Aging Issued Monthly by the U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Arthur S. Flemming, Secretary No. 48-October 1958 and AGING is a medium for sharing information about programs and activities among agencies and organizations in the field, their staffs and board members and other interested individuals. Communications items suitable for publication should be sent to The Editors of Aging, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington 25, D. C. Subscription $1.00 a year, 25 cents additional for foreign mailing; 10 cents for single copy. Send to Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. The printing of this bulletin has been approved by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, August 22, 1957. Florida's Governor Collins has called a Governor's Conference on Aging for Oct. 16-17 in Tallahassee. The Conference, sponsored by the Florida Council on Aging (Gerontological Association) with the cooperation of the State Interdepartmental Committee on Aging, will stress "grass roots" participation by limiting attendance to invited representatives from each county. The program calls for presentations and discussions on a variety of subjects in 5 categories: Economic problems, health, housing and living arrangements, social services, and adult education and leisure time activities. For further information: Florida Council on Aging, P.O. Box 989, Jacksonville, Fla. Minnesota's Governor Freeman has called the second Governor's Conference on Aging for Nov. 20-21 at the Lowry Hotel in St. Paul. Centered on the practical theme, "The HOW of Community Organization for Services to the Aged", the conference will feature the presentations of national personalities in the field of gerontology and series of workshops in each of 4 Sections: Community Organization, Health, Employment, and Housing. For further information: Bernard E. Nash, Special Consultant on Aging, State Department of Public Welfare, St. Paul 1, Minn. Purdue University's 4th Annual Institute or Preparation for Retirement, Oct. 6-10, will enable a small group of management executives to secure training and information and to share experi ences on current practices in pre- and post-retirement services. For further information: Herbert C. Hunsaker, Division of Adult Education, Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind. "Unity in Diversity" is the theme of the 11th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society, Inc., to be held Nov. 6-8 at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia, Pa. In addition to a number of new features, including an essay contest and awards program, the meeting will include a Symposium in Social and Psychological Sciences and Social Welfare. The Society's offices are at 660 South Kingshighway Blvd., St. Louis 10, Mo. The Way the Wind Blows The Social Security Amendments of 1958, which became law with the President's signature on Aug. 28, include a number of changes affecting older people. Under Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, some of the major changes are: Benefit amounts, beginning for the month of January 1959, are increased by about 7% and the family maximum to $254 per month; dependents benefits are added for disability insurance beneficiaries; part of the retirement test is changed so that persons who earn more than $1,200 a year will not lose a benefit in any month in which they earn wages less than $100 or do not perform substantial services in self employment; beginning with 1959, maximum annual earnings that will be taxable and credited for benefits will be $4,800; and the tax rate is increased by 14 of 1% each for employers and employees (by 3% of 1% for self-employed). Under Old-Age Assistance, major changes are in the formula for Federal matching of State payments: The maximum eligible for matching is $65 including medical care payments; the matching is on an average rather than an individual payment basis; and part of the matching formula varies with the State's per capita income, thus providing more Federal funds to the poorer States. The Social Security Administration has published several types of analyses of these amendments. If you are interested in Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, ask for a copy of The Social Security Amendments of 1958: What They Mean to You from the nearest District Office of the Social Security Administration (see your telephone book or postmaster). If you are interested in Old-Age Assistance, write to Publications Distribution, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington 25, D. C., and The Junior League of Richmond, Virginia, Inc., 1 W. Main St., Richmond 20, Va., has completed a year of study of 6 possible major projects and has decided to take on the creation of a senior center as a project filling