News Release

Planning for aging population will be focus of 2011 NC Conference on Aging

July 11 , 2011

The 2011 North Carolina Conference on Aging will focus on the theme "The Community Response: Implementing the Plan for a Livable, Senior-Friendly North Carolina" and will be held October 18-20 at the Hilton Charlotte University Place Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“North Carolina needs to move forward with some critical planning work to address the growing older population. This conference will provide a forum for people around the state to come together and do just that,” said Bill Lamb, Conference Chair.

North Carolina is facing some critical issues as a result of its increasing older population. Despite the economic belt-tightening sweeping the state, there is a growing need for services to care for older citizens. With the first wave of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age this year, the number of older North Carolinians is on the rise.

Topics covered at the Conference will include: Healthy Aging & Active Engagement; Economics of Aging; Safe Communities; Health and the Continuum of Care; Planning Livable, Senior-Friendly Communities; Diversity and Aging; and Families, Caregiving, Grandparenting and More.
Plenary speakers at the Conference will include: L. Allen Dobson Jr., MD, President and CEO, Community Care of NC; Nancy A. LeaMond, Executive Vice President, State and National Group – AARP; and Rosemarie Tong, Distinguished Professor of Health Care Ethics in the Department of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Applied and Professional Ethics at UNC Charlotte.

Registration is now underway for the Conference. The Preprogram & Registration booklet for the 2011 North Carolina Conference on Aging is available from the conference website at www.aging.unc.edu/nccoa/.

The 2011 Conference builds on last year’s very successful 2010 Governor's Conference on Aging, during which attendees were invited to help develop recommendations to guide future state policy. The results and papers from the 2010 Conference are available in the Conference archive at www.aging.unc.edu/nccoa/2010/.

The North Carolina Conference on Aging is a collaborative effort to provide educational and networking opportunities for everyone interested in long-term care, vital aging, family issues, work and retirement, leadership and professional development. It includes content of interest to local, regional and state-level service providers, educators, students, consumers, volunteers, clients, caregivers, policy makers and administrators. For more information, please visit the conference website www.aging.unc.edu/nccoa/.