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HUGH DOWNS TOPS LIST OF ASA WINNERSMay 4, 2004 HUGH DOWNS TOPS LIST OF ASA AWARD WINNERS AT 2004 CONFERENCE Among others: Producers of PBS Caregiving Special, Sacramento Bee Reporter, Philosopher Harry “Rick” Moody, Gerontology Pioneer James Birren and Educator Barbara Ginsberg San Francisco, Calif. -- Hugh Downs, author and longtime anchor of ABC Television’s 20/20 leads a list of 14 individuals who received awards from the American Society on Aging (ASA) during the association’s recent conference in San Francisco, April 14-17. The 2004 Joint Conference of ASA and the National Council on the Aging, also brought honors to philosopher and ethicist Harry “Rick” Moody; researcher and mature-market business consultant Margaret Wylde; gerontology pioneer James E. Birren; the producers of And Thou Shalt Honor, the PBS special on caregiving in America; age-beat reporter Nancy Weaver Teichert of The Sacramento Bee, and others. ASA CHAIR’S AWARD: HUGH DOWNS Hugh Downs, who turned 83 this spring, received the ASA Chair’s Award from Donna L. Yee, who chairs the organization’s board of directors. “Although he is one of the most familiar figures in television history, few people know of his contributions in aging,” she said. Downs earned the Certificate in Geriatric Medicine for Continuing Medical Education from Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, and since 1982 he has served as a member of the Board of Overseers of the Brookdale Center on Aging of Hunter College, located in Manhattan. In May, Downs will publish his 11th book, Letters to a Great-Grandson (New York: Schriber’s/Simon & Schuster). The book is addressed to his great-grandson, Alexander William Black, who was born in November 2002. His four other volumes about longevity and aging are Thirty Dirty Lies About Old, which debunks the myths of aging; The Best Years Book, a manual on planning for retirement; Fifty to Forever, a manual on planning for the later years; and, written with his wife, Ruth, Pure Gold, about marital longevity. The latter book resulted from a lecture the couple gave together at Arizona State University. The winner of six Emmy awards, among his many laurels as a broadcaster, Downs has been interested in aging since he produced his first television news story on the subject in 1951. In the 1970s he cohosted Over Easy, a PBS program on aging. An avid sportsman, Downs is a pilot who holds a current medical rating, as well as several ratings from multi-engine to hot air balloon. He has been an adviser to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and is currently the board chair of the National Space Society’s Board of Governors. Downs was the keynote speaker at ASA’s 50th Anniversary Gala Event on Wednesday evening, April 14. ASA MEDIA AWARDS Top honors for the 2004 ASA Media Award in the national category went to television producers Harry Wiland and Dale Bell for their two-hour PBS special on caregiving in America, And Thou Shalt Honor: Caring for Our Parents, Spouses, and Friends, and their continuing educational projects, especially their series of Caregiving Town Hall Meetings, being held in conjunction with local public- television stations through 2004. First aired in October 2002, And Thou Shalt Honor received an exceptional 98% carriage among PBS stations nationwide, and organized 59 national outreach partners who help develop affiliated service programming on many local stations. The project also generated a companion book published by Rodale. Edited by Pulitzer-nominated author Beth Witrogen McLeod, with a foreword by Rosalynn Carter, the And Thou Shalt Honor Book was recently released in a paperback edition. Furthermore, Wiland and Bell -- whose family caregiving experience inspired the project -- employed an interactive website (www.atsh.org) as part of the And Thou Shalt Honor multimedia package, which featured a database of 40,000 names of service providers (accessible by their zip codes). The project also fostered 12 other caregiving films being offered to more than 100,000 professional organizations with educational support. Wiland and Bell also created the CareGiver Resource Center Video Library. Wiland is a versatile producer with an Emmy Award-winning career as a television producer and director, as well as a new media innovator in the field of educational multimedia courseware. His projects have ranged from the acclaimed television special Bridge Over Troubled Waters, to his documentaries White Gospel and Earl Scruggs: His Family and Friends. Bell's wide-ranging career started in the 1960s, when he was Martin Scorsese's assistant director on Mean Streets. He later produced Woodstock the Movie, then moved on to producing or directing documentary productions that have earned an Academy Award, an Emmy and a Peabody Award, among others. Some of his recent works have been