the greatest need in the city and offering the widest scope for volunteer activities. The project, suggested by the Gerontology Committee of the Richmond Area Community Council, involves the establishment of a center in the downtown area, where there is a concentration of older persons, with stress on counseling and referral services in addition to the provision of social and recreational facilities and services. The Junior League will also finance the salaries of a full-time director and part-time secretary. It is currently developing plans and seeking a qualified person for the director position. For further information, write to Mrs. Charles B. Miller at the League. Under the chairmanship of Dr. Thomas Frist, Chairman of the Tennessee State Medical Association's Committee on Aging, a group of representatives of labor, management, State health and welfare agencies, hospitals, the State Dental Association, the nursing profession, and others, met recently to plan a Tennessee Council on Aging. The group discussed the problems of providing hospital care for the aging, especially the need for an institutional facility designed to provide a type of care somewhere between that provided by a general hospital and a nursing home-in the nature of a chronic disease or convalescent hospital. In a mid-August syndicated "advice" column appearing in newspapers in scattered cities throughout the country, the author, after advising an elderly widow on her complaint concerning her new status, mentioned D/HEW's Special Staff on Aging and stated that we had special materials useful to older people with small resources. As of mid-September, we are beginning to get caught up with the avalanche of some 900 letters and postal cards. A majority have already been answered by sending a standardized reply-a long (duplicated) letter discussing some of the problems and suggesting private and public local and The Cleveland Press, which runs a weekly column on aging by Marie Daerr, presented a Golden Age Pop Concert by the Cleveland Summer Orchestra to 6000 senior citizens at Public Hall on Aug. 25. Cosponsored by the Press and the local musicians union, the concert was made possible by the cooperation of numerous groups which helped with the multitude of arrangements, such as special transportation. Local boy scouts took on the job of pushing wheel chairs up the ramps to reserved spots in the auditorium. Mayor Celebrezze and Editor Seltzer made the welcoming speeches. The Press carried an illustrated story on Aug. 26. For further information, write Miss Daerr at the Press, E. 9th & Rockwell, Cleveland 14, Ohio. The 1958 annual meeting of the Maryland State Conference of Social Welfare featured a panel discussion on The Middle Years-A Threat or a Challenge?. As a direct result, the Conference resolved to take action "to promote development of a Senior Center in Baltimore which would coordinate all efforts and services involved in planning and making retirement a period of opportunity". The Conference also requested the Committee on Economic and Employment Problems of the Aging to study the possibility of initiation of "action to stimulate the interest of Baltimore industry in further consideration of the feasibility of flexible retirement policies". For further information, write to David Fringer, Director, Employment Service Division, Maryland Department of Employment Security, 6 N. Liberty St., Baltimore 1, Md. The Board of Directors of the Adult Services Division of the American Library Association has established a Standing Committee on Library Services to an Aging Population to assure continuity of activities. The Division is also planning The Spokane Daily Chronicle of Aug. 2 reports on the extensive construction activity during the past summer on church sponsored retirement homes and homes for the aged in that city. The Methodists are building a $3 million home, Rockwood Manor, with 240 apartments. The Lutherans are building a $2 million home, Riverview, near Granite, with 252 units. The Presbyterians are building a $750,000 home, Hawthorne Manor, with 100 units. O. S. Burkholder, Executive Director of Hawthorne Manor, P.O. Box 1775, Spokane 10, Wash., writes that 50 of the 100 units will be ready and occupied in October, and that he will be happy to send brochures and specifications on Hawthorne Manor on request. The Center for Aging Research, formerly attached to the National Heart Institute of the Public Health Service's National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., has been made an integral part of the newly organized Division of General Medical Sciences of NIH. Dr. G. Halsey Hunt, formerly Director of the Center for Aging Research, has been named Chief of the new Division, which will also administer research project grants in the basic sciences and other fields and support training in the medical sciences through fellowships to individuals (see Committee on Human Development item, page 5) and research training grants to universities and medical colleges. - Through the cooperation of the Philadelphia Transportation Co., riders of the buses, trolleys, and subways in Philadelphia are being told the story of the services and facilities of the Philadelphia Center for Older People, 921 N. 6th St., through a car-card entitled, "Good Times for Old Timers". The company has provided the space Books, Pamphlets, and Reports See also items on Louisiana, Massachusetts, an Michigan in "News of State Commissions" page 3. The book note at the bottom of page 8 in th last issue of Aging on Institutional Services fo the Jewish Aged, published by the Council Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, 729 Sev enth Ave., New York 19, N.Y., failed to includ the price, 20¢. D/HEW's Office of Education has published new and extensive annotated bibliography, Edu cation On The Aging (Bulletin 1958, No. 11). Th 145-page bibliography, prepared by Research As sistant Betty A. Ward, presents a wide scope o materials in 6 Sections: Understanding the Aging Process; The Impact of Aging Upon the Individ ual and Society; Educational Programs, Services and Research Activities for the Aging; Profes sional Leadership Development; References for Lay Leaders and Volunteers Serving Older Adults; Bibliographies; and Educational Infor mation Sources. For sale by the Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C. at 60¢ (Catalog No. FS5.3:958/11). Bureaus of the Department of Labor have produced a number of pertinent and very useful booklets concerning the employment of older workers. The Women's Bureau has a new edition of Suggestions to Employers in Regard to Hiring Older Women. The Bureau of Employment Se curity has four booklets: What Your Employment Service is Doing About Older Workers; Mr. Busi nessman! Are You Cutting Yourself Off from One-Third of Your Labor Supply; Mr. Employer Here's How You Can Get Better Results with Older Workers; and You Can Get That Job! Ma turity is an Asset. Single sample copies are free on request to the appropriate Bureau, Department of Labor, Washington 25, D. C. To encourage adequate emphasis on adult education in the observance of the 1958 American Education Week, the Adult Education Section of D/HEW's Office of Education has prepared three publications. Adult Education in American Education Week, November 9-15, 1958 (Facts, Resources, and Program Ideas for Local Planners who wish to Emphasize "Lifelong Learning") is for sale at 10¢ ($6.50 per 100) by the Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C. Single copies of Fact Book on Adult Education and The National Concern for Adult Education are available free from the Adult Education Section, Office The Middle Years: A Time of Change and Preparation. Proceedings of the State University of Iowa's Sixth Annual (1957) Conference on Gerontology.. 52 pp. Topics include: Biological, osychological, and marriage relationship changes; preparation for retirement and participation in community life; and research. Copies free from Dr. W. W. Morris, Director, Institute of Gerontology, State University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Social and Economic Characteristics of Households and Families, March 1957. Series P-20, No. 83. Contains a wealth of information, including tabulations by age of head of family. Bureau of the Census, Washington 25, D. C. 25¢. The Retirement Department of the Florida Development Commission, in Tallahassee, has published a fine booklet, Facts About Florida Retirement, which features a very practical questionand-answer section. Write to the Commission for a free copy. Directory of State Agency and Program Directors Responsible for the Licensure of Hospitals, Nursing Homes, and Homes for the Aged, as of July 1, 1958. Chronic Disease Program, Public Health Service, Washington 25, D.C. 13 pp. Free. "Compulsory Retirements Under Union Agreements-Voluntary Quits?" in The Labor Market and Employment Security, June 1958. An analysis of the older worker's eligibility for unemployment compensation payments after mandatory retirement under a collectively bargained agreement, based on appeals decisions in several States, including decisions appealed to State courts. For sale by the Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C. at 30¢ a copy, $3 a year. Retirement Planning Guidebook. The Retirement Council, Inc., 1 Atlantic St., Stamford, Conn. 96 pp. $2.50. Large sized paperback, crammed with information collected over many years, discussing such subjects as where and in what kind of house to live, health and financial planning, use of leisure, etc., for middle-aged and retired people. New York