Alpine Area Agency on Aging
WHAT'S NEW:
Call For Nominations: Senior Citizen of the Year and Friend of the Seniors for Region 12
Deadline: March 30th, 2012Senior Awards Ceremony to be held on May 16th, 2012 held in conjunction with Older Americans Month
The Alpine Area Agency on Aging is a member of the Alliance for Information & Referral Services (AIRS) as well as the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (N4A).
Alpine Area Agency on Aging Awarded $9,300 Healthy People 2020 Community Innovations Grant
The Alpine Area Agency on Aging received an award for their joint partnership proposal with the Consortium for Older Adult Wellness for "Colorado Healthy People 2020 Community Innovations Project Fall Prevention Certificate of Excellence Proposal". Through the Coalition for Evidence Based Programming and Health Promotion, formed in 2011 and comprised of representatives of County Health and Human Services; Recreational Centers; Health Care Organizations/Providers; Long Term Care Services; and others from each of the five counties, this award commits to utilizing evidence and population-based, culturally competent strategies for fall prevention within the communities constituting an Area Agency on Aging region.
Funding will allow each community to build upon initial coalition training efforts for sustainable evidence-based, community-driven prevention programs designed for constituents age 60+. Each community will have two certified Fall Prevention Specialists implementing activities for a comprehensive community-wide, replicable program improving quality of life for older adult residents. As community health workers they may respectively provide and/or oversee direct service. This project is designed to encompass the cultural shift in patient self-management envisioned by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; incorporate health strategies through the National Prevention Strategy; meet the Healthy People 2020 goal for older adults; and mobilize new and existing community partner resources by utilizing the expertise of a non-profit created specifically to address community needs. The proposal activities begin December 2011 with the recruitment of community health care workers from the Coalition for Evidence Based Programming and Health Promotion to attend the Fall Prevention Certificate of Excellence Specialist Training scheduled for January 2012.
One Away Campaign's Congressional Pledge to Protect and Strengthen the Older American's Act
Each day, over 10,000 Americans turn 65. And more than 13 million seniors are struggling just to pay for food, medicine, and a place to live. The good news is that Older Americans Act (OAA) programs can help. The OAA funds meals, preventive services, caregiver support, and more. With budget cuts to these services looming, and Congress planning to reauthorize the OAA, now is the time to protect it for today's seniors and strengthen it for tomorrow. Ask your members of Congress to sign the Pledge to Protect and Strengthen the Older Americans Act. Read more and send an email to your lawmakers now. http://bit.ly/OAA-Pledge. For more information and advocacy tools, go to www.oneaway.org.
NWCCOG has formed a Regional Coordinating Council for Transportation that will cover a 10-county region.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Launches Quality Care Finder
The quality of health care professionals, services, facilities and plans can greatly impact a patient's health. Medicare beneficiaries have choices when it comes to the quality of their providers. That's why the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services just launched the Quality Care Finder designed to help beneficiaries and their caregivers find better health care options.
Patients and their caregivers can get started by going to http://www.medicare.gov/quality-care-finder/ to find health care providers, facilities, health and drug plans, and equipment suppliers, and make "apples-to-apples" comparisons of their quality.
Available resources for beneficiaries include:
• Hospital Compare: Compare Medicare-certified hospitals locally and throughout the country based on the quality of their care.
• Nursing Home Compare: Find Medicare-certified nursing homes and the special services each nursing home offers, like dementia care, ventilators or rehabilitation. Then compare their star ratings and the quality of care they give.
• Home Health Compare: Find Medicare-certified home health agencies based on services like skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech therapy and home health aides. Then, compare each home health agency based on the quality of their care.
• Medicare Plan Finder: Get detailed, personalized information about the cost and benefits of available Medicare health and drug plans, and compare the quality of the services they provide.
• Dialysis Facility Compare: Find Medicare-certified dialysis facilities and their services. Then, compare each facility based on quality of care.
• Physician Compare: Find doctors based on medical specialty, clinical training, foreign languages spoken, and more. Check to see if a doctor accepts the Medicare-approved amount as full payment.
Comparing Is Easy - Go to Medicare.gov/QualityCareFinder or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to find and compare health care providers. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.
The Alpine Area Agency on Aging Four-Year Area Plan
Click HERE to download the AAAA Four-Year Area Plan
Every four years the Administration on Aging (AoA) which oversees the Older Americans Act at the national level requires that each state and territory submit a plan for how they will use the Older Americans Act funds and how they will work on the initiatives set forth by the AoA. In turn each individual Area Agency on Aging in the State of Colorado must also submit a plan to the State Unit on Aging so that they can incorporate these plans into the state plan. The NWCCOG-Alpine Area Agency on Aging submitted its four year plan in January of 2011 and it has been approved by the State Unit on Aging.
The Four-Year Area Plan is posted here so that interested parties can see what the Region 12 Regional Advisory Council, the older adults in the region, and Alpine Area Agency on Aging see as the challenges and opportunities for older adults in our county in the next four years and beyond. Like all plans, it is subject to change, particularly in the areas driven by funding. If you have questions regarding the plan please feel free to contact the Program Director, with the Alpine Area Agency on Aging or (970) 468-0295.
Colorado Assistive Technology Network - Please click HERE for a flyer or visit this website for a link to AT Funding $ources & AT Finder.
Program Overview
The Older Americans Act (OAA) of 1965 established the Administration on Aging (AoA) at the federal level in the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Act is intended to assist older Americans to live independently and with dignity, in their own communities, by removing barriers and providing continual care for vulnerable older adults. AoA awards funds to the State Units on Aging (Division of Aging and Adult Services in Colorado), based on Census Bureau estimates of the number of people age 60 and over. States are divided into Planning and Services Areas (PSAs), so programs can be effectively developed to meet the unique needs of older adults in each area. Colorado allocates funds to 16 Area Agencies on Aging, which, in turn, fund local service providers - an interconnected stream of funds and programs known as the "aging network". Programs authorized under the OAA are intended to serve all persons over the age of 60, especially those with the greatest social or economic need.
The NWCCOG began sponsorship of the Alpine Area Agency on Aging (Alpine AAA) in 1978. The Alpine AAA is the designated regional planning and service agency for senior services in Eagle, Grand, Jackson, Pitkin, and Summit Counties. The Alpine AAA Regional Advisory Council (RAC), mandated by the OAA, was formed in 1980 and acts as the Alpine AAA's primary advisory and advocacy group. A voluntary group of citizens, the RAC represents all counties within the NWCCOG region. Agencies, service providers, and individuals with expertise in aging interests are recruited as "Optimal Representatives" to the RAC. The RAC meets six times a year. Meetings are open to the public. Funding to the Alpine AAA and program objectives are based on the State Fiscal Year (July - June).
Senior Services in the NWCCOG Region:
Eagle County Senior Services
Grand County Senior Services
Jackson County Senior Services
Pitkin County Senior Services
Summit County Senior Services