California and the Dream Seekers for A&E, A Driving Need for PBS, and Chariots of the Gods?: The Mystery Continues for ABC. The Media Award winner for local or regional coverage is Nancy Weaver Teichert, a senior writer at The Sacramento Bee. She won laurels for her articles on such issues as dementia, elder abuse, hearing loss and older drivers, as well as on how major changes at California’s state capitol, especially the election of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have affected programs for elders. A graduate of Indiana University, she also worked for Mississippi’s Jackson Clarion-Ledger where she was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for a series about public education that resulted in significant improvements to the state's schools. The ASA Media Awards jury, which included both journalists and professional in aging, also presented Honorable Mention awards to three journalists. The Wall Street Journal’s Kelly Greene was recognized for her body of work on some of the most pressing concerns for an aging population, since she began issues in retirement planning and aging in 2001. She writes both for daily editions of WSJ and the paper’s quarterly Encore report section on retirement. Her weekly column, also called “Encore,” runs in The Wall Street Journal Sunday. National Public Radio (NPR) reporter Joseph Shapiro received kudos for his wide- ranging stories on such topics as older adults and alcoholism, nursing home improvements, assisted living and the Bush administration’s calculations of the value of an older person. His stories can be heard on “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition” and the other NPR news shows. In the local/regional category, an Honorable Mention went to Susan Jaffe, who launched the aging-issues beat for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2001. She not only covers hard news stories, but also offers news and consumer advice in her "Aging Matters" column. Wiland, Bell, Teichert, Greene and Shapiro participated in the ASA Media Awards Symposium, “Award-Winning Journalists and the Age Beat,” April 15, 2 to 4 p.m., in the Corintia Room at the Parc 55. ASA AWARD: HARRY R. MOODY Harry “Rick” Moody is senior associate at the International Longevity Center, New York City, where he directs its Institute for Human Values in Aging, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Among his books are The Five Stages of the Soul (New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1997); Ethics in an Aging Society (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992); and Aging: Concepts and Controversies, third edition (Newbury Park, Calif.: Pine Forge Press/Sage, 2000). He has published over 90 scholarly articles, and in recent years he has been an invited speaker at Yale, Stanford, Notre Dame, Brown, the University of Yokohama and the Chattauqua Institution. Known for his work in older adult education, Moody currently chairs the board of directors of Elderhostel. He has also been active in the field of biomedical ethics and holds an appointment as adjunct associate of the Hastings Center. A graduate of Yale University, he received his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University in 1973 and taught philosophy at Columbia, Hunter College, New York University, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. The ASA Award is presented to an ASA member who has made outstanding contributions to aging-related research, administration or advocacy. Moody presented his special lecture, "Reminiscences of the 21st Century," April 17, 3:45 to 5:15 p.m., in Continental Ballroom 4. ASA LEADERSHIP AWARD: MARGARET WYLDE Margaret A. Wylde is president and CEO of ProMatura Group, Oxford, Miss.She founded the company in 1984 to provide research and consulting to housing developers and providers serving the market for older adults. The ASA Leadership Award is presented to an ASA member who has made significant contributions to the growth and development of ASA and to the field of aging. In addition to scores of strategic planning, marketing audits, feasibility studies, and marketing branding and positioning engagements for senior-housing clients, ProMatura has worked on numerous national research projects for such organizations as the Assisted Living Federation of America and AARP. A recent project for the American Seniors Housing Association was a descriptive study of 1,500 residents in 500 randomly selected independent living communities in the United States. Wylde is a member and officer of the board of directors of ASA and of LifeSpec Cabinet Systems Inc., a trustee of the National Seniors Housing Council of the National Association of Home Builders, and a past president of the National Association for Senior Living Industry Executives, among other responsibilities. Wylde has written hundreds of articles and technical papers, as well as four books, including Building for a Lifetime and Boomers on the Horizon: Housing Preferences of the 55+ Market. