a secure retirement. Managing those assets through longer
and longer lifespans is also a key component. Americans must plan and
prepare for the risk of having assets depleted
[[Page 71532]]
because of a long term care episode or other financial crisis.
Moreover, retirees must guard against becoming victims of financial
fraud and exploitation. Enhanced financial literacy will help enable
Americans to guard against risks and plan appropriately to achieve
financial security in retirement.
A. Economic Incentives To Increase Retirement Savings
1. Individual savings; employer-based pension programs
B. Social Security Programs Now and for the Future
1. Principles to protect and strengthen Social Security
C. Protection from Catastrophic Loss
1. Long term care expenses, and ways to assist Baby Boomers and
families in understanding the need to finance long-term care, through
insurance and other options
2. Preventing financial fraud, abuse and exploitation: an integral part
of elder and Boomer financial security
D. Financial Literacy Throughout the Life Cycle
1. Financial literacy to assist Americans in learning to start saving
early and to manage assets to last through longer and longer
retirements
II. The Workplace of the Future
For many decades, there has been a younger workforce on the heels
of those planning to retire. With declining birthrates those
demographics will change dramatically and will have a tremendous impact
on the workplace of the future. In addition, Americans are living
longer which means they will need more assets for longer retirements or
will need to work longer so that retirement assets last a lifetime.
These two factors mean the workforce of the future will have to be
thought about differently. Because the workforce is shrinking, older
workers will be valuable members of the job bank of the future and,
older workers will need the income that working longer will provide in
order to fund their retirements. To ensure that employers have the
workforce they need and to provide workers with opportunities to stay
in the workforce, incentives will be needed to encourage employers to
retain older workers and to encourage workers to stay in the workforce.
Phased retirement offered ad hoc to a few employees today must be
encouraged for the benefit of the employer and employee. Strategies for
overcoming current unintended barriers to reaching these goals will be
an important aspect of this Agenda item. Assistive technologies are
another important component of helping workers remain in the workforce.
A. Opportunities for Older Workers
1. Employer incentives for retaining older workers and current
disincentives that prevent employers from retaining older workers
2. Worker incentives to remain in the workforce and current
disincentives to working longer
3. Phased retirement as an opportunity for the employee who wants to
retire gradually and for the employer who wants to retain older workers
4. Assistive technology to help workers remain in the workforce
5. Strategies to prevent ageism/age discrimination from affecting
opportunities for older workers
III. Our Community
Safety, independence, access to a social network, and support by
family and informal caregivers, as needed, are important components of
a livable community and ``aging in place'' for older Americans. Aging
in place means being able to grow older in the community of one's
choosing with continued access to needed social and health support
services. Many Baby Boomer parents left urban residences after World
War II for suburban homes and now face living in an area where services
are less accessible, especially to those who no longer drive. Some
possible solutions include better coordination between public health,
transportation, and aging networks, better information management
systems, and helping older Americans drive safely longer, and providing
additional transportation options for those who no longer can or wish
to drive. Longer term solutions include building higher density
neighborhoods which allow safe and convenient pedestrian access to
services, better public transportation, and other transportation
options. Additionally, resources and information must be readily
obtainable especially during and after emergencies or disasters.
Emergency preparedness and response must be given greater emphasis
especially as it relates to those older individuals who face mobility
challenges. Improved information management systems and coordination
between health, social service, law enforcement, and other networks are
especially critical in times of emergencies or disasters.
A. Coordinated Social and Health Services That Give the Elderly the
Maximum Opportunity To Age in Place
1. Availability of community referral resources
2. Configuration of Senior Centers to appeal to the next generation of
senior citizens
3. Coordination between health and aging networks
4. Accommodation of the differences between the Baby Boomer aging
population and previous generations of the elderly
5. Emergency/disaster preparedness and response as it relates to older
persons
B. Promote Support for Both Family and Informal Caregivers That Enables
Adequate Quality and Supply of Services
1. Caregiver support: training, respite, information, referral, and
needs assessment for family caregivers. Training and financial support
for paid caregivers
C. Livable Communities That Enable the Elderly To Age in Place
1. Senior-friendly community and residential design
2. Protection from neglect and physical abuse
3. Senior-friendly roads designed to keep older drivers on the road,
safely
4. Housing affordability and availability
5. Alternative modes of transportation
6. Expanded use of public transportation
IV. Health and Long Term Living
Americans are living longer. That ever increasing life span,
combined with the significant increase in the population reaching age
65, as the Baby Boomers age, will be major factors in shaping health
care policy for the next ten years and beyond. The entire spectrum of
health care, physical and mental health, will be impacted by these two
factors. Personal responsibility for life style choices and adherence
to preventive care protocols are more important than ever in decreasing
or eliminating the negative impact of preventable illnesses. When acute
or chronic illnesses do occur, the issue of access to appropriate
medical and mental health services will also need to address issues of
coordination of care across multiple settings and continuity of care
over time. Living longer while afflicted with chronic illnesses will
also require attention to choices that maximize function, quality of
life, and independence in the living environment of choice for the
individual.
