Wednesday, June 9th

Grab your breakfast of choice, get energized with our virtual DJ Scott Messina, and hear highlights of the day ahead.

Scott Messina, Entertainer, Host and Producer, Messina Productions

Over a cup of coffee at our kitchen tables, we will dive right into a quick conversation around how Candoo is helping to teach older adults to stay connected and reduce social isolation.

Liz Hamburg, President & CEO, Candoo Tech

On Demand

By 2030, people aged 55+ will make up one-third of the U.S. prison population. The annual taxpayer burden of incarcerating older inmates is an estimated $16 billion—more than the Department of Education’s budget for state improvements in elementary and secondary schools. Across the country, aging service providers are offering programs inside prisons that connect older inmates to information and resources that provide direct financial incentives to society. Chronic disease management programs reduce the amount of care needed and the cost to taxpayers. Join this examination of work currently underway that focuses on the issue of older adults aging while incarcerated, the safety nets that may be available for them as they reintegrate into society, and how a social justice lens can pave the way for solutions.

Cynthia Roseberry, Deputy Director of Policy, Justice Division, ACLU

Laura Roan, Program Manager, The Osborne Association

Lisa Barry, PhD, MPH, UConn Center on Aging

Main Stage Plenary

Expo Hall

Created by the National Council on Aging, the Aging Mastery Program® (AMP) is an engagement and incentive program designed to support older adults’ actions to improve their health, finances, and well-being. AMP’s innovative approach guides individuals to create sustained changes in daily habits and behaviors. AMP covers a range of behaviors that include nutrition and fitness, but also extend to sleep patterns, relationships, economic health, civic engagement, advance care planning, and other topics vital for aging well. Many sites use it as a feeder program for evidence-based health promotion programs. Sustaining programs is often challenging due to rapid changes in budgetary and political climates. To ensure ongoing implementation of these beneficial programs, stakeholders need to understand the factors contributing to program sustainability and look beyond just funding. With knowledge of the critical factors associated with sustainability, programs can develop a plan to build sustainability so that programs can operate more efficiently and improve their ability to offer benefits to the public over the long term. Although numerous frameworks and definitions of sustainability have been developed, almost no assessment tools that have demonstrated validity and reliability have been disseminated. This presentation will describe the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool (PSAT), an instrument for assessing the capacity for program sustainability, as a simple, user-friendly tool that can be used in multiple settings. Developed at the Center for Public Health Systems Science (CPHSS) at Washington University in St. Louis, the PSAT consists of 8 domains affecting sustainability capacity. Presenters will provide an overview of this tool and offer a step-by-step guide for how a program can use the PSAT to identify its strengths and challenges and engage in sustainability planning to build sustainability capacity. This presentation will also offer real-world experiences of users of the PSAT in its adoption from initiating, planning to execution. Under a grant, NCOA is working to grow and sustain the Aging Mastery Program® (AMP) in small towns and rural areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Washington. In this presentation, an overview of the AMP sustainability and evaluation plan, including the rationales for selecting the PSAT tool to measure key aspects of sustainability, first baseline assessment trends and findings will be shared. We will also discuss our intervention plans to support the partners from both state-wide to local-level on implementing the sustainability action plan.

Bonnie Nelson, AMP Program Coordinator, Anacortes Senior Activity Center

Yoko Meusch, MA, Program Associate, Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging

Jennifer Tripken, Ed.D., CHES, Associate Director, Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging

Susan Stiles, Senior Director, Healthy Aging Innovations, National Council on Aging

Business Acumen

During this panel discussion, there will be an overview and analysis of trends related to senior poverty and financial insecurity, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Representatives from several federal agencies (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Social Security Administration, USDA Food and Nutrition Services and HHS Administration for Community Living) will share information on how their respective agencies and low-income assistance programs they administer are helping to alleviate elder economic insecurity and are responding to the needs of older adults during the pandemic. Topics will include program participation rates, challenges and opportunities to improve outreach and application processing, the impact of the pandemic, the effect of the public charge rule and working with local partners to achieve the agency’s mission. Presenters will identify priorities that the Biden Administration will focus on in their agency during the upcoming year.

Rebecca Kinney, Director, Office of Healthcare Information and Counseling, Administration for Community Living

Jessica Shahin, Deputy Administrator, SNAP, USDA , Food & Nutrition Services, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Sara Vitolo, Deputy Director, MMCO, CMS Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office

Lydia Chevere, Public Affairs Specialist, Social Security Administration

Leslie Fried, Senior Director of the Center for Benefits Access, National Council on Aging

Economic Security

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the perfect storm for depression, social isolation, and loneliness among older adults. Social distancing and the digital divide have added barriers to reaching many vulnerable and under-served older adults. Healthy IDEAS is an evidenced-based depression management program for older adults. The program is designed to detect and reduce the severity of depressive symptoms in older adults through screening, education, referral, and behavioral activation. Older adults are shown the link between mood and activity and how completing tasks and increasing meaningful activities can improve their mood and overall health. Healthy IDEAS training is available remote and the program can be implemented with older adults via computer or telephonically. We will share information about the Healthy IDEAS program, how we transitioned the program from in-person to virtual, and sustainability opportunities for contracting with payers.

