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December 2012

USC Davis School Students Shine in Older Adult-Friendly App Competition

By Featured, Students

Helping seniors harness the social media revolution for their increased health and happiness is a major component in USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology dean Pinchas Cohen’s plans for the future of the institution.

Dubbing this phenomenon “Digital Aging,” he held a competition for USC Leonard Davis School students and staff to help design the best possible aging-friendly mobile app. Awarding winners an iPad and runners-up iPods and iPhones, Cohen announced the results at the School’s annual holiday party.

With a slew of exciting proposals that included medication reminders, home and environment modification safety alerts, end-of-life care assistance and memoir-creation technology, honorable mentions went to doctoral students Jeff Laguna and Patrick Beck, staffer Jana Peretti and undergrads Carin Wong and Cameron Chalfant.

“This was a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in innovative approaches to helping the aging population,” Beck said.

Second runner-up was doctoral student Alison Balbag, who suggested an app called “MyTunes” that would provide musical therapy for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. First runner-up was undergrad Sahar Edalati, who proposed an app to help older adults locate any lost item, from pill bottles to keys, using GPS technology.

Dean Cohen with App Competition Winner Marguerite DeLiema.

The winners were doctoral student Marguerite DeLiema and grad student Allison Young, who teamed up to propose an app to aid first responders to elder abuse, as well the older adult impacted by it.

“We’re hoping this tool can be used to help guide whether or not the case meets criteria for elder abuse and help first responders identify the nearest agencies to connect older adults for assistance and support,” DeLiema said. “We want to help a vulnerable person become more embedded in their community as well as to help people become more knowledgeable about detecting elder abuse and what to do.”

This concept sparked so much interest from USC Leonard Davis School faculty members that DeLiema and Young are hoping to expand the idea to include a cognitive screening for older adults who may seem to be self-sufficient but may actually be vulnerable to certain frauds and scams.

“In the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration for which our School is famous, I plan on bringing in USC’s computer science, art, design and engineering experts to help make these apps a reality,” Cohen said. “Social media and cutting-edge technology offers older adults such amazing opportunities and assets, and I am so proud of the creative, ingenious solutions our students suggested.”

Alumni Update: Maribeth Bersani

By Alumni, Featured

Maribeth Bersani earned her master of science in gerontology in 1978 from the USC Leonard Davis School. Today, she’s the Senior Vice President of Public Policy for the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) in Alexandria, Virginia.

USC Leonard Davis: Hi Maribeth. Could you describe the work of ALFA?

MARIBETH BERSANI: The Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) was founded in 1990 to serve as the voice for providers of senior living communities and the seniors and families those communities serve. Advocacy is an essential component of ALFA’s public policy program.

How would you describe your work?

As the Senior Vice President for Public Policy, I help ALFA and our members champion consumer-driven public policy to promote choice, independence, dignity and quality of life for America’s seniors. We serve as a resource to elected officials and policy makers at the federal and state level, and help educate and inform them about senior living.

What made you choose the USC Leonard Davis School?

When I was a senior in high school my grandmother with diabetes had to have her leg amputated. She went to a nursing home for rehabilitation services. I had never been in a nursing home before but after that first exposure I decided I wanted to help the seniors living in nursing homes. I volunteered my senior year and then worked at the nursing home in the activities department during my summer vacations. My undergraduate degree was in psychology but my college had recently started offering courses on aging. Paul Kershner from USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology came to speak to our class. I knew I wanted to study gerontology and quite frankly at the time (1976) there were only a few schools that offered the degree. USC had the master-level degree and that is what I wanted.

How did you learn about your current position?

I have been working in the field of aging for over 30 years. About 17 years ago I switched from being a public sector employee working for the New York State Office for the Aging to the private sector working for Sunrise Senior Living. That opportunity helped me learn the business of senior living. Sunrise Senior Living was the founder of ALFA and I had always worked closely with the organization. When I had to opportunity to join ALFA six years ago, it was an opportunity to broaden my scope and work on behalf of all providers, not just one company.

How did your USC Leonard Davis School experience help prepare you for your career?

The USC Leonard Davis curriculum was multi-disciplinary. It provided a well-rounded education on all issues related to aging. At the time we did an internship that enabled students to pursue particular interests in direct service, public policy or other areas related to aging and long-term care. I can still remember sitting in class seeing the demographic charts showing the growth of the elderly population that was expected in 2010 and thinking that was a lifetime away.

What advice would you offer current or prospective USC Leonard Davis students?

My advice to anyone thinking about studying at the USC Leonard Davis School is to do it! There are so many career opportunities in the field of aging. There are today and will continue to be many doors open for people with a degree in gerontology. Opportunities exist in public policy, direct care, legislative, regulatory and legal fields to name a few. In 2031, the first of the baby boomers will be 85 years old. Take it from someone who thought 2010 was a lifetime away: it will be here before you know it.

Richardson wins Kesten Memorial Lecture Award

By Featured

The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology welcomed Arlan Richardson as the 36th recipient of the Kesten Memorial Lecture award.

Established in 1973 to honor the grandparents of Alan Davis, son of School founder Leonard Davis, the Kesten Memorial Lectureship provides prominent scholars in the field of aging the opportunity to discuss their research as well as to meet with Andrus Gerontology Center faculty and students for information discussions.

Drawing raves from attendees for his special presentation, “Rapamycin: The First Anti-Aging Pill?” Richardson added another award to a distinguished career that includes his position as the founding director of the Barshop Institute for Longevity & Aging Studies at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

The former president of the Gerontological Society of America as well as of the American Aging Association, Richardson was also responsible for organizing the first Gordon Research Conference in Europe and serving on the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute on Aging.

Richardson’s talk was well attended by experts across campus, including such world-class biologists as Caleb Finch, Kelvin J.A. Davies, Enrique Cadenas, Valter Longo, Edward Schneider, John Tower, Sean Curran and Christian Pike.

“On behalf of the USC Leonard Davis School, allow me to say how happy we are to honor such an esteemed figure in the field of aging as both a friend and colleague,” said Pinchas Cohen, dean of the School. “His lecture was not only illuminating but also incredibly thought-provoking.”

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