Jun 9, 2009 -- As President Barack Obama prepares to take on health care reform, a group of human service and legal professionals gathered at a conference sponsored by Wurzweiler School of Social Work to exchange ideas about and advocate for much-needed changes in the delivery of health care to the elderly on the local, state and national levels. “Navigating the Health Care Maze: At the Cusp of Change,” which took place on the Wilf Campus on May 1, was the seventh in a series of annual conferences on issues in aging organized by Wurzweiler and its planning partners—including Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, the Bronx Regional Interagency Council on Aging and the Washington Heights/Inwood Interagency Council on Aging. “We have a real opportunity to move ahead on health care reform with the White House following through on campaign promises regarding the ‘Divided We Fail’ platform and Congressional activity on such issues as Medicare/doctor reimbursement and funding for research,” said panelist Michael Olender, associate state director at the AARP. Olender was part of a panel of legal, not-for-profit and government experts who spoke on the need to become educated about the current health care system and to promote changes in health care delivery. The panel discussion was followed by workshops focusing on Medicare Part D, Medicaid eligibility and trusts, Medicaid and long-term care, long-term care insurance, mental health care and managed care and communication. “Hopefully, we will be seeing savings in the long-term,” said post-workshop speaker Mark Hannay of the Metro New York Health Care for All Campaign, a city-wide coalition advocating for reforms leading to universal health care. “Older persons are not a burden, but a resource,” stated Rosa Perla Resnick ’76W, PhD, representing the United Nation’s NGO Committee on Aging.