Over seventy-five participants representing media, researchers, policy makers, health care providers and advocates will come together to create a dialogue on older women's health issues at the Older Women's Health and Wellness Summit in San Francisco on May 6 and 7.

This is a working summit during which participants will craft policy recommendations and develop a follow-up action plan to improve the health of older women both locally and nationally.

By the year 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65, a total of at least 80 million people. Women constitute the majority of this population.

While both men and women are living longer today, a woman's life expectancy is seven years longer than a man's. A woman born today can expect to live to age 79, a 30-year increase since 1900; however, these bonus years are not necessarily better years.

MEDIA ARE INVITED TO ATTEND, THIS SUMMIT IS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC:

PLACE: Miyako Hotel, 1625 Post Street
DATE AND TIME: Thursday, May 6; 9 am-5 pm
(Evening Reception is open to the public, 5 pm-7 pm)
Friday, May 7; 9 am-3:30 pm
COST: FREE

During panel discussions and research presentations, summit participants will cover subjects such as health care financing and economics, health and wellness, and care giving and receiving. Specific topics include older women and heart disease; social security and its effects on older women; new areas of research in Alzheimer's and innovative ways of coping with this disease.

The UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women's Health and UCSF Institute for Health and Aging collaborated with numerous local and state organizations to develop the summit.

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Contact: Abby Sinnott
asinnott@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-885-7277
University of California - San Francisco
3-May-1999