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Thanks to the support from our centers and innovative degree programs, the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) helped the university continue to live up to its distinction of being an age-friendly campus.

In 2018, ����ɫ�� was the third university in the state of California to endorse the Age-Friendly University (AFU) principles and join the AFU Network to demonstrate its long-term and ongoing commitment to older persons and the overall quality of life in the community.

Recently, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at ����ɫ�� was given the ‘Friend of the Elderly Award’ by the Retirement Housing Foundation, one of the nation’s largest non-profit providers of housing and services for older adults.

“It was a great honor to be recognized by this national organization and I think the biggest message with OLLI is that we’re happy to be able to work with different entities in our community that provide opportunities for a better quality of life for older adults,” said Patti LaPlace, Executive Director of OLLI at ����ɫ��. “The award is really a recognition of our cumulative efforts in CHHS between OLLI, the Center for Successful Aging and our Gerontology Program.”

LaPlace says that students in CHHS are a big part in realizing the college’s forward-thinking approach to age-friendliness. While, for example, students like Hinna Tran (pictured below) are putting on Lunch and Learn classes for OLLI members on campus, other CHHS initiatives are allowing students to reach out and help older adults in the community.

In the last few years, student interns at the Center for Successful Aging have embarked on several projects in the community aimed towards helping older adults at the American Gold Star Manor, a senior retirement complex for military families, veterans, and low-income seniors.

“The big focus of the Center for Successful Aging here at ����ɫ�� is workforce development – how do we prepare the future workforce, especially in the health and human services industries, to better serve an aging population?” said Center for Successful Aging Director Dr. Iveris Martinez. “Our goal is to identify successful, scalable and sustainable programs that can be duplicated throughout the greater Long Beach community and beyond, while training students throughout the College of Health and Human Services in real-world experiences working with older adult populations.”

Since 2018, students from various degree programs in CHHS worked with faculty members and implemented a series of health and wellness programs on site for American Gold Star Manor senior citizens.

“We had students from Nursing, Physical Therapy, Kinesiology, Gerontology, Health Science, and other students from across the disciplines in CHHS working with these older adults,” Dr. Martinez says. “These interdisciplinary programs included a gardening and cooking program, that was led by the late Dr. Gail Farmer from Health Science; there was a fall prevention program, a monthly walking program aimed at addressing the issue of social isolation, and more.”

According to Dr. Martinez, it was a win-win for all involved – the students were able to get valuable experience working in a professional setting while obtaining internship hours needed to complete their degrees, and meaningful relationships were built with the seniors they were serving.

While many of these programs were curtailed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Martinez says that some of these initiatives have already returned or will resume again, such as the gardening program for seniors, and the current exercise course facilitated by students for seniors.

“When we rolled out several of these projects, the students who did the work as part of their internship overwhelmingly said that it changed their perspective in working with older adult populations.”

Dr. Maria Carpiac-Claver, Director of the Gerontology Program at ����ɫ��, concurs, and notes an increased interest among her students of wanting to pursue a career in the field.  

“There is still so much that we don’t know about gerontology -- we’re starting to see more people live to be a hundred years old. Our culture is changing in that we’re seeing more and more older adults going back to school and dedicated to being life-long learners,” Dr. Carpiac said. “In my ‘Golden Girls’ class, for example, my students range from their early 20s to mid-sixties and I have to tell you, the conversations that we have, and the willingness of the older students to share their experiences with the younger students and vice versa, is awesome. It only enriches every student’s experience to welcome older learners into our campus community.”

The reality is, Dr. Carpiac notes, that most universities are not fully designed for older learners, but gives her commendation of CHHS and the campus community at large for remaining steadfast in its commitment to age-friendliness. Last year, the Gerontology Program conducted a study with the university facilities management team to assess the accessibility and feasibility of navigating the campus environment for older adults.

“I think it’s smart that the college has made aging one of its main issues to focus on, because there is not one discipline at our university that won’t be touched by the aging of our population. We are doing many great things right now, but we can do even better in helping all our students, including those who are returning to school after many years as older adults, to feel comfortable here.”

While the award this year was given to the college, specifically to OLLI, for being a ‘Friend to the Elderly,’ Patti LaPlace says that there is more work ahead in continuing to promote age-friendliness on campus and in the community.

“If we as a college through programs like OLLI can be an adjunct to further support the types of missions of different organizations like the Retirement Housing Foundation, we can reduce social isolation, improve the quality of life of older adults through lifelong learning, and be able to help people stay congenially and socially connected to one another and their community.”

 

We would love to hear about your age friendly or aging related research and activities. If you have something to share please contact Dr. Maria Carpiac at Maria.Carpiac@csulb.edu