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. Wylde presented her special lecture, “How to Create Successful Products, Services or Housing for the Mature Market” on April 14, 4:30 to 6 p.m., in Imperial Ballroom B. ASA HALL OF FAME AWARD: JAMES E. BIRREN One of the reigning pioneers of gerontology, James E. Birren received the ASA Hall of Fame Award. Now age 86, Birren is a leading figure in the development of approaches aimed at improving the mental health of older adults. In particular, his program for guided autobiography, which as been widely emulated, has demonstrated the value of reminiscence in late life for helping elders gain new perspectives on the past and move with greater calm and confidence into their later years. Presented to an elder ASA member who, through lifetime advocacy and leadership, enhances the lives of older adults, the ASA Hall of Fame Award is sponsored by Atlantic Philanthropies. Birren is associate director of the Center on Aging at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he is also an adjunct professor of medicine and gerontology, as well as adjunct professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences in the School of Medicine. In addition, he is professor emeritus of gerontology and psychology at the University of Southern California, where he was the founding executive director and dean of the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, the country’s first multidisciplinary and degree- granting gerontology center. The Andrus Center’s Gerontology Research Institute programs ranged literally from anthropology to zoology, and its degree-granting programs include both master’s and doctoral gerontology degrees as well as undergraduate majors. Birren is past president of the Gerontological Society of America, the Western Gerontological Society (now ASA), and the Division on Adult Development and Aging of the American Psychological Association. In addition, he has served as chief of the section on aging of the National Institute of Mental Health. In addition, he has published extensively in the area of aging. He is series editor of the internationally recognized Handbooks on Aging and has more than 250 publications in academic journals and books. Where to Go From Here, his 1997 book with writer Linda Feldman, brought his idea about guided autobiography to general audiences. Birren received his master’s degree and doctorate from Northwestern University, was a visiting scientist at the University of Cambridge, England, and was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He presented his special lecture, “Gerontology: Past, Present and Future” on April 15, 4:30 to 6 p.m., in the Corintia Room at the Parc 55. THE GLORIA CAVANAUGH AWARD: BARBARA GINSBERG Barbara Ginsberg was the winner of the 2004 Gloria Cavanaugh Award, presented annually by ASA to a member who has demonstrated continued excellence in training and education in the field of aging. Ginsberg is a professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Therapeutic Recreation at Kingsborough Community College (KCC), part of the City University of New York, in Brooklyn. After receiving her Ed.D. in applied human development and gerontology from Columbia University in 1981, Ginsberg became the director of a fledgling My Turn program at Kingsborough. My Turn, geared for students ages 65 and older, originally only offered college courses for credit but quickly developed into multidimensional activities for the older learner, including opportunities to mentor and volunteer in a variety of settings. My Turn currently serves 2,000 older students each academic year and through the years has been recognized by many national organizations. In addition, AARP asked Ginsberg to be a task force member to establish guidelines for educational programs for older learners. A Special United States Senate Committee Report on Aging, “Lifelong Learning for Aging Society,” featured the My Turn Program, and the Association for Continuing Education honored the program with its National Model Program award. In addition, the American College Personnel Association granted My Turn the Commission XVI-Outstanding Achievement in Commuter Student and Adult Learner Service. Ginsberg has chaired ASA’s Lifetime Education and Renewal Network (LEARN) Leadership Council after serving as the editorial board chair of The Older LEARNer. She currently chairs the MetLife MindAlert project for ASA and has been instrumental in developing a train-the-trainer program within the MindAlert project. For the Association for Continuing and Higher Education she served as chair of the Older Adult Committee for two years. Furthermore, her publication How Education Empowers Older Adults was featured in a recent issue of