Every month I post my Albuquerque Tribune column (New Wrinkles in Aging)
when it appears on the third Thursday.
Sorry to be late. Here it is:
3/18/2004
[Beyond big words, goodness abounds]
[by Arthur Alpert]
Think educators torture the language most? Maybe, but I figure social workers are worse. Steel yourself. Here’s proof:
"In implementing a biopsychosocial model…"
"The particular NORC’s SSP paradigm maximizes the delivery…"
"The methodologies implemented result in efficiencies of scale, reductions in redundancy…"
Still awake? Good, because I found a human story behind the gobbledygook.
Understand, first, that nine out of ten older people want to live out their lives at home. Independently. And that – by moving or staying put – they often wind up living near each other.
The sociologists’ acronym for these places is NORCs, Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities.
So might it be more effective and efficient to bring services to the elderly at NORCs? Healthcare, for example, counseling, transportation, delivered meals, financial management, help around the house.
Enter the Jewish Family Service. Having corralled some federal dollars to test this "Aging in Place" idea, they involved everybody and his brother, including the Department of Senior Affairs, Catholic Charities, UNM, United Way, HealthSouth Rehabilitation, AARP and the State Agency on Aging.
It’s too early to grade the experiment, but visiting the Santa Barbara Apartments, a NORC, I got a feel for it.
Sara Dennett, 64, a retired oil industry accountant, told me "hardly anybody ever leaves" the residence in the heart of Martineztown. Of course, the house is lovely, but it’s also true non-drivers enjoy a shuttle bus and some help with cleaning and shopping.
Dennett herself takes care of a fellow resident who’s 91. "And we’re hoping to help Sara (with him)," chips in Pat Meyer, a NORC case manager.
Tony Lopez, a roofer who worked himself up to general contractor, remembers with pride when he labored 16 to 18 hour-days seven days a week. Those were the good times, before he encountered health problems so tough he’s had 14 surgeries. And his downtown neighborhood was crime-ridden.
Only 61, Tony says Santa Barbara is "best place I’ve ever lived in. No noise. You need a key to get in." He really appreciates the delivered meals, too.
Everybody said "You must see Eliza Armenta’s apartment. It’s always the neatest." Armenta, 67, came to Santa Barbara two years ago from the old family home in Duranes.
Case managers Meyer, Tracy Tucker and Trudy Valdez have visited all eight residents to assess their needs. Their first step – extending meal deliveries from five to seven days. Next, they’d love to connect residents to the Jewish Community Center gym, then swing them into social activities at the Barelas Senior Center.
Pondering this, I kept coming back to the age question. Sara, Tony and Eliza are my juniors. In fact, Tony just missed being a boomer. Yes, the first baby boomers turn 60 in 2006.
Duh! Boomers are the point, which Art Fine, JFS executive director, had tried to get through my skull earlier.
"Whether they go the senior centers or don’t, whether they use SunTran or don’t," Fine said, "they’re all going to be living somewhere, they’re all going to need some level of services. Because the goal is to help people maintain their independence as long as possible, keeping them out of institutions."
Hmm. Sounds rational. Humane. What the community should explore. Where my taxes ought to go.
It’s all so worthwhile, I may forgive the profession for implementing its paradigms and other biopsychosocial cruelties.
Alpert’s column appears in the Neighborhood Tribune the third Thursday of the month. Reach him at alpertstruth.com.