No One Left Behind Conference Explores Aging and Inclusivity

Omaha – The Aging with Passion & Purpose Conference: No One Left Behind will focus on inclusivity and the unique needs of different populations as they age. The conference is a must for professionals in health care, helping professions, aging services, education, and insurance, as well as caregivers. All are welcome.

The keynote speaker is Israel Doron, LLM, Ph.D., director of the Center for Research and Study of Aging at the University of Haifa, Israel. A frequent visitor to Omaha, Doron looks forward to sharing his knowledge, his passion for human rights, and the fight against ageism.

Also featured on the program are:

• Mary Beth Maxwell, advocate, will discuss the unique needs of aging members of the LBGT community.
• Janet Miller, Munroe-Meyer Institute, will share her personal story about caring for a daughter with a developmental disability and dementia, and explore the variety of needs of persons with developmental disabilities as they age.
• Steve Wengel, M.D., geriatric psychiatrist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, will discuss the changing needs persons with mental health conditions have as they age.
• Carolina Padilla, executive director of the Intercultural Senior Center, will discuss how service providers needs to have cultural competence and awareness when providing care to aging adults.

Due to the growing need in Nebraska for up-to-date information on aging along with a need for continuing education hours, the planning partners offer two new participation options this year. The conference will be conducted live on the UNO campus; broadcast to the Communication Center on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus; and available online.

Early registration is $99 (on or before March 8), or $125 (after March 8), and includes the conference sessions materials for all sites; and parking, lunch, and continuing education credits for Omaha and Kearney site participants.

The Nebraska Methodist College Professional Development, an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Midwest Multistate Division, will provide 4.5 contact hours for nursing, social work, LMHP, and education at no additional cost.

The conference is a product of a planning partnership of three units of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service (Department of Gerontology, Grace Abbott School of Social Work, and the Center for Public Affairs Research), Immanuel, The St. John Paul II Newman Center, Nebraska Methodist College Professional Development, and Vetter Senior Living.

Learn more on the conference webpage or contact the UNO Department of Gerontology at 402.554.2272 or unoaging@unomaha.edu.