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PAUL SMITHS — Aging in place plays a critical role in building sustainable community.

"Successful aging has much to do with how communities treat elders," said Dr. Susan Hunter, a medical anthropologist at SUNY Buffalo. "We can make this a good place to grow old."

Hunter, a research anthropologist, was hired to conduct a yearlong assessment project put in motion by Mercy Care for the Adirondacks this month to evaluate how to build a "naturally retiring" community.

"What does an elder-friendly community model look like?" Hunter asked.

Focused first on the Tri-Lakes region, the question gathered a standing-room-only crowd at an educational forum put together by Mercy Care and Paul Smith's College.

The premise "Aging in Place" drew 104 service and elder-care professionals representing senior centers, transportation agencies, medical professions, churches and offices on aging; they all expressed a singular focus — how to make community more friendly for growing old.

AGING FRIENDLY
Hunter gave examples of places around the country that have implemented "elder-friendly" community models.

The idea has grown more widespread as America has aged.

And studies show sustainable "elder-friendly" communities put less strain on health-care and emergency services.

"They are naturally retiring communities," she explained, where elders continue to live in their homes with support from the surrounding social matrix.

In Rothsay, Minn., for example, a community of 900 started a rural Aging in Place network to include friendly home visits, skilled nursing care, assistance to elders for personal care and household chores, and intragenerational social events.

The elders gave back during school and library "gramma and grampa" days, Hunter said.

In Waynesboro, Va., the town established an Elder Alliance, a network of service providers that combined with business and community development to make their town a more "aging-friendly" place to live, attracting retirees with time and wisdom to share.

Little things such as sidewalk ramps, grocery pickup and delivery, and postal carrier alert programs went a long way toward allowing elders to live in their homes, Hunter said.

The benefits of an aging-friendly community reach deep into social strata, beyond economics.

"A community friend for aging in place is friendly for everybody," Hunter said. "It is the stuff that makes it safer to cross the street."

CORE IDEAS

To begin the Tri-Lakes assessment, the forum broke into four smaller groups: Transportation and Mobility; Housing and Zoning; Civic Engagement, Culture and Lifelong Learning; and Good Places to Grow Up and Grow Old.

Questions challenged everyone to come up with three actions local leaders could take toward sustainable elder-friendly community.

"How can Adirondack towns, villages and governments harness the talents of older adults?" one group asked.

"What improvements are needed in community planning to accommodate aging residents?" another group asked.

"If you could make one change to improve transportation in the Adirondacks, what would it be?" a third group asked.

"How can Adirondack communities encourage residents of all ages to actively participate?" the fourth group queried.

Brainstorming sessions didn't net instant answers but knitted tighter the loose fabric of people who work throughout the Tri-Lakes every day on the same sets of challenges.

Emerging from the groups, already, was a sense of need for a central communication source, a "one-stop" core to better direct people to existing resources.

"We need a central point of advocacy at least in these small towns," said Patty Bashaw, who heads the Office for the Aging in Essex County. "It might prove useful for our senior centers to become more of a community center, where all can go for questions and answers."

Another core idea was to offer meaningful incentives to volunteers; incentives could be tangible things such as gas cards, college course credits or tax breaks.

"Connecting all volunteers together is also a huge issue," Bashaw said.

PROJECT GOAL
A model Aging in Place program would centralize services and build programs based on a community's greatest need, which varies from one town to the next.

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) already reimburses drivers willing to take people wherever they want to go, said Elizabeth Kochar, director of the Senior Center in Saranac Lake.

For the past year, a special senior transportation service has provided elder trips to doctor's appointments or the grocery store "as needed," she said.

But getting the word out is a challenge, since people often don't hear it until they need it.

Affordable housing and finding ways to convert existing homes to elder-friendly homes was also a shared concern.

Public policy and zoning often discourages age-appropriate housing, Hunter said.

But the new Adirondack Park Agency reform measure increasing density allowance for affordable and senior housing is an "excellent step in the right direction."

Emerging, too, from each group was a sense that building "naturally retiring" communities would be possible here.

As its project goal, Mercy Care looks to establish multi-faceted Aging in Place resources for the Tri-Lakes starting next year.

Mercy Care, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, has already created a Friendship Volunteer Program, a Parish Nurse program and an Education and Advocacy Program; it has 50 volunteers serving Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake.

E-mail Kim Smith Dedam at: kdedam@pressrepublican.com