MGS Administrative Staff Lyn Schroeder at Registration

Penda Kane assisting at Registration

Conference Chair Catherine Sullivan

Keynote Nina M. Silverstein, PhD

Keynote, Conference Chair and Conference Co-Chair Lola Amendt

Endnote Jane Hardin, JD

With more of us reaching an advanced age, and our society’s almost exclusive reliance on cars, there is a tension between the desire of seniors to stay active in their communities and the changes in physical, sensory and cognitive functions that can make driving an increasing challenge with advancing years. Yet few of us know what can be done to improve the driving safety of our older clients or acquaintances, or how to determine whether it is time to stop driving. Lack of awareness, availability or adequacy of transportation alternatives compounds the dilemma about driving cessation decisions. The problem is particularly complex when it involves cognitive decline and the need for family members to be involved. Nina Silverstein, a gerontologist and national expert in safe mobility will provide an overview of those issues and propose strategies that seniors, their families and their care-providers can use to address impairments in critical driving skills and, if necessary, ease the transition from driver to passenger. Dr. Silverstein will highlight the need to include education about alternative transportation and discuss ways to improve those options, especially as they relate to the needs of persons with dementia.

Jane Hardin is the Senior Transportation Specialist at the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) where she consults with providers and social service agencies nationwide on the development of transportation services for seniors, and serves as liaison between the transportation and aging communities. Before coming to CTAA, Dr. Hardin worked at AARP and was involved in preparing the organization’s five-year strategic plan for transportation. Jane Hardin is a dynamic speaker, passionate about senior transportation issues and livable communities. This endnote address will include a look at next steps and strategies for safety, independence and participation that emerged from the day’s workshops. Utilizing the framework of the conference objectives, attendees will end their day with a better understanding of the challenges to maintaining personal mobility at home and in community from the perspectives of scientific research, public policy, and applied practice.