| |
 |
UNH’S Institute On
Disabilities Hosts Conference on Community Choices for Older Adults
and People with Disabilities
Contact: Julie Moser
Institute on Disability
603-862-3603
Aug. 27, 2003
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Institute on Disability at the University
of New Hampshire will hold a two-day conference in September to
highlight real choices for older adults and individuals with disabilities
living in communities.
The conference, “Real Choices for Older Adults and Individuals
with Disabilities Living in Your Community,” scheduled for
Sept. 23 and 24, 2003, at the Center of N.H., Holiday Inn in Manchester,
is sponsored by The Real Choice Systems Change project at the Institute
on Disability and associated partners. It will present innovative
models that represent best practices in community programs promoting
equal opportunities, full participation, independent living, and
economic self-sufficiency.
Keynote speakers include advocate and storyteller Norman Kunc; national
transportation expert Jon Burkhardt; economic counseling and social
work expert Kevin J. Mahoney from Boston College; and Director of
the Disabled and Elderly Health Programs Group at the Center for
Medicaid and State Operations, Tom Hamilton.
Conference sessions will explore topics such as community transportation;
accessibility; nursing home transition; housing opportunities; community
healthcare; person-centered planning; mentorship; assistive technology
solutions to maximize employment opportunities; misuse of medications
and alcohol among elders in senior housing; finance solutions, and
more.
The Real Choice Systems Change project is designed to create and
implement improvements in community-based care systems in order
to improve health and long-term care services an
supports that assist older adults and individuals with disabilities
to live in the community.
Additional sponsors include N.H. Department of Health and Human
Services, N.H. Developmental Disabilities Council, Granite State
Independent Living, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill-N.H.,
Community Support Network Inc., Granite Supports Projects, Common
Ground, and individuals and families.
To register or for more information, call (603) 228-2084 or (800)
238-2048 (in NH) or visit www.realchoicenh.org.
A one-day summit on innovative transportation models in New Hampshire
will also be held Sept. 24. It will feature transportation experts
Jon Burkhardt and Sue Jeffers, as well as regional state coordination
planners and presentations by representatives of federal and state
regulatory agencies. This summit provides opportunities to learn
and exchange new ideas and plans about community transportation.
Contact Sönke Dornblut at (603) 224-0630, (800) 238-2048 (in
NH) or e-mail sonke.dornblut@unh.edu
to attend the summit.
The Institute on Disability’s mission is to promote the inclusion
of people with disabilities into their schools and communities.
The institute works with students and faculty, conducts statewide
training, participates in grant-funded model demonstration projects,
conducts research and engages in collaborative partnerships with
other statewide organizations that are committed to improving the
lives of persons with disabilities and their families.
The Institute on Disability, together with the Center for Genetics
and Child Development at Dartmouth Medical School; the Institute
for Health, Law, and Ethics at Franklin Pierce Law Center; and the
School of Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire
University comprise New Hampshire’s University Center for
Excellence on Disability (UCED).
- 30 -
|