Research, particularly more focused on issues associated with
aging, and the
[[Page 71533]]
widespread dissemination and adoption of the information that the
research reveals, will be a major contributor to the quality of health
care. Quality in health care includes addressing issues of health
disparities, cultural competencies, language barriers, health literacy,
and patient safety. The concept of health is not the sole
responsibility of the individual and the formal health care system, but
it also includes the support provided by the aging network, multiple
community organizations, improved information management systems, and
the opportunity for meaningful social engagement. Issues of health care
education of the population, in order to be integrally involved in
heath care decisions and a health care workforce, sufficient in numbers
and appropriately trained to address the special needs of the
population are necessary ingredients for the success of any policy that
is adopted.
A. Access to Affordable, High Quality Services
1. Development of a comprehensive, coordinated long term care strategy
across the continuum of care, including benefits, living wills, end-of-
life care, and health measures (in conjunction with Planning Along the
Lifespan long term care issues)
2. Connecting evidence-based and comparative-based research with
delivery of care
3. Aligning payment policies with the continuum of care
B. Healthy Lifestyles, Prevention, and Disease Management
1. Prevention: Education and lifestyle modifications
2. Disease management programs
3. Appropriate treatment for and education on alcohol and substance
abuse and mental health
4. Provider and consumer education about disease prevention and mental
health
C. Delivery of Quality Care and Promotion of Maximum Independence for
Individuals With Chronic Conditions
1. Ensuring existence of a reliable, adequately trained, and culturally
competent workforce
2. Providing maximum independence and non-institutional care
3. Ensuring appropriate care for seniors with disabilities
4. Addressing the shortage of paid workers for elder care and services
D. Use of Information To Improve All Health Care Services
1. Resources to make informed health care decisions
2. Medical research on aging issues
3. Appropriate use of health information technology
4. Sharing client information across multiple management systems
E. Affordable, Defined Health Benefits, Including Mental Health
Benefits, Through Medicare, Medicaid, and Other Federal and State
Health Care Programs
1. Ensuring adequate access to State and Federal health care programs
V. Civic Engagement and Social Engagement
Social engagement is crucial to the physical and psychological
well-being of elderly citizens. Being engaged in such activity is
important for older persons in maintaining physical vigor and for
getting the type of social interaction and mental stimulation necessary
to continue living a full, robust life. It is an equally important way
in which senior citizens can contribute to their communities. There are
a wide range of available activities that may be helpful individually,
to other citizens and more generally, to sustain the quality of civic
life. There are opportunities for volunteers in hospitals, schools, and
museums, and with religious and service organizations, as well as in
many other non-institutional settings. Key questions to be addressed
regarding Baby Boomers as they age are what will be their level of
participation in volunteerism, what types of activities will attract
them, and how to remove barriers that prevent older Americans from
volunteering in their communities.
A. Integration of the Elderly With the Non-Elderly Community
1. Strategies for changing attitudes toward aging/intergenerational
dynamics
2. Creation of Baby Boomer volunteer opportunities
3. Promoting expanded opportunities for companionship and leisure to
reduce isolation and loneliness
B. Effective Individual Adaptation to the Conditions of Aging
1. Increasing physical activity among the elderly
2. Continuing higher education for the older learner, including
computer literacy training
VI. Technology and Innovation in an Emerging Senior/Boomer Marketplace
There are an increasing number of new products and operational
practices that intend to help the elderly cope with challenges that
affect their mobility, independence, and quality of life. They include
personal mobility and communication devices, housing and vehicle
design, and pharmaceutical advances. Some of these are beginning to be
marketed and others are in development. But some with potentially
dramatic impacts on older persons, and the rest of the population, are
completely unknown. For example, at the 1981 White House Conference,
would it have been predicted that by 2005, cell phones, the Internet,
or CDs and DVDs would be in such common use? Over the next 20 years as
Baby Boomers comprise the large majority of the elderly population, the
marketplace affecting them will change in ways that will make their
lives easier but may in other ways, make their lives more complicated.
A. Promoting New Products, Technology and New Ways of Marketing That
Will Be Helpful/Useful to the Older Consumer
1. Developing creative products to support independence
2. Creating awareness of available technologies
3. Designing technology products that assist the broadest range of
consumers
4. Assure the innovative and competitive leadership of American
technology to meet rapidly-increasing global demand for aging-related
products and services
5. Establishing a public, private and intergovernmental partnership to
harmonize the patchwork of different Federal, State, and local
policies, rules, regulations, standards, and codes that complicate and
sometimes impede demand for and distribution of technology products and
services
6. Assuring rational technology policies that stimulate innovation and
investment
**Cross cutting issues: Issue development should include
consideration of differences among the following variables: socio-
economic, disability/non-disability, rural/urban, minority,
cultural, linguistic competencies/literacy, age cohort (e.g., 55-65,
65-75, 75-85, 85+), and global aging. It should also include
consideration of strategies for changing attitudes toward aging.
