When Carlos Alvarez was elected to the position of Executive Mayor of Miami-Dade County in November 2004, he knew that designing a program for the elderly would be one of his points of focus. “It’s one of the main things I wanted to work on,” he admitted. “My oldest sister has been involved in issues with the elderly for most of her adult life, so I was aware of the needs that are out there.”
Two of the organizations that have particularly worked closely with the Mayor and his Initiative are the Alliance for Aging and the Miami-Dade County Health Department Consortium for a Healthier Miami-Dade. And an individual who was happy to come on board when he learned of the Initiative was Dr. Rene Rodriguez. A resident of Miami, Rodriguez is President of the Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons in Washington, D.C. and, in Miami, is Chief of the Orthopedic Section in the Surgery Department of the Veterans Administration Medical Center. He has also been appointed to the White House Conference on Aging and attended a conference there at the beginning of December.
Rodriguez said he wanted to get involved with the Mayors office, and when they learned he was part of the White House Conference, they invited him to join. A senior himself, Rodriguez is well-versed in problems facing the elderly. “We have the largest population of older people in South Florida,” he said. “Since I live here I know about them, its close to me. They face a lot of problems. They dont know the regulations, they need a lot of orientation.”
He described his role with the Initiative: “I volunteered to advise, and I will be a speaker at many of the conferences and centers.” He added, “I think we can have a big impact in a year of campaigning.” Rodriguez has also written a book entitled You and Your Doctor. Written in Spanish, the book is being translated into English because of the demand.
Rodriguez is one of a number of health care professionals with whom Alvarez has been working. The Mayor said his Initiative “has been a one-year process. We started working the day we took office, and were kicking off the program one year after that. There were a lot of meetings, a lot of wanna-dos, but were here now.” Alvarez pointed out that he consulted with a number of doctors and health experts during that planning period. “We decided what we wanted to address, whether it was nutrition, cholesterol, exercise.”
Alvarez said he hasnt received any opposition, but he is aware of other potential problems. “Nobodys going to say no (when approached about participating),” he said, “but getting the necessary resources can be hard.” He gave an example by saying an agency that provides assistance to the elderly might have a budget of $100,000, but then finds it has been cut by $15,000. They then say that they cant provide lunches any more because their budget has been cut. “I say, Cut somewhere else!” Alvarez exclaimed. “Some of these people would be in dire straits if it wasnt for the lunches or transportation that these agencies provide.”
To help deal with that, the Mayor made an important move right after taking office. “I put room in the budget for a coordinator for elderly affairs,” he said. He believes such a person would help to direct those types of endeavors. “Thats why its important to have a coordinator in a high-level position.”
Hiring a coordinator is just one of the Mayors actions to help assure the success of his program. Efforts to assist the elderly undoubtedly have been made in the past, but Alvarez states, “Nobody has taken the initiative I have.”
