Over 120 people, representing different organizations that serve seniors in Westchester County, met at The Osborn today to share ideas about policies and services relating to area seniors. The event was called, “The Age-Friendly Experience Reimagined: Reaching the Hard to Reach.”
This was the fourth annual networking breakfast and conference organized by the Age-Friendly Collaborative, a group of 25 organizations in the region.
Among the opening headliners were Rob Astorino, County Executive; Mae Carpenter, Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services; Colette Phipps, Executive Director of Livable Communities; Matt Anderson, President and CEO of The Osborn; and Michele Thomas, Executive Vice President of Osborn Home Care.
Age Friendly Collaborative Co-chairs, Deb Casill from Family Services of Westchester and Louise Challop from Westchester Jewish Community Services were the event organizers.
The program followed the “Ted Talk” format, under the name, “TINY Talks.” TINY is an acronym for Teachable Information Navigated for You. Lynda O’Hanlon, a consultant for aging in place programs, moderated the program, which featured three speakers:
John Migliaccio, Ph.D., from the faculty of Northwestern University, spoke about “Finding Hidden Gems in Your Community;” Tom Weber, Director of Care Management Services at SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Elders), talked about some of the unique challenges faced by GLBT seniors, and Ron Gold, Founder of LeanOnWe, discussed opportunities to improve home care delivery for seniors and those with disabilities.
The Westchester Public/Private Partnership for Aging Services develops resources to provide services that help seniors age with independence and dignity in their home community. According to the organization’s website, some 193,000 people age 60 and over live in Westchester County, or about one in five residents. This number will rise dramatically as the baby boomers age. People age 85 and older are the county’s fastest growing sector of the senior population. Study after study shows that more than 90 percent of older adults want to continue to live in their own homes.
Osborn Home Care is a subsidiary of The Osborn Network. The Osborn, a non-profit organization, is a continuum of care retirement community based in Rye, New York. Osborn Home Care has been providing home care services in Westchester since 1996; in 2016 it opened offices in Greenwich, Connecticut to offer homemaker companion services in lower Fairfield County.