Activities, Adaptation and Aging Journal. In the year 2000, Ginsberg was recognized by the Brooklyn Borough President as the “Brooklyn Woman of Achievement.” The fall of 2004 will bring another collaborative project to the KCC campus. Under the auspices of the United Jewish Appeal, a project sponsored by the Sephardic Community Center will include a series of seminars at the college through the My Turn Program. Ginsberg presented her special lecture, “Are We There Yet? Have Older Learning Programs Reached Their Destination?” on April 14, 10:30 a.m. to noon, in Imperial Ballroom A. MENTAL HEALTH AND AGING AWARD: STEVEN H. ZARIT The winner of ASA’s 2004 Mental Health and Aging Network (MHAN) Award is Steven H. Zarit, a pioneer in the field of mental health. During the 1970s, Zarit developed an assessment and treatment approach for older adults that has changed the face of mental health services for elders internationally. Since it was first published in 1980, his book Aging and Mental Disorders: Psychological Approaches to Assessment and Treatment has served as the basic primer for mental health professionals. His second landmark text, The Hidden Victims of Alzheimer’s Disease, opened new ground in the study of caregiving by formulating a model for assessing and treating families of people with dementia. In all, Zarit has over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts in the area of mental health and aging. In addition, Zarit has trained and mentored hundreds of young professionals who have developed new professions serving older adults and their families. Many of these services were nonexistent before Zarit’s activities as a teacher, researcher, advocate and clinician launched professionals forging new care systems. People now take for granted programs based on his research, such as the Alzheimer’s Association chapters and the California Caregiver Resource Centers, that are part of the current system of eldercare. Currently, Zarit is pursuing evaluative research on the effectiveness of adult day services in reducing caregiver stress, the prevalence of depression in very old people, cognitive predictors of dementia, and reducing health disparities for people with dementia from diverse ethnic backgrounds. He continues to train pre-doctoral and post- doctoral fellows at Pennsylvania State University in mental health and aging. Also, he is on the board of the national Alzheimer's Association and, until recently, led a caregiver support group in his spare time. Zarit presented his special lecturer, “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Trends in Mental Health and Aging” on April 14, 4:30 to 6 p.m., at the Hilton’s Continental Ballroom 8. ASA GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD: GRETCHEN E. ALKEMA Gretchen E. Alkema is a licensed clinical social worker who is pursuing a doctorate in gerontology at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California. She is being recognized for her study of the characteristics associated with the use of home-based and community-based services by older adults with chronic care needs in Medicare managed care programs. She completed undergraduate work in psychology at the University of Colorado and received her master’s degree in social work and a certificate in aging at the University of Michigan. Her current research is examining the effects of integrated chronic care service delivery systems on the quality of care and quality of life for older adults and people with disabilities. The Graduate Student Research Award is sponsored by the AARP Foundation. Alkema presented her findings in a Research Application to Program and Policy (RAPP) Session, “Characteristics Associated With Home- and Community-Based Service Utilization For Medicare Managed Care Consumers,” on April 17, 10 a.m. to noon, in the Parc 55’s Sienna I Room. ASA UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD: DEVON FEGEN
Now a senior at Indiana University, Bloomington, Devon
Fegen won ASA’s 2004 award for undergraduate student
research for her reports on Ohio’s Residential State
Supplement (RSS) program and its use in Cuyahoga County.
The program enables low-income older people to live in
supportive housing. The research highlighted the need to
revise the supportive housing to better protect elders.
Fegen conducted the study while interning at Benjamin
Rose, a major research-oriented long-term care provider in
Cleveland, and the institution’s Margaret Blenker Research
Institute. Funding for the internship was made possible
through a grant made by the Cleveland Foundation. Fegen
plans to continue her education in pursuit of a master’s
degree in social work.
She presented her findings, “Investigating Ohio’s
Residential State Supplement Program: Supportive Housing
and Seniors” as a Poster Session on April 16, 12:15 to 1:45
p.m.
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