Albany County is launching an initiative to combat ageism.
County Aging Commissioner Deb Riitano says Together Against Ageism was created after a recent county-wide needs assessment showed some 90 percent of respondents said they were concerned about being treated differently due to their age.
Speaking Wednesday at the Green Island Senior Center, she related a recent anecdote from a woman who called her office.
“She took her husband to a specialist for a specific problem that he was concerned about, she was concerned about. The doctor's response was, ‘Well, what did you think, you're getting old.’ By the way, older adults are not included in clinical trials,” Riitano said.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, nearly one in five county residents is 65 or older. Riitano says ageism is a serious problem facing older New Yorkers.
“Ageism negatively impacts how older adults seek and receive care, pain, depression, fatigue, are all we all buy into that as older adults aging, and so then we don't seek help from what might be some underlying cause,” Riitano said.
Step one of the program will be to recruit seniors to serve as a steering committee for a county-wide study to develop prevention strategies.
75 herself, Riitano says she’s experienced ageism firsthand.
“I have had people say things to me like, ‘you're over the hill. Do you want to retire?’ No. Or, you know, ‘boy, you look good for your age,’” Riitano said.
Deputy County Executive Michael McLaughlin says it’s part of a wider societal issue.
“You picture someone, maybe of one of your elders’ age, okay? Maybe a grandmother, she's on the sidewalk, looks like she may need help. You say, ‘Do you need some help? Sweetie, honey,’ maybe you change the tone of your voice, that's elder speak,” McLaughlin said.
Dr. Dina Refki, Director of the University at Albany’s Center for Women in Government and Civil Society, says ageism often compounds other societal prejudices.
“When you're talking about race, gender and age, these are all marginalized social identities. And whenever a social identity intersects a marginalized identity, intersects with another marginalized identity, you have a double disadvantage. And so, if you are a Black woman who is an older adult, you experience that triple oppression or triple disadvantage,” Refki said.
Refki says finding interventions is expected to take three to four months and then developing them for the county will take another six months.
