Diakon president /CEO to participate in forum for White House Conference on Aging

Boston, Mass. (Tuesday May 26, 2015)

Mark T. Pile, president and CEO of Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries and Diakon Child, Family & Community Ministries, has been invited to take part in a regional forum related to the upcoming 2015 White House Conference on Aging.

The fifth and final regional forum of the conference will take place in Boston May 28. The forum is designed to engage older Americans, their families, caregivers, advocates, community leaders, and senior living and social service experts such as Pile on key issues affecting older Americans. The forum also serves to inform the development of the White House Conference on Aging, to be held later this year.

"I am very pleased to be able to take part in the regional forum and look forward to providing input on the various issues that affect the nation's older adults," says Pile. Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries operates nearly a dozen senior living communities and housing programs as part of its mission to older adults.

Keynote remarks will be given by Sylvia M. Burwell, secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services.

The White House has held a Conference on Aging each decade since the 1960s to identify and advance actions to improve the quality of life of older Americans. This year's conference is noteworthy as well because 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Older Americans Act, as well as the 80th anniversary of Social Security.

The 2015 White House Conference on Aging is an opportunity to recognize the importance of these key programs as well as to look ahead to the issues that will help shape the landscape for older Americans for the next decade. The regional forums are an opportunity to hear directly from the public on issues such as ensuring retirement security, promoting healthy aging, providing long-term services and support, and protecting older Americans from financial exploitation, abuse, and neglect.

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For further information, please contact:
William Swanger, M.A., APR
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries
(717) 795-0308
E-mail: swangerb@diakon.org