By Dr. Marcy Adelman–
On Friday, September 20, San Francisco will present California’s largest public policy event on the new statewide Master Plan for Aging. This event is an opportunity for you to hear about and talk about aging issues and how we can shape a better future for all older Californians. Register for this event and bring your interests, concerns and questions: https://bit.ly/2kbMPjP.
Governor Newsom, in his first State of the State Address, called for the creation of a Master Plan for Aging. The Governor spoke to the needs of California’s changing population. For the first time in the history of the state, older Californians will outnumber young people. California’s senior population is projected to increase by four million over the next ten years. That number will double in 25 years.
The Governor noted that it is critical for the state to have a comprehensive, person-centered care plan to meet the needs of the state’s growing aging population (for a more in-depth report on the Governor’s Address go to https://bit.ly/2DVs7dy).
Members of the Master Plan for Aging Stakeholder Advisory Committee and the Cabinet Workgroup for Aging have been appointed. The Stakeholder Advisory Committee will advise the Cabinet Workgroup on Aging in the development of the Master Plan. They will work together to develop a Master Plan by October 1, 2020.
Members of the Advisory Committee are a group of 34 diverse experts that include Kevin Prendiville, Justice in Aging; Susan DeMarois, the Alzheimer’s Association; Bruce Chernof, MD, The SCAN Foundation; Cheryl Brown, the California Commission on Aging; Shelley Lyford, Gary and Mary West Foundation; and Derrick Lam, ACC Senior Services; to name a few.
Governor Newsom also has established an Alzheimer’s Prevention and Preparedness Task Force to prepare for the projected 25 percent + increase by 2025 in the number of Californians living with Alzheimer’s and other age-related brain diseases. The Task Force is charged with developing a plan that will work for all Californians living with Alzheimer’s and for the people who care for them.
Former First Lady Maria Shriver will Chair the 29-member Task Force. Task Force members include myself, California Commission on Aging; Dr. Keith Black, Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Dr. Susan Bokheimer, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Kathleen Brown, former California state treasurer; and former defense secretary Leon Panetta; to name a few.
The Alzheimer’s Task Force recommendations will be knitted into the Governor’s Master Plan for Aging. Together, these two statewide efforts will prepare California for an increasingly older and more diverse population.
Dr. Marcy Adelman, Co-Founder of the nonprofit Openhouse, oversees the Aging in Community column. She is a psychologist and LGBTQI longevity advocate and policy advisor. She serves on the Alzheimer’s Prevention and Preparedness Task Force, California Commission on Aging, the Board of the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California and Northern Nevada and the San Francisco Dignity Fund Oversight and Advisory Committee.
Recent Comments