Director's Welcome
Welcome to the Center for Successful Aging at Long Beach State University!
The Center fosters interdisciplinary applied research, supports program evaluation, and encourages education on aging as a means of reducing disparities and propagating well-being in aging communities. We are committed to promoting aging well and with dignity for all by addressing social isolation, creating meaningful opportunities for social connectedness, and preparing the current and future workforce for the care and service of older adults across disciplines. Our dedication to cultivating a community that champions aging with dignity is reflected throughout our entire institution. We proudly share that CSULB has recently joined the International Age-Friendly University network making us the third university in California to have this distinction.
Since reopening in Spring 2018, we have launched four projects through our Systemic Innovations in Serving the Needs of Older Adults initiative, supported by the American Gold Star Manor, Archstone Foundation, and SCAN Health Plan. The projects are designed to address needs identified by community partners, including older adults participating in the programs. To date, we have served over 110 residents at The American Gold Star Manor with our programs and will be relaunching two more programs in 2020. Our goal is to identify successful, scalable, and sustainable programs that can be duplicated throughout the greater Long Beach community and beyond while training students throughout the College of Health and Human Services in real-world experiences working with older adult populations. We have also secured $50,000 in scholarships, thanks to the generosity and vision of SCAN Health Plan, to encourage students to pursue careers in aging. Our aim is to prepare the health and human service workforce to better meet the needs of aging populations.
In addition, we are collaborating with several community partners and networks of service providers on key initiatives to better serve the needs of older adults, including research on the experience of Latino caregivers to persons with Alzheimer’s Disease and implementing palliative care models for aging populations. The Center has joined the Social Isolation and Loneliness Impact Coalition led by MPTF (the Motion Picture and Television Fund) to share solutions to the widespread social problem in the greater Los Angeles area. We look forward to expanding our collaborative efforts and invite you to explore our website and its resources. Thank you for your interest in the Center for Successful Aging. We look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Iveris L. Martinez, Ph.D.,
Director, Center for Successful Aging,
Professor & Archstone Foundation Endowed Chair in Gerontology
