The two-day Conference was sponsored by HomeShare Vermont, Cathedral
Square Corporation, National Shared Housing Resource Center, AARP
Vermont, City of Burlington, Fletcher Allen Health Care, State of
Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging, & Independent Living, Vermont
Housing Finance Agency and the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board.
Monday June 12, 2006:
The first day session started off with welcomes by Mayor Bob Kiss
of Burlington, Laura Fanucchi of the National Shared Housing Resource
Center and Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie.
Dr. Jerald Winakur, MD, FACP, CMD, from Comfort, Texas, gave a heart-warming,
personal key note address titled, "A Geriatrician Meditates on
Ethical Caregiving in America". Most recently, Dr. Winakur's
essay, "What Are We Going To Do With Dad," which was published originally
in Health Affairs was excerpted in The Washington Post, and syndicated
in newspapers across America. Celebrating 30 years in medical practice,
Dr. Winakur reflected on the care of the elderly, the story of his
own father's care, the journey families take when designing a plan
to care for their aging parent and alternative care environments for
our aging population. As he stated, in this "high-tech, low-touch
medical age", seniors need more support to combat lonliness,
isolation and dementia. Dr. Winakur presented shared housing as an
example of how seniors can live independently with support and encouraged
us to understand the role each one of us play in caring for our elders
as a family, community and Country.
Workshops/Events on Monday included:
Homesharing 101: How homesharing programs work, how to serve
different populations and start a program.
Outreach on a Budget: Marketing professionals presented information
on how to reach target markets in a cost effective way.
PACE Vermont: A Unique Approach to Health Care, a new comprehensive
health care system in a rural setting for low-income seniors.
Lunchtime welcome from Congressman Bernie Sanders, Vermont's
sole U.S. Representive and a champion of affordable housing and issues
important to seniors.
Tribute to Maggie Kuhn - founder of the National Shared Housing
Resource center, given by Margaret Harmon, former National Coordinator
of NSHRC and friend of Maggie.
Influencing Public Policy: Senator Jim Condos and lobbyist
Nancy Goodrich explained how to get (or maintain) government funding
or changing policies to promote shared housing.
Tour of Affordable Assisted Living: Cathedral Square Corporation's
project at 3 Cathedral Square. A 28 unit community for low and moderate
income seniors within a senior housing building. Half of the residents
are Medicaid recipients and one-third of the residents are at nursing
home level of care.
Mediation/Conflict Resolution: Participants used case studies
to discuss ways of resolving conflict in in-home or group settings.
Tour of Whitcomb Terrace: Cathedral Square Corporation's 19
unit community for people of all incomes, ages and disabilities, co-located
with a 65 unit senior community, enabling shared staffing and activities.
Workshops/Events on Tuesday included:
Best Practices on Screening and Matching: A discussion on
background checks, interviewing techniques, references, behaviors,
need to be evaluated to make the best homesharing matches.
Planned Giving: Expanding your fundraising potential through
bequests, memorial gifts and more
Follow up & Interventions: How to handle problems after a
match is made. Whose role is it? How to get elders to tell you about
problems? How to work with family members
Tour of Ruggles House: Cathedral Square Corporation's shared
housing for 14 seniors serving a mix of incomes. Services include
full meals programs, laundry, housekeeping and a live-in resident
manager. The renovated building is on the National Register.
Selection of new NSHRC Board members, and thanks to NSHRC Regional
Coordinators and Conference planners.
Technology to Enable Aging in Place: Nan Maitland from HomeShare
International presented information on her organization's website.
Justin Dextradeur from Cathedral Square Corporation presented a video
from the Center for Aging Services Technologies titled "Imagine
the Future of Aging".
For more information about NSHRC's Vermont Conference, please
email:
Kirby Dunn (Home Share Vermont) home@sover.net
or
Laura Fanucchi (HIP Housing) lfanucchi@hiphousing.org.