Melissa Donegan, Assistant Director, HLCE, Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and North Shore

Simona Eldridge, , 

Healthy Living

Evidence-based fall prevention programs are scientifically proven to help older adults reduce their risk of falling. Administration for Community Living (ACL) has awarded more than $24 million to support the implementation of evidence-based fall prevention programs. Evaluation of this implementation effort has great practicality and utility for reporting and providing feedback on numerous dissemination components. Using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework we describe the dissemination of evidence-based falls prevention programs during 2014-2019. We focus specifically on reach and effectiveness. Data for this study utilized a national data repository of standardized performance monitoring data required by ACL fall prevention grantees. Forty-four grantees spanning 31 states receiving 60 awards from September 2014 to December 2019 contributed to the data repository. Data elements include workshop information, participant information, attendance records and organizational data. We present reach at the state, site, and individual participant level. Reach at the individual level describes the characteristics of the 85,848 program participants. Effectiveness outcomes include self-reported fear of falling, falls, and confidence in fall related activities for the 53,489 participants who completed pre- and post-program assessments. In a subsample of participants, performance-based outcomes of mobility are presented. We present information on programs which are most commonly offered and where they are offered. We present the impact of these programs on reducing fear of falling and falls and improving confidence of their participants. We discuss how this information can be used to identify best practices in program implementation, including reach to specific populations (e.g., vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations), and to develop resources to enable current and future organizations to learn from and replicate these practices. We invite you to join us to learn about this 6-year effort to disseminate and implement evidence-based fall prevention programs across the United States in over 85,000 older adults.

Dr. Jennifer Brach, PhD, PT, FAPTA, Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development, University of Pittsburgh

Kathleen Cameron, Senior Director, Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging

Gardenia Juarez, MA, Student, Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh

Jennifer Tripken, Ed.D., CHES, Associate Director, Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging

Michelle Mai, Senior Program Associate, National Council on Aging

Healthy Living

The target audience for this presentation are congregate nutrition program administrators, Senior Centers, Area Agencies on Aging and aging network professionals. As an Administration for Community Living (ACL) funded Innovation in Nutrition grantee, the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M is currently conducting a three-year (2019-2022) comprehensive research study in partnership with Texas HHSC to reinvent the local Texas congregate meal programs. Study includes a multi-stage gap analysis and a learning collaborative model to increase innovative program development skills and innovation capacities of nutrition providers with AAAs as mentors to implement targeted, replicable and sustainable pilots. From this study, this proposed panel will focus on the carefully crafted unique curriculum that serves as the fulcrum of the peer-to-peer and subject matter specialist-guided Learning Collaborative model and integrates exemplary content, strategies and practices. A part goal is to reflect on the efficacy of the LC model, its curriculum and best practices implementation on the targeted pilot participants from across Texas geographies. The evaluation-based insights have valuable programmatic implications during and post pandemic when seniors report increased food insecurity, social isolation and barriers to nutritious meals. Chaudhuri is the principal investigator of the project from Texas A&M, Gilbert is the Texas HHSC program partner and Netterville is the nutrition consultant for the project.

Linda Netterville, Nutrition Consultant, Netterville Dietitian Consulting

Nandita Chaudhuri, Research Scientist, Public Policy Research Institute, Texas A&M University

Sonia Gilbert, Project Manager, Office of Area Agencies on Aging | HHSC Access and Eligibility Services - Community Access

Jackie Gilbert, National Council on Aging, 

Business Acumen

Expo Hall

This panel will address the disproportionate impact that chronic disease has on racial and ethnic minorities. We will explore chronic disease with a focus on the socioeconomic inequities and barriers that contribute to disparities for racial and ethnic minorities, and convey the important role that community health workers can play in affecting patient-centered outcomes and addressing social determinants of health. We will also hear about solutions to improve these social determinants and consider approaches to multi-sector collaboration for change, from access to healthcare to stigma to education.

Fatima Cody Stanford, Obesity Medicine Physician Scientist, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School

Scott Tornek, MBA, Chief Strategy Officer, Penn Medicine’s Center for Community Health Workers

Tonia Vinton, Medical Director, Nutrition and Weight Management Center

Denise LaRue, MPH, Director, Care Integration, Harris Health System

Partner Spotlight Plenary

The digital divide has never been a more critical issue than it is now. The COVID-19 pandemic and the need to rely on technology to remain connected while social distancing, has shined a bright spotlight on continued inequities related to digital access in the U.S. For older adults with high-speed internet access, technology solutions ranging from telehealth to food delivery have provided much-needed services this past year. For those who lack this access, those same services have been out of reach. Too many people aged 65+ experience multiple barriers to online access, ranging from digital literacy to affordable, accessible devices and broadband. According to the Pew Research Center, a third of adults aged 65+ report they never use the internet, and almost half lack home broadband. For people of color, the digital divide is even greater. Pew reports 55% of Black older adults do not go online, and 70% do not have broadband at home. Learn more about the foundations of these disparities, how federal policies can expand digital inclusion, and what you can do to help. 

