Chinatown faces higher threats during periods of extreme weather due to a range of socio-economic factors as well as the built environment. Within the neighborhood, older adults living in single-room occupancy buildings are among the populations at heightened risk. Reasons for this include physiological changes related to aging and financial barriers associated with making climate-resiliency adaptations to older buildings.
Category: Aging
Posted inAging, Climate Change, Environment, Health
Brightline Defense Takes on San Francisco’s Air Pollution and Environmental Justice Concerns: Q&A With Executive Director Eddie Ahn
As climate change exacerbates droughts, wildfires, floods, storms and other catastrophes, community organizations in the city are racing to put systems in place to both measure its impacts on residents and to provide the tools they need to support themselves during disasters.
Posted inAging, California, Climate Change
Climate Change Can Harm Mental Health of Older Adults: Q&A With Dr. Robin Cooper
Mental health experts based in the San Francisco Bay Area are exploring the ensuing physical, mental and emotional effects of climate change, particularly on the lives of older adults.
Posted inAging, California, Climate Change, Health
Research on Climate Change and Health Reveals Risks for Older Adults: Q&A With Dr. Andrew Chang
Dr. Andrew Chang, an attending physician specializing in cardiology at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and postdoctoral research fellow at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, is investigating how the biological mechanisms of aging and a warming world will affect the health of older adults.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Aging, Health
Laguna Honda Hospital Has to Self-Destruct to Survive
Administrators are overhauling policies and procedures to regain federal funding that is set to expire following the issuance of multiple damning inspection reports at Laguna Honda Hospital. They have until Sept. 13 to implement changes, which include a requirement to transfer or discharge all patients, before they can apply for recertification from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Posted inAging, Arts & Culture
Legacy Film Festival Delves Into the Triumphs and Challenges of Aging
Aging is often obscured from movies, or portrayed in ways that perpetuate stereotypes about what aging is. The films at the Legacy Film Festival on Aging counter that by exploring more fully what it means to get older.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Aging, Community, Coronavirus, Health
Long-Term Care Residents Need Visitation to Thrive, Advocates Say
On the sidewalk in front of the San Francisco Department of Public Health on Thursday morning, a dozen or so activists stood holding yellow signs reading “Isolation kills, too!” Julie Schneider, the field service coordinator for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, was one of these advocates for residents of facilities like nursing homes, who have […]
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Aging, Coronavirus, Social Services, Vaccine Distribution
Nonprofit Brings COVID-19 Vaccines to Seniors
Self-Help for the Elderly, has stepped in not just with advocacy for improved access to vaccines, but by bringing doctors who can administer vaccines to the seniors who need them at community centers they already visit. President and CEO Anni Chung joined “Civic” to share how the organization has been vaccinating the seniors it serves.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Aging, Coronavirus, Health
Nursing Homes to Get Vaccines Soon Through Major Pharmacy Chains
Vaccines are arriving in California and doses will be administered at nursing homes soon through a government partnership with pharmacy giants CVS and Walgreens, whose staffs will deliver vaccines to long term care facilities. Eric Dowdy, chief government affairs officer at Leading Age California, an organization representing mostly nonprofit senior care facilities, said the top priority for those planning the vaccine rollout is combating misinformation that fuels mistrust in the vaccine.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Aging, Community, Elections, Social Justice
Senior, Disability Advocates Mobilize to Ensure Care Facility Residents Vote
The coronavirus pandemic has transformed elections, and for people who live in residential care facilities like nursing homes, that may be creating barriers to participation. Last week, organizers with Senior and Disability Action called together advocates and experts to lay out what rights these residents have and how to ensure they are able to exercise them.