Center for Health Systems & Design at the Texas A&M University College of Architecture recently joined the Center for Aging Services (CAST), a program of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), which is the primary U.S. organization serving the non-profit long-term care industry.

The CAST is leading the national charge to develop and deploy technologies that can improve the aging experience in America. The organization has four focus areas:

• Driving a national vision of how technologies can improve the quality of life for seniors while reducing healthcare costs;

• Accelerating technology R&D pilots with seniors to fulfill this vision;

• Advocating to remove barriers to the rapid commercialization of proven solutions; and

• Promoting national dialogue about standards to ensure interoperability and widespread access to aging services technologies.

Established in 2003, CAST has become a national coalition of more than 400 technology companies, aging services organizations, research universities, and government representatives.

“Through research, collaboration, and evidence-based practice, CAST task groups work to ensure that technology solutions attain their fullest potential to meet the needs of our aging society, explained Amy Hodukavich, CAST program coordinator.

Susan Rodeik, assistant professor of architecture and associate director of CHSD, is listed as the primary CAST contact at Texas A&M University.

As members of CAST, Rodiek said, the center is eligible to participate in a variety of development programs conducted by the organization. Rodiek has already discussed the possibility of a TAMU studio project focused on the design and installation of health-related communication and monitoring technologies in individual residences.

Other TAMU contacts for the organization include Elton Abbott, a lecturer in the Department of Architecture, and Marcia Ory, professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Health at the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center.

More information about CAST is available on the organization’s Web site at http://agingtech.org/. The site includes the “CAST Clearinghouse,” which is created and maintained by CAST members as a place to learn what's happening in aging services technologies. The site’s “partnering opportunities” section offers a Web-based bulletin board where companies, researchers and service providers can post collaborative projects.

The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (http://www.aahsa.org) serves two million people every day through mission-driven, not-for-profit organizations dedicated to providing the services people need, when they need them, in the place they call home. AAHSA members offer the continuum of aging services: adult day services, home health, community services, senior housing, assisted living residences, continuing care retirement communities, and nursing homes. The organization is committed to creating the future of aging services through quality people can trust.