Research intending to increase the ability to cope with the
conditions of aging and best practices should be identified.
Appendix 2--White House Conference on Aging Program Agenda
Saturday, December 10, 2005
6 p.m.-9 p.m. Conference Registration
Location: Just off hotel lobby
Sunday, December 11, 2005
10 a.m.-10 p.m. Conference Registration
[[Page 71534]]
Location: Just off hotel lobby
Pre-Conference Events
10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Get Involved: A White House Conference on Aging Service Project
Organized by the Corporation for National and Community Service and
the Washington, DC Jewish Community Center.
A service project to help repair and weatherize a Washington, DC
building that serves Latino seniors.
All delegates are invited to participate, but space is limited. To
register as a volunteer for the event, call Lavinia Balaci at
202.777.3246 or e-mail lavinia@dcjj.org. 1:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Healthy Living Celebration!!
Coordinator: President's Council on Physical Fitness
Presenters:
[squf] Melissa Johnson, Executive Director, President's Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports
[squf] Mollie Katzen, renowned healthy cookbook author, ``Moosewood
Cookbook''
[squf] Mark Zeug, Chairman, National Senior Games Association
[squf] Dot Richardson, Olympian and Board Member, President's Council
on Physical Fitness and Sports
Simultaneous Fitness Sessions:
[squf] Ya-La Dancing
[squf] Theraband
[squf] Tai Chi
[squf] Line Dancing
Fitness Recognition Ceremony
3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. BY INVITATION ONLY
Roundtable on Global Aging
Moderator: Richard Jackson, Ph.D.
Director, Global Aging Initiative
Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC
The 21st Century burgeons in a new era of global aging in
industrialized and industrializing nations.
4 p.m.-6 p.m. Top 50 Resolution Voting
5:30 p.m.-6 p.m. Exhibition Hall Ribbon Cutting
Evening Welcoming Reception
Organized by the Corporation for National and Community Service
Monday, December 12, 2005
5:30 a.m.-7:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast Buffet
6 a.m.-Noon Conference Registration
Location: Just off Hotel Lobby
9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Opening Plenary
11 a.m.-1 p.m. Top 50 Resolution Voting
Noon-1 p.m. Box Lunch
1 p.m.-5 p.m.
Presentation & Discussion of Policy Tracks
[squf] Health and Long Term Living: The Honorable Mark McClellan, M.D.,
Ph.D., Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
[squf] Planning Along the Lifespan: The Honorable Hal Daub, J.D.
[squf] Workplace of the Future: Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., President, Age
Wave
[squf] Civic Engagement and Social Engagement, David Eisner, CEO,
Corporation for National and Community Service
[squf] Our Community (confirmation pending)
[squf] Technology and Innovation in an Emerging Senior/Boomer
Marketplace (confirmation pending)
5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Final Opportunity to Vote for Top 50 Resolutions
7 p.m.-9 p.m. Networking Receptions
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
6:30 a.m.-8 a.m. Continental Breakfast Buffet
8:30 a.m.-11 a.m.
Morning Resolution Implementation Strategy Sessions (Facilitated)
[squf] Planning Along the Lifespan
[squf] Workplace of the Future
[squf] Our Community
[squf] Health and Long Term Living
[squf] Civic Engagement and Social Engagement
[squf] Technology and Innovation in an Emerging Senior/Boomer
Marketplace
11 a.m.-Noon Box Lunch
Noon-2:30 p.m.
Afternoon Resolution Implementation Strategy Sessions (Facilitated)
[squf] Planning Along the Lifespan
[squf] Workplace of the Future
[squf] Our Community
[squf] Health and Long Term Living
[squf] Civic Engagement and Social Engagement
[squf] Technology and Innovation in an Emerging Senior/Boomer
Marketplace
3 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Afternoon Resolution Implementation Strategy Sessions (Facilitated)
[squf] Planning Along the Lifespan
[squf] Workplace of the Future
[squf] Our Community
[squf] Health and Long Term Living
[squf] Civic Engagement and Social Engagement
[squf] Technology and Innovation in an Emerging Senior/Boomer
Marketplace
Dinner Plans Being Finalized
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
6:30 a.m.-8 a.m. Continental Breakfast Buffet
8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Closing Plenary Session and Luncheon
[FR Doc. 05-23434 Filed 11-28-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P