HASC’s first Conference on Aging, held Oct. 15, at Crowne Plaza Resort Anaheim-Garden Grove, offered an audience of more than 70 people insight on improving health care for seniors. The event drew a variety of professionals working with the aging population including doctors, nurses, social workers, hospital and health plan administrators, counselors, and community educators.

Keynote speaker W. June Simmons, president and CEO of Partners in Care Foundation, presented ways to bring medicine, patients and community-based services together to avoid unnecessary readmissions and make a critical difference in the way care is delivered to seniors.

Karol Swartzlander, ADRC program director for California Health and Human Services Agency, highlighted changes trending in community-based government services. Three breakout tracks examined financial elder abuse, innovations in senior care and community resources for caregivers.

The event’s timely topics come just as changes get underway for Medicare and as the Accountable Care Act rolls out additional provisions that impact hospitals’ ability to deliver on the greater demands for care.

Innovations in care delivery, like telehealth services or remote monitoring technology, offer opportunities to provide better, more cost effective care to populations that often use services at a higher frequency, the result of chronic conditions and insufficiently connected care networks. Telehealth brings care to the person wherever they are, reducing the burden going back and forth to nonessential appointments can place on seniors.

A recurring theme of this event was the importance of developing community partnerships and the ways in which quality of care and quality of life are intertwined for these vulnerable populations. Access to patient/family/caregiver collaborations, community linkages, and tools to prevent or treat caregiver burnout were some key resources cited.

“I’m not from this area and I came to get insight about the resources [available] and to get connected to things down here,” said Kathy Lee, social worker with Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.

Event organizer Ana Reza, vice president of Patient Access Services for HASC, reiterated the value of making these connections.

“Patients and their caregivers need access to programs and resources appropriate for their needs and interests,” Reza said. “These may include medical care, healthy living activities, educational programs, caregiver support, and community referrals through the most up-to-date technologies and evidence-based information. Continued effort is needed to implement innovative strategies that promote healthy aging. ”

Presentation slides are available online at www.hasc.org/photo-gallery/2013-hasc-conference-aging.

Thank you to our sponsors, L.A. Care Health Plan and Dignity Memorial, for supporting the event. For more information about the event, or to provide feedback, please contact Maria Velez, (714) 750-2688, mvelez@hasc.org.