Age Discrimination Law. Staff Report of the Employment and Retirement Section, National Committee on the Aging, 345 E. 46th St., New York 17, N.Y. 4 pp. Free. "When Are You Too Old to Drive", "What Should Oldsters Eat?", and "How Healthy Is Air Conditioning?", in Today's Health, July 1958. American Medical Association, 535 N. Dearborn St., Chicago 10, Ill. 354. Subscription: $3 a year. Homemaker Service in Public Assistance by Elizabeth Long. Published by Bureau of Public Assistance, Social Security Administration, Washington 25, D. C. Single copies free; ask for Public Assistance Report No. 31. "Health Insurance for Older People" in September issue of Changing Times-The Kiplinger Magazine, 1729 H St., N. W., Washington 6, D.C. 50¢ a copy; $6 a year. Summarizes current situation and developments that indicate "better and broader coverage is on the way". Articles of general interest in recent issues of Geriatrics include: For July, "Somatopsychologic Effects of Illness in the Aged Person", "Insomnia in the Aged", "Helpful Material for Elderly Patients", "Edward J. Stieglitz, 18991958", and "Failure of Acuteness of Sensation in the Aged"; for August, "Psychologic Stresses of Old Age", "An Orientation Study of the Memory of Old People", "Planning for Older Persons in an Urban Community", and "Space and Sunshine Speed Rehabilitation of Aged"; for September, "The Rhode Island Program: One State's Activities in the Field of Aging", "Accidents to the Aged", and "Is Life More Strenuous Today?". Geriatrics is published monthly at 84 S. 10th St., Minneapolis 3, Minn., 75¢ a copy, $8 a year. Day After Tomorrow. "A pre-retirement health counselling booklet." New York State Department of Health, 84 Holland Ave., Albany 8, N.Y. 28 pp. Free. Milk Consumption by Older Persons. Bulletin 339. Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Agriculture, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn. First of a series of surveys and analyses of diets of people 65 and over. 30 pp. Single copies free; limited supply. The Older Population of the United States by Henry D. Sheldon. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 223 pp. $6. Presents a thoughtful analysis and clarification of data from the 1950 and earlier censuses on trends in age composition of the population and geographic distribution, employment, occupation, income, marital status, and housing of older people. Extensive text and appendix tables make the volume a compact reference source. The introductory and summary chapters were written by the D/HEW Special Staff on Aging's Assistant Director, Clark Tibbitts. Guide For Volunteers Serving Older Adults. Golden Age Services Division, Jewish Community Centers of Cleveland, 2049 E. 105th St., Cleveland 6, Ohio. 20 pp. 25¢. Ahead-A Salute to Our Senior Citizens". Also of significant help in the creation of Senior City was the fact that the Governor's Special Assistant on Problems of The Aging received the strong support of the Interdepartmental Committee on Problems of the Aging, of which he is Chairman, in planning and presenting a unified exhibit for the Fair. With this interdepartmental team pooling its resources and talents, Senior City emerged from the drawing boards to become an imaginative reality. To further endow Senior City with all the aspects of an actual community, the Governor proclaimed it an actual city for the duration of the Fair. The mayors of New York State's nine largest cities designated distinguished elder citizens, each of whom served for a day as mayor of Senior City. A number of folders and pamphlets were also employed to tell the story of the State's program for the aging, and here again interdepartmental teamwork .paid off. For example, the attractive folder, Senior Citizens and Their Charter, was widely distributed. The 75-page guide, Salute to the Aging, produced in the office of the Special Assistant, was displayed at the Fair. However, since cost considerations made a similarly wide distribution prohibitive, several State agencies reproduced and distributed those sections of the booklet which described their own particular programs. It should be noted that despite the excellence of the work of the professionals, the great drawing power of Senior City was due in large part to the senior citizens themselves. They came from communities throughout the State, giving demonstrations, putting on musical shows and dances, and taking part in "Grandmother" contests and art competitions. Senior City proved itself a most effective showcase for New York State's program for the aging. It drew record crowds and extensive press, radio, and television coverage. Today, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have a better knowledge and understanding of what their State is doing to help its older people. GPO 943287 |