Jeffery A. Lowell, M.D. champions organ donation awareness		Search View past issues

Welfare use more common than many think Many Americans believe that welfare use happens to someone else, to people outside of mainstream society. But a study published in a recent issue of Social Work casts considerable doubt on that notion, finding that nearly two-thirds of all Americans between 20 and 65 will at some point turn to a public assistance program. Full story More Stories
				Local retirement community focus of study By Gila Z. Reckess The University's Center for Aging is collaborating with the Jewish Federation of St. Louis to investigate naturally occurring retirement communities, or NORCs. The Jewish Federation received $1.3 million from the Department of Health and Human Services for the pilot project, the largest of five grants awarded nationally for this type of research. The program's mission is to find ways to help aging Americans spend their senior years in their own homes with the help of support services that provide transportation, health and human services and home modifications. Many apartment buildings and neighborhoods have naturally evolved into retirement communities, including an area of Creve Coeur that includes 1,500 residents older than 65. The Jewish Federation and the Center for Aging plan to use the grant money for pilot research projects and to improve outreach services to this community. According to John C. Morris, M.D., director of the Center for Aging and the Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Professor of Neurology, the University's team is excited about this opportunity to collaborate with the Jewish Federation to identify and accommodate the needs of St. Louis' elderly. "Our newly created Center for Aging exists to explore strategies that enable older adults to live longer, more productive lives," Morris said. "By partnering in this project, we can begin to understand what elders themselves perceive as important opportunities to remain productive in their community, which will help us plan larger, long-term studies to address these issues." Sen. Jean Carnahan supported the grant's proposal and will be in St. Louis to kick off the program in late September.

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