09 | 25 | 08 -- Area Officials Get On Board Long-Term Care Bus Tour
Greensboro, N.C.—September 25, 2008—Who cares about old folks' homes?
The Guilford County Joint Advocacy Committee does, and it's taking its show on the road—literally, as it is sponsoring the Residents' Rights Week Bus Tour of Guilford County Long-Term Care Facilities. The committee, made up of representatives of the Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee, the Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee and the Commission on Aging, has extended its welcome to area officials to raise awareness of the increasing age of the local populations. Where in the eyes of the public, care facilities are only a topic of concern when families are seeking an option for an aging relative, local policy makers are faced with the planning needs for a surrounding population that has substantially more members over the age of 60 than under the age of eighteen. This year's theme is “Recipe for Home: Creating and Defining Home in Long-Term Care Facilities.”
The tour is drawing quite a passenger list: County Manager David McNeil, Deputy County Manager Ben Brown, Commissioner Paul Gibson, Commissioner John Parks, House Representative Maggie Jeffus, House Representative Alma Adams, and a representative from the health department plan to board the bus or meet at Morningview, one of the assisted living facilities serving as a stop. The tour will include lunch at a second assisted living facility, plus visits to a nursing home and an adult day care site.
Media professionals who would like to participate in this event are welcome to call Kim Ketchum, chairman of the Guilford County Joint Advocacy Committee, at 297-8877 or 601-2541, or e-mail her at kim@ketchumcompany.com. There will be a question and answer session en route with a spokesperson from the Commission of Aging, as well as video and interview opportunities.