NAIPC® News

May 21, 2014

• Registration for the Annual Meeting is Closing Soon...Don't Miss Out!
• NAIPC's Newest Chapter--Welcome, Tri County of Greater Los Angeles!
• Member Spotlight: Meet Beth Commers
• Boston Chapter Appears in the Boston Globe
• Upcoming Events

Don't miss this opportunity to network with fellow senior service providers from around the country and learn how to make a difference in your communities.

At NAIPC's 2014 Annual Meeting, DC Mayor Vincent Gray will present DC’s Age Friendly City initiative, a program created by the World Health Organization that is being implemented in cities internationally. Learn about how this program has improved conditions for DC's seniors and how it can be implemented in your community.

Additionally, NAIPC will officially introduce "Your Plan for Aging in Place," a guide that, for the first time, clearly explains what aging in place can be and provides the means to plan your life going forward.

NAIPC will also host a series of sessions to provide members with methods of engaging local seniors.

The NAIPC 2014 Annual Meeting is scheduled for June 9-10 in Washington, DC.

Registration will be capped at 100 attendees. Don't miss out on this opportunity!

To view the full agenda, click here.

To register for the Annual Meeting, follow these instructions:

1. Click here to register.

2. Click "Register Now," and enter your email address in the required field.

3. Select "Member" or "Non-Member."

4. Follow the instructions on your screen to complete registration.

For any questions about the annual meeting, please reply to this email, or contact Ashley Krapacs at akrapacs@ageinplace.org.

Beth Commers’s ninety-five year old grandma is a sharp, independent, and healthy woman. Beth knew her grandmother’s secret to a long and healthy life was her activity level—and she knew that others could live like her grandma if they had more activity in their everyday lives.
 
This was further confirmed when Beth and her business partner and friend of 20+ years, Mike, began discussing Mike’s growing concerns for his mother. At age 68, her health was terrible. They spoke about his mom’s decline since retirement and compared her to Beth’s grandmother, who at age 95, still lives on her own and has minimal health challenges. The single largest difference they saw was movement.
 
Being an educator, Beth’s first instinct was to research. Abundant research documents the preventative and quality of life benefits of fitness. Major news sources regularly report individual gains that can come from fitness: longer life, better quality of life, lower chance of heart attack and stroke, reduction in several types of cancer, greater control over Type-2 diabetes, less depression, lower hospital re-admittance rates, fewer falls, and delayed entry to nursing homes.
 
The benefits of exercise and regular activity are well documented. So why don’t people exercise? How much do those who do not exercise cost the system? What tools are available for those who do not already exercise, and what can be done to help them be successful with exercise?
 
These were questions Beth probed. She consulted with a team of medical doctors and a veteran fitness instructor and determined that the key to being able to stay in your home as you age was strength, balance, and flexibility. With that information, she began to explore what was available. She found bits and pieces, but didn’t find anything comprehensive. There were plenty of options for those who already exercise—but it seemed so intimidating for those who do not.
 
Beth ultimately decided that she and her team could provide a fitness curriculum better and more comprehensive than any available. Working with seventy year-old Connie Balcom, ACE certified fitness instructor who has been teaching senior fitness classes for more than a dozen years, and a lead doctor, they created their own program: the Independence Home Fitness Curriculum, a comprehensive, turn-key, common sense tool for the 75% of seniors who do not currently exercise. It was founded on the belief that although most seniors do not exercise on their own, with the right tools and support of family, professionals, and care providers along the continuum of care, more seniors can be nudged to movement. The goal is to give families, providers, physical therapists, home health aides, etc., a practical tool that they can use to support their seniors as they age in place.
 
Beth is a member of the NAIPC Minneapolis/St. Paul Chapter and finds a lot of value in her interactions with other chapter members. “I appreciate the relationships I am building and the knowledge I am gaining. I have been so impressed by the other members. Not only are they experts in their field, but they are all motivated by the same thing:  improving the lives of seniors and doing their part to help them age in place. I feel privileged to be able to meet with people who share the same values,” Beth said of her chapter activities.
 
To learn more about Independence Home Fitness Curriculum, click here.

• 5/28/2014 Minneapolis/St. Paul Chapter Monthly Meeting
• 5/29/2014 Orange County Chapter Monthly Member Meeting
• 6/9 to 6/10 NAIPC Annual Meeting
• 6/9/2014 Greater Columbus Chapter Monthly Member Meeting
• 6/11/2014 Long Island Chapter Monthly Meeting
• 6/18/2014 Greater Charleston Chapter Member Meeting
• 6/25/2014 Minneapolis/St. Paul Chapter Monthly Meeting