'Boomerfest' Explores Aging and Caregiving in Rockland

Hear the term “Boomerfest” and you might think rock concert targeting baby boomers. You would be right about the age group but wrong about the type of event.

Baby Boomers or Boomers or the Sandwich Generation, those born between 1946 and 1964 who grew up on peace, love and rock 'n’ roll today face serious issues like their aging parents and growing older themselves. With increased longevity, what's a boomer to do?

Well, seeking out guidance and assistance to deal with the issue of aging can be more confusing than illuminating. Where to start, who to listen to, who is eligible for what aid, what type of legal advice is needed, what will care cost? With all of these questions and many more in mind, Boomerfest was created by a steering committee of 15 professionals who work in organizations primarily serving the elderly and their adult children. 

The free program takes place on Sunday, May 1 at Felix Festa Middle School in West Nyack from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The resource event includes 75 exhibitors that run the gamut from the Alzheimer’s Association, Meals on Wheels, assisted living facilities and home health aides to reverse mortgage services, electronic medical records and senior travel planners.

Twelve categories of exhibitor services will be listed in the program to guide people who have a specific need or question. Steering committee members will also be stationed in the exhibit area to direct people to the correct service provider for their specific situation.

If a parent’s illness is sudden, their adult children may not have any idea of where to turn for assistance and guidance.

“It’s very complicated when you have your own busy life,” says Mimi Hoffman community liaison at United Hospice of Rockland in New City and chair of the Boomerfest steering committee. “We want people to know these are hard problems and people have been solving them. Rockland County has wonderful community services and has a tremendous network.”

Hoffman says the idea took root last fall after the Professional Aging Network heard a presentation about baby boomers. About 15 Network members from Rockland County government agencies, Rockland and Bergen County, NJ-based non profit and for profit organizations agreed to volunteer their time and pool their expertise to put together an informational event and show what community resources are available.

Rockland County Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell, D-West Nyack, who is the keynote speaker at Boomerfest, has been looking into the issue of aging for many years and in the 1990s chaired hearings on it. She says, “The purpose of this conference is to get people to start thinking about what they need to do in their lives for advanced directives, who to assign to take care of their needs when they get older.”

Aging Demographics – Senior Population Increasing

Recent numbers show a significant portion of the county’s population is over age 65 and that spiral will continue according to Michael D’Angelo, research director for Rockland County’s Department of Planning.

“The most current estimate of the population 65 years old and over for Rockland County is 41,203 people and comes from the Census Bureau's 2009 Population Estimates,” states D’Angelo. “However, it is important to keep in mind that the County's 2009 total population estimate, according to the Census Bureau, was 300,173 people, or more than 11,000 less than the 2010 Census population of 311,687. Because of this discrepancy, there is the potential that the 41,203 estimate of seniors may be low.”

Detailed age group information, including senior citizens, gathered during the 2010 Census is expected to be released later in May.

“Between 1990 and 2000, Rockland's senior population 65 and over increased by 26 percent, while the total population increased by 8 percent,” notes D’Angelo. “Between 2000 and 2009, Rockland's senior population was estimated to have increased by 21.7 percent, while the county's total population was estimated to have increased by 4.7 percent.

“We expect that this trend of senior population growth outpacing the total population growth to continue into the future. The senior population 65 and over is one of the fastest growing age groups in the county, if not the fastest,” said D’Angelo.

Senior Citizen Advocates to Speak

A one-hour program with keynote speaker Cornell, featured speaker Adriane Berg, a nationally recognized lecturer on longevity, and skits by the Rockland Players will take place from 1 to 2 p.m. Hoffman says that time was selected so attendees could follow-up afterwards on what they heard about and get more information from exhibitors.

Cornell plans to speak from a personal point of view.

“I think it will be a mixture of personal experience as I and others have grown older,” she said.

She will also talk about how people at older ages are working fulltime continuing to be productive members of the community and about “what we all need to do to continue to thrive.”

Berg’s theme is a “Blueprint for Successful Aging.” Berg, the CEO of Generation Bold, a New Jersey-based consulting company, explains, “My message is it is in your control. I think you can train yourself for success in aging.”

Berg lists the five areas to take control over as: your health and happiness; family relationships particularly with parents; finances; life purpose and vitality, and environment. “Some people call it work I call it life vitality,” she says, adding, people need to decide ahead of time where they are going to live as they get older.  

The Rockland Players will perform skits about taking the car keys away from an older driver and a parent relocating from Florida to New York due to deteriorating health. The Rockland Players are affiliated with the county Mental Health Association. They are trained to role-play real life situations through the art of improvisation and will answer audience questions in character. Experts from the participating agencies will also respond to questions.

The symbol for the event is a boomerang depicting “Boomerangst.” Hoffman describes Boomerangst as “fitting because people are being hit with things out of nowhere.”

The boomerang was designed by Hoffman’s South Nyack neighbor, artist Martha Gradisher. The colorful whimsical drawings on it depict some challenges and pleasures of getting older – hearing and eyesight changes, medication, playing cards and taking photos. It says “Boomerfest: where you’ll find relief from Boomerangst.”

Multiple Resources Available

Hoffman hopes the program will draw as many as 400 people from Rockland and Bergen counties and that adult children will attend with their parents and start conversations about what services may be needed in the future.

In addition to getting answers to their questions and written materials, attendees can take advantage of free health screenings for blood pressure, memory and depression. People can register adult relatives who are at risk of wandering away from home and getting lost or disoriented because of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other mental impairments with the county’s Silver Alert program administered by local law enforcement agencies. Boomerfest is also an opportunity for residents to sign up as volunteers with many of the participating organizations.

Boomerfest partnered with the Clarkstown Family Resource Center to host the program at Felix Festa, which helped to keep the cost down. Non-profit agencies paid $50 and for-profit organizations paid $125 to participate. Hoffman hopes Boomerfest becomes an annual event.

 “We will give people evaluation forms to find out how to make the event better and what needs we should address,” says Hoffman. She says panel discussions and workshops could be added in future years.