Lucia McBee Kicks-Off Fellows Author Night Series

NEW YORK CITY, June 17th- Lucia McBee, LCSW, MPH kicked-off The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) Fellows Author Night Series with a reading from her groundbreaking Mindfulness-Based Elder Care, a guide to using alternative/holistic methods of care to help older adults.

Using an adaptation of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program, McBee offers readers a user friendly, highly inspirational tool. The book includes tips, exercises, and case studies along with instructions on how to tailor current elder care programs to include meditation, gentle yoga, massage, aromatherapy, humor, and other creative therapies. This type of complementary alternative medicine combined with conventional medicine has proven to be very effective. As McBee noted during the reading, “Mindfulness-based elder care programs began in small meditation groups in the nursing home, and over time they had a significant impact on the institution. This book is for elders, professional caregivers, family and friends of elders, and for those who will be elders.”

Ms. McBee has worked with elders and their caregivers for 27 years. Earlier in her career she collaborated on Columbia University’s five-year study on the community-based needs of those living with Alzheimer’s disease. She began to integrate mindfulness therapy into her practice over a decade ago, and is no stranger to New York City’s elder care settings having worked at Elder Craftsman, Jewish Home and Hospital, and Dumont Masonic Home. She currently serves as a consultant for health care providers. McBee became a fellow of NYAM in 2006. Fellows of NYAM embody the highest level of achievement in their respective fields.

Ms. McBee’s book ties into the need for better approaches in older adult care, an important line of research and advocacy for NYAM. In 2005, nearly 1.3 million New York City residents were aged 60 or older, that number is predicted to increase rapidly as the baby boomer generation hits retirement. The Census reports that by 2030 the population aged over 65 will double, meaning 1 in 5 will be 65 years or older. With these numbers in mind, NYAM has continued to help improve infrastructure for care of older adults with its groundbreaking Age-friendly NYC initiative, to make this city a better place to age.

In addition, NYAM’s Social Work Leadership Institute (SWLI) serves the crucial role of educating our future social workers to care for elders.

The New York Academy of Medicine is proud to support Lucia McBee, LCSW, MPH whose work is sure to become a classic reference guide to mindfulness-based elder care.

The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. Its research, education, community engagement, and evidence-based advocacy seek to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. The impact of these initiatives reaches into neighborhoods in New York City, across the country, and around the world. It works with community based organizations, academic institutions, corporations, the media, and government to catalyze and contribute to changes that promote health.

Posted on June 18, 2008

 Print   Subscribe

Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org

Press Release Archive