Seniors For Living

Last week, over 3,000 elder care professionals and advocates gathered in our nation’s capitol for the 2012 Annual Conference of the American Society on Aging (ASA). For five days, attendees representing a host of disciplines within the fields of aging, healthcare, business, leadership and education discussed the latest research findings, policy updates, program evaluations, advocacy advances and more.

Panelists and guest speakers — among them, Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post Media Group — presented their perspectives about the age wave, focusing specifically on how the 77 million baby boomers will turn the tides of senior living in the coming decades (see yesterday’s post “Baby Boomers Redesigning Assisted Living of the Future” for more on that topic).

According to this post on the ASA blog, the final session of the conference covered such issues as the present changes in demographics and their future impact, the power of the collective female boomer voice, the “role of family caregivers as agents of change,” the need for private sector innovation as a catalyst for public services expansion, and a closing call to action: “reimagine aging in light of the age wave.”

If we are prepared, the speakers agreed, boomers can have a tremendously positive impact on aging, despite the challenges that are also sure to come.