Elder Care Issues Highlighted at Event Honoring World's Oldest Person

The world’s oldest person, Jeralean Talley, credits her long life to a deep faith in God. She still lives in her home in Inkster. (Screenshot via YouTube)

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Jeralean Talley, the world’s oldest person, was honored Friday by The Senior Alliance, the agency that has helped the soon-to-be 116-year-old woman remain in her Inkster home.

Talley shared the spotlight at the agency’s 35th annual luncheon with another esteemed senior citizen from Michigan – former U.S. Rep. John Dingell Jr., 88, until his recent retirement the longest-ever serving member of Congress.

Dingell received the agency’s legislative award for a long record of achievements that have improved health care for America’s seniors, The Detroit News reports. Accepting the award, he reflected on shared priorities with his late father, Congressman John Dingell Sr., including Social Security and the Affordable Care Act

But it was Talley, cheered with a standing ovation when she was introduced, who stole the show.

She is featured in a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services video on services provided by The Senior Alliance, one of Michigan’s Area Agencies on Aging, shot last fall as Talley received some updates to her home under one agency’s programs.

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Programs like that are important, but the long-term elder care program in America is broken, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, said in her keynote address.

Dingell, who replaced her husband in Michigan’s 12th congressional district, said she experienced first-hand some of the problems with the elder care system when he became ill during his final days in Congress.

“The Affordable Care Act, no matter what you think of it, did nothing to address long-term care in this country, and not dealing with it isn’t going to make it go away,” the congresswoman said. “It’s a problem, and the way we start (fixing it) is by talking about it.”

Related:

• World’s Oldest Living Person Credits Long Life to Living by Golden Rule