I attended the BlogIndiana 2009 Conference in Indianapolis last Saturday. It was a wonderful gathering of technologists, consultants and business people. Its goal was to “promote education, innovation and collaboration among Indiana’s fast-growing blogging community.” I met great people, learned a lot, and confirmed that using social media (blogging, Twitter, Facebook, etc) is a real differentiator.
One of the highlights of my time at the conference was connecting with Amy Magan, Communications Manager for University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community. We had a great lunch conversation in which I learned what the Center does and how it is working to improve quality of life for the elderly in our state.
I had heard about the Center but didn’t realize its scope and reach. I learned that it’s mission is to:
- collaborate, ” developing partnerships between higher education, business organizations and the community”
- educate, offering “outstanding education in Aging Studies”
- research, “providing research and consultation services to civic, philanthropic, business and community organizations who are working to serve older adults”
Two projects currently underway have the potential to positively impact many elderly around our state:
- “Community for Life” - developing five “neighborhood naturally occurring retirement communities” (NNORCs) across the state. Program planning (led by those in the community) is reaching completion. Pending funding, implementation will start. I’ve read quite a bit about the wonderful Beacon Hill Village in Boston so I was quite excited to hear about this effort right here in our own state.
- “Pressure Ulcer Quality Improvement Initiative” – “a coalition of advocacy groups and health care organizations” working together to develop education, training and assistance to reduce incidence pressure ulcers.
Also, thanks to Amy, the Center has a great Blog site. Staff members write posts on a variety of aging and eldercare topics, usually based on some personal experience. It’s nice to be able to find helpful information with a blend of personal insight. I’m excited to connect with Amy again and meet the whole staff when I return to Indy for the Indiana Collaborative Conference on Aging this November.
Links:
http://cac.uindy.edu/ (The Center for Aging & Community)
http://www.inagingconference.com/ (Indiana Collaborative Conference on Aging)
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Thanks for helping to spread the word about CAC and our efforts to improve the lives of the aging (that’s all of us!) in Indiana and beyond. I recommended to the Blog Indiana folks that next year they include a panel session on social media and seniors — not only for great sites like yours and ours, but also to include some of the many older adults and adult child caregivers who are out there blogging about their personal experiences with aging.
Wonderful idea!