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Thank you for your interest in the Institute on Aging at Portland State University!
In this newsletter you'll find recent publications, student achievements, project updates, and more.
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IOA Updates & Recent Publications
- We are happy to have welcomed a number of new staff members to the IOA team over the past couple of months. Lauren Bouchard, PhD, is a new instructor with the Better with Age initiative who will be helping us expand gerontological education. Lauren's area of interests (broadly) include social engagement, intergenerational connections and lived experiences of LGBTQ older adults. Sarah Dys, PhD, is a research associate and will be working primarily on CBC studies, including leading part of a new section of that work and developing new research. Sarah brings mixed methods research skills, organizational skills in addition to deep knowledge of community-based and long-term care systems and policies. Susan Sotka, MA, joined the Older Adult Behvioral Health Initiative team. Susan brings knowledge of mental health systems.
- Supporting Older Adults with Dementia and Behavioral Health Needs. The OABHI team hosted a two-day conference in June in partnership with Oregon Health Authority. If you missed it, you can find slides and recordings on the OABHI website.
- Administrator Turnover in Oregon Assisted Living and Residential Care Communities, March 2020-February 2021. Ozcan Tunalilar. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents and staff of assisted living and residential care (AL/RC) facilities has been sizable, yet little is known about how the pandemic affected their administrators and their job stability. Considering the crucial role that administrators play in the delivery of high-quality care and staffing in residential long-term settings, this research letter describes the turnover experience among Oregon AL/RC administrators and its organizational and structural correlates during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020–February 2021).
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| Congratulations to our gerontology graduates!
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Yvonne Chung, MSW & Gero Certificate
I am interested in the field of death and dying, and the gerontology program at PSU pushed me to take classes related to aging and older adults, which is largely the population I anticipate working with in my future career as a hospice/palliative care social worker. My internship at Kaiser allowed me to explore this field with more depth and it has strengthened my conviction that this is what I want to do. End of Life and Palliative Care with Susan Hedlund and Social Work with Older Adults with Michele Martinez Thompson contributed significantly to my work because most hospice patients themselves are older adults, and many of their loved ones (especially their siblings, friends, and adult children), are older adults as well.
The gerontology program taught me hands-on, practical skills for working directly with patients (such as best practices for working with people with dementia, or people who are hard of hearing), as well as actionable ways to counter ageism in our society as a professional and an advocate. The National Long Term Policy class opened my eyes to the system-level realities and challenged me to come up with suggestions for how to improve policies that affect older adults. While there will always be areas for growth and endless things to learn from the people I work with, I feel that bringing all of this knowledge and experience into my work in hospice and palliative care will allow me to practice at the top of my current social work ability.
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Riley Wilton, BS in Public Health, Aging Services Minor
I would never have had the courage to highlight storytelling & resiliency in older adults as my thesis if it hadn’t been for Dr. Paula Carder & others at the IOA. They validated that whatever you contribute to academia, those words ultimately contribute to the broader discussion. Moving forward, the tools I learned at the IOA & my passion will guide my work — I want to ensure there is no limit to the personal growth that can occur as we age; even as seniors, there should always be access to opportunities that connect us to learning and community building. This drives my current path of working in senior living following graduation, and will help pave the way for the future. I can’t wait to see what else is in store.
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Stephanie Lawlor, MS in CCJ & Gero Certificate
My thesis area of interest in my criminology and criminal justice (CCJ) graduate program focused on older adults in custody. I knew that I wanted to learn more about aging and older adults to better support my thesis work in CCJ. What I was not prepared for was how much I would love gerontology as a discipline. The course work in gerontology is filled with sociology, psychology, biology, and social work concepts. The professors in the gerontology program were amazing! Even though I was a CCJ grad student, everyone made me feel like a part of the gerontology family. I also had the wonderful opportunity to support some Institute on Aging research during my gerontology certificate program. It was a great learning experience. Overall, I am looking forward to applying the knowledge that I have gained through the gerontology certificate program, to my future research interests focused on older adults.
Amanda Bennett, MSW & Gero Certificate
Completed internship at PACE in Grants Pass.
Alicia Garrison, Gero Certificate
Completed internship at CareOregon.
Ann Zagota, MSW & Gero Certificate
Completed internship at Metropolitan Family Services in Portland, Oregon.
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GERI Grant Program's Inaugural Year
The Better with Age Initiative has awarded two research projects through the Gerontology Education and Research Initiative (GERI) Grant Program.
Dr. Amie Thurber and Michele Martinez Thompson will explore the contributions of The Neighborhood Story Project, a 12-week participatory action research intervention, to participants living in two intentional intergenerational communities in Oregon.
Drs. Sherril Gelmon, Walter Dawson, and Allison Lindauer will address support of care partners of people living with cognitive decline related to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) -- conditions that affect older adults, their families, and communities at large.
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SALC Auditors Reflect
We asked SALC auditors about their learning journeys and what it means to 'age my way' as part of the ACL's Older Americans Month. Here are some of their responses:
Curiosity and Challenge
- It seems that to grow, to learn and to achieve, are important factors to aging-my-way. Also important is to attempt something that I do not know for sure that I can achieve
- I am blessed with incurable curiosity. For me, my curiosity has driven all my learning activities. I have been learning all my life.
- Aging my way, means that I take the courses which appeal to my sense of curiosity, and when the class explains events which were glossed over when I went to college long ago.
- I always admired philosophers and wanted to be a philosopher, but alas, I became too old to do that (or am I?). I plan to continue this journey as long as my health and cognitive ability allow.
Continuity and Identity
- Hoping to continue working, which for me involves ongoing learning, well beyond age 65
- Someone recently told me that as a tree grows, it adds successive rings outwards on its trunk. All the rings are present in the tree always. The earlier versions of the tree are still going strong. I like to think of myself that way—I still have the earlier versions of myself inside me, with the enthusiasm and optimism I’ve always had. Despite the physical challenges of aging, the earlier rings are always with me. I somehow find strength in that.
- I have focused on two areas of growth, study and exploration - including creative digital work in my field, and music skills (piano). I have set short and long term goals and these provide a sense of identity.
- Aging is a life-long process, not something that happens late in life. (That is so obvious that it sounds profound!)
Knowledge and Connection
- The BIGGEST perk of auditing classes at PSU, is the opportunity to interact with the wonderful students from here and elsewhere. This interaction with them makes me feel like the future is in good hands.
- When I can occasionally share my work, I find that students appreciate seeing someone working out the same problems. I think it enriches their learning to see someone older taking the topics seriously.
- My concentration of field work was in the area of gerontology. Now that I have reached this wonderful age, I often look back and appreciate my educational and life experiences as I am in the stage of taking care of elderly parent(s).
- I always thought of gerontology as a family vocation.
- As a retired physician who has strong interest in aging, I knew how people age, but when I became the subject of aging, I am amazed how aging is a journey of new discovery. I suggest that your program host a website for "phenomenology of aging", where we can share our first-hand discoveries.
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