Hearing of the HELP Subcommittee on Naturally Occuring Retirement Communities

OPENING STATEMENT [AS PREPARED]: HELP SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING - NATURALLY OCCURING RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES

Good morning and welcome to the Subcommittee on Retirement Security and Aging's first hearing on the topic of Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities, or NORCs. I want to thank Senator Mikulski for being here today. I know that NORCs are of great interest to her.

NORCs are a growing phenomenon in the always evolving aging network. Older Americans are an important and rapidly-growing segment of our population and so the issue of aging in place -- in the home -- becomes even more important. We know that over 36 million people living in the United States are over the age of 65, accounting for about 12 percent of the population. The Census Bureau projects that 45 years from now, people 65 and older will number nearly 90 million in the United States and comprise about 21 percent of the population.

As Senator Mikulski and I work on the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, we are continually reminded of the needs of the aging baby boomer population. We know that our current infrastructure will not be able to handle the magnitude of this growing segment. That is why we need to look to new models which will allow older persons to thrive while remaining in their own homes. There are real and important issues that come with the aging of a population.

We are all aware of the needs of older Americans, which include adequate nutrition and medications, accessibility of doctors and transportation to those appointments, opportunities to take part in social activities, the ability to care for themselves, and - if they cannot - the ability to have someone take care of them.

Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities occur across the nation and can be excellent models for aging in place. As people age together, it makes sense to provide services to help them remain in their homes for many reasons - the most important being that they usually want to remain in their homes. Also, this arrangement is better because it is cost-effective and minimizes the disruption in their lives. We can all understand how an older person would want to remain in his or her home, for as long as possible. Family members cannot always be there to make sure you are taking your medication or had a nutritious meal - but the supportive services offered in many NORCs can do just that.

I look forward to the testimony today. I want to thank those who arrived today from out-of-town, including two witnesses from Ohio who will be on our second panel.

First I would like to introduce our first panel:

Elinor Ginzler is our first witness. She is the Director for Livable Communities in the office of Social Impact at AARP. She is responsible for the development of strategic plans to achieve social impact goals for AARP in the areas of mobility and housing. Since joining AARP in 1998, Ms. Ginzler has been instrumental in overseeing programmatic work in these areas. She has over 20 years experience in service delivery systems to the elderly and worked collaboratively with public, private non-profit and community-based organizations. She is also an expert in long-term care issues and served on several boards and task forces. She has also co-authored the book, "Caring for Your Parents - The Complete AARP Guide."

We will then hear from Mrs. Fredda Vladeck. Mrs. Vladeck is the Director of the United Hospital Funds' Aging in Place Initiative. This initiative works to further the development of new service delivery models that address the critical issues presented by the growing number of people who are aging in place. She has been a certified social worker for almost 30 years and an advocate for the needs of older people and other vulnerable populations. Mrs. Vladeck was the founding director of the fist comprehensive NORC Supportive Service Program at Penn South and has worked with others to replicate the program. There are now 33 such programs in New York City.

For our second panel - we have two witnesses from Ohio and two from Maryland. I will introduce the first two witnesses - who are from Ohio - and then allow Senator Mikulski to introduce the two who join us from Maryland.

Joyce Garver Keller joins us today from Columbus, Ohio where she has served for 16 years as Executive Director of Ohio Jewish Communities. As head of the Ohio Jewish Communities, she has been at the center of efforts across the state to implement supportive services within NORCs. She has won numerous community service and civil rights awards. She has also been named by The Ohioan magazine among the top five "Nice-but-Effective Lobbyists in Ohio." She has served on the Governor's Advisory Committee on Faith-based and Community Initiatives, the Ohio FEMA Advisory Board, and chair of the Ohio Refugee and Immigrant Advisory Committee of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Next, we have Ann Sutton Burke from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is currently the program director of Options Cincinnati - the supportive service program at Jewish Family Service. Mrs. Sutton Burke also serves on the Best Practices Committee of the Ohio Valley Appalachia Regional Geriatric Education Center for the Office of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Cincinnati. She is Chairwoman of the Advisory Committee for Home Health Services for the City of Cincinnati's Health Department. She has over 25 year experience working in the field of aging. Her background includes program planning and organization in senior centers, case management, home health, adult day services and corporate elder care.

I look forward to your testimony today, and thank you all for being here.

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