Vital Signs - April 2000

Adding Life to Years

The SanfordCenter for Aging

by Cindie Geddes

Just because you get older," says Dr. Lawrence Weiss, director of the Sanford Center for Aging, "doesn’t mean you become sick, sexless, decrepit or unable to function. We want to dispel those stereotypes and myths."

The center was originally established in 1984 as the Geriatric and Gerontology Center, co-sponsored by the School of Medicine and the College of Human and Community Sciences at the University of Nevada, Reno. In 1993, it was renamed in honor of Jean Sanford, who left 80 percent of her estate as an endowment to serve as the foundation for the center’s aging programs. Operations are financed now through endowment, grants, university and private support.

The center is dedicated to programs that benefit all older persons through a commitment to education, research and community outreach and service. Faculty, staff and volunteers explore innovative ideas and aggressively seek new opportunities to enhance successful aging in the 2lst century. In short, adding life to years.

Quality of life is the focus of the center and at the heart of Weiss’ enthusiasm. "We have 80- and 90-year-olds lifting weights with students; we have downhill skiers," he says. "There’s a lot of research indicating that people have a lot of responsibility and control in dictating how they age; it is not just our genes." The center is out to help people gain that control in the state with the fastest growing population of older adults in the nation. To achieve such goals, the center has entered into partnerships with leaders from agencies and organizations serving the aging community in order to become a resource to provide the means for a richer and more fulfilling life.

Education and Training

In order to add life to years, you have to have the years, so the center works diligently at educating geriatric and gerontology professionals in the state, including offerings in primary and continuing education. Serving as the administrative body for the university’s interdisciplinary studies in aging, the center’s committee of faculty from various disciplines reviews gerontology offerings and develops new courses. Currently the center offers a 24-credit Gerontology Certificate Program, as well as an 18-credit Gerontology Minor Program and continuing education workshops throughout the state. In Las Vegas, the center and the School of Medicine cosponsor the Nevada Geriatric Education Center, which also offers programs for Nevada professionals.

Interdisciplinary training is the key, says Weiss, who lists medical, nursing, social work, psychiatry and the therapies (speech, hearing and occupational) as some of the areas represented by the center’s programs. "Our whole focus," he says, "is to have a direct impact on the community of this state." He does this through scholarships for students, workshops for professionals and the general public, testifying before the Legislature, a radio program on KSRN and a column in Senior Spectrum Magazine.

Research and Scholarship

Through an application process, researchers have received money from the center to study such things as: the role of antioxidants in elderly women, Alzheimer’s disease, eccentric loading and remodeling of bone and muscle and aquatic exercise. This last led to an exercise video for trainers and seniors called "Golden Waves," which has been produced by the center and adopted internationally.

Research has also helped the center work with state agencies, allowing them to provide information and data as well as various types of alternative approaches to caring for elders. "One of our goals is to have the center be Nevada’s primary resource for education on economic and cultural impacts of senior issues." Research is critical to identify the important economic markers that will enable Nevada to develop a better plan to meet the needs of its older adults.

Community Outreach and Service

The center is working to increase public awareness and understanding of the aging process. A community advisory board, older adults, plays a significant role in guiding this effort. The major outreach programs of the center include the Retired Senior Volunteer Program of Washoe County, the Sanford Salute to Seniors Educational Radio Program (on KSRN), the Sanford Senior Star Award (awarded to those living life to the fullest and giving to the community), the Lake Tahoe Wellness Conference for Seniors (every September), the Reno-Sparks Rainbow of Resources (variety of information on issues important to seniors, available on their Web site), Senior Sunshine Fund (to provide recreational and entertainment opportunities to Nevada’s seniors), and the Sanford Center Web site (unr.edu/Sanford).

The center’s newest focus is on business. "Elder care, like child care, is a tremendous drain on middle-aged and older people," says Weiss, "so we are developing a program around that issue." Another area he is working with is dealing with an older workforce. As the baby boomers grow toward retirement, the issue of age in the workforce becomes more and more important. "One of the myths," he says, "is that people become stale, don’t know the current methods of doing work, and it’s really the opposite. Older workers prove to be more dependable, more reliable, more productive workers." The only exception, he says, might be in high-tech industries, but even in those areas seniors are catching up, having become the fastest growing consumer age group for computers and Internet use.

The center is currently recruiting business people to participate in a community advisory board to help identify the programs, projects and opportunities that can reinforce the economic influence of seniors in the state. The board meets monthly and gives the community a direct voice in the mission of the Center. Call 775/784-4774 for more information.

The Sanford Center for Aging is doing all it can to ensure seniors can control the quality of the aging process. From education to health care to community service, the center is truly adding life to years.