Spring training for an older America: White House Conference on Aging comes to Tampa

The Great American Pastime Arrives in Tampa

On Thursday, February 19, 2015, a group of professionals, some amateurs and spectators begin a season of what has become a national pastime in Tampa, Florida. Of course pitchers, catchers and some other baseball players arrive in our great state, but at Hillsborough Community College, AARP Florida plays host to another national pastime that some may find more important in their lifetimes: the White House Conferences on Aging, a once-in-every-decade national bipartisan tradition has transformed the lives of millions of older Americans. Since 1961, the White House Conferences on Aging have helped to create Medicare and Medicaid, protect Social Security from inflation, found the American aging-service network and abolish forced retirement at a predetermined age.

As pitchers and catchers in the Grapefruit League begin to attempt another march to the playoffs or just nab a spot on a roster, at Hillsborough Community College in Ybor City, the White House Conference on Aging convenes the first of five regional forums to be held around the nation in 2015. AARP has co-sponsored each of the 2015 forums. After the forums, a conference to take place in Washington, DC, will consider the important issues covered.

The Tampa forum can shape the national conversation about what aging means for Americans over the next 10 years. As hundreds gather to voice their issues and concerns, divided equally between experts and Americans who have something to say about aging issues, the forum in Tampa may foster solutions to issues that impact millions of Americans. Tampa follows in the tradition of a series of national conferences led by the administrations of Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush.

The regional forums and the conference covers issues that fall under four broad focus areas:

• Retirement security: Financial security requires attention during our working lives to ensure that we prepare for what comes next.
• Healthy aging: As medical advances progress, the opportunities for older Americans to maintain their health and vitality should progress as well. Community supports are important tools to promote this vitality.
• Long-term services and supports: Older Americans overwhelmingly prefer to remain independent in their communities as they age. They need supports to do so, including a caregiving network and well-supported workforce.
• Elder justice: Older Americans can be vulnerable to financial exploitation, abuse, and neglect. We need to protect seniors and other vulnerable groups from scam artists.

Some of the excellent speakers playing a role in Tampa include AARP’s top-ranking volunteer, President Jeannine English, AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond, and Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Cecelia Munoz.

If you are a member of the media, for more information about covering the Tampa forum please contact AARP Florida Associate Manager of Communication Kathy Marma at 727.592.8004 or kmarma@aarp.org.

Details are below:

What: The once per decade White House Conference on Aging co-hosted by AARP kicks off with the first of five national, regional forums in Tampa, Florida.

Who: Hundreds of invited experts and interested older Americans including speakers who also may be available for interviews including AARP President Jeannine English, AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond, and Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Cecelia Munoz.

Where: Hillsborough Community College, Ybor City, FL. For more specifics for members of the media, RSVP to AARP Florida Associate Manager of Communication Kathy Marma at 727.592.8004 or kmarma@aarp.org.

When: Media may cover the conference on Thursday, February 19, 2015 from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm. A more detailed agenda will be available closer to the event.