How Do We Care For Our Aging Parents? December 8, 2009

Zócalo Public Square Presents:
Moderated by Dr. Debra Saliba, Director, Anna and Harry Borun Center for Gerontological Research at UCLA

Keeping our elderly parents healthy, particularly when they have a chronic illness or disability, can be a demanding full-time job. Though 70 percent of all elderly are cared for by family and friends, assisted living and nursing homes fill the gap in care in cases too challenging for even the most devoted families. Long-term care can require close medical attention multiple times a day, combined with assistance performing the basic tasks of daily life, like dressing and bathing, and providing mental health support. Nine million men and women over the age of 65 will need long-term care this year; by 2020, that number will rise to 12 million. The elderly will have a 40 percent chance of entering a nursing home, and about 10 percent of those will stay five years or more. These men and women and their families will face the difficult decision of where to seek and how to manage long-term care. They often have to make these decisions without reliable information about what types of care are available and appropriate, or which facilities and services offer the highest quality care. With the California HealthCare Foundation’s newly-launched ratings website making it easier to find quality long-term care, Zócalo hosts a panel of experts to discuss what we should do when we — or our parents — need help making these decisions.

This event is made possible by the California HealthCare Foundation.

Zócalo Public Square is a non-profit organization that builds community by broadening access to civic discourse. Zócalo presents lectures, panels, screenings, and conferences, and publishes original reviews, interviews, and other online features to spur conversation on and action around the most important and compelling ideas of our time. All Zócalo events are presented in open, welcoming, non-partisan, and multi-ethnic spaces. Our online work strives to strike the same broad, generous and balanced tone as our live events.

Zócalo launched in 2003 in Los Angeles, the city we still call home. Since then, we have presented over 175 events featuring nearly 450 speakers. Zócalo has set up shop in two dozen Los Angeles venues, and has traveled to three other U.S. cities and two other continents.

Official Website: http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/upcoming.php?event_id=355