Paul Weiss, PhD, President, The Oasis Institute

Jessica Rosenworcel, Acting Chairwoman, Federal Communications Commission, 

Catherine Spensley, MSW, LCSW, Senior Division Director, Felton Institute

Amy Huffman, Policy Director, National Digital Inclusion Alliance

Lee Rainie, Director of Internet and Technology Research, Pew Research Center

Main Stage Plenary

Recruiting the right people to facilitate evidence-based programs has always been challenge.  Now, with programs offering a remote delivery, we are faced with a new challenge of finding facilitators that are comfortable with technology and leading a class.   Healthy Living for ME will share their leader application and interview process to find the right candidates.  In addition, we will cover the shift to remote training delivery success and how to sustain your current leader pool.

Jennifer Fortin, Fidelity and Training Manager, Healthy Living for ME

Jen Paquet, Training Manager, Central Maine Area Agency on Aging, d/b/a, Spectrum Generations | Healthy Living for ME™

Stephanie Pilato, Senior Director, Finance and Contract Management, National Council on Aging

Healthy Living

Approximately 12 million Medicare beneficiaries are dual eligibles, meaning they are also enrolled in Medicaid. These individuals typically have higher health services utilization than the broader Medicare population. Yet dual eligibles must navigate two complex health programs in order to access health care services. Congress and CMS have increasingly encouraged use of various integrated care plans, designed to improve Medicare and Medicaid coordination. There are primarily three types of plans serving the dual eligible population: dual-special needs plans (D-SNPs, including HIDE and FIDE), Medicare-Medicaid plans (MMPs), and Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). The presentation provides the basics about these three types of plans, describing each product, how it works to cover dually eligible beneficiaries, the services that may be covered, and who may be eligible to enroll.   First the presentation describes D-SNPs, which are types of Medicare Advantage Plans for individuals enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. Within this category are HIDE and FIDE SNPs: plans designed to provide an even more coordinated experience for dually eligible individuals and cover additional services such as behavioral health care and/or long-term services and supports. The second option the presentation covers is MMPs. MMPs contract with Medicare and the state Medicaid program to provide coverage for Medicare and Medicaid services. Lastly, the presentation reviews PACE, a program that provides Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care services under one plan.  The availability of these plans and the level of integration varies widely by state and community, and so presenters will review new and existing resources attendees can use to learn more about available options in their state. One of these resources is the My Care, My Choice tool.   The goal of this presentation is to introduce these different integrated care options to attendees so that they become familiar with the different options, how they work, and how to help dually eligible individuals navigate their coverage choices. After the presentation, attendees should feel empowered to use the resources provided to learn more about the integrated care landscape in their state.

Derek Ayeh, Senior Associate, Education & Policy, Medicare Rights Center

Brandy Bauer, Director, Center for Benefits Access, National Council on Aging

Economic Security

COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted older adult’s lifestyles. Hawaii Healthy Aging Partnership (HHAP) has offered Enhance®Fitness—an evidence-based program for fall prevention—for older adults in Hawaii. Up until March 2020, when all in-person programs had to stop due to the pandemic, the HHAP had 424 active Enhance®Fitness participants.  HHAP began to find a way to support older adults on their journey to stay active. Since April, program staff and instructors have called participants to check-in and remind them about what they can do to keep active. While making calls, HHAP partners (Kauai Agency on Elderly Affairs and Maui County Office on Aging) saw that the pandemic created social isolation, which triggered cognitive and physical decline and put Enhance®Fitness participants at risk for falling and worsening health. In May, Kauai Agency on Elderly Affairs launched six virtual exercise classes, and Maui County Office on Aging aired exercise videos that consisted of Enhance®Fitness components on a TV channel. To understand how the pandemic has impacted the participants and to develop future plans, HHAP designed and administered a survey for active Enhance®Fitness participants through check-in calls between October and November 2020.  The survey was completed by 291 participants, representing a 59% response rate. Findings indicated that participants’ perception of health status and number of physical activities had dramatically decreased. More than half of the participants started doing new exercises during the pandemic. They spent more time on activities that they could do on their own, and less time on activities requiring them to be at a particular facility. Many of them heard about the alternative exercise HHAP offered through Enhance®Fitness instructors or AAA staff members. The main reasons for their participation in the alternative exercises were that they wanted to keep up with doing exercises and wanted to improve their health. Barriers to participation were lack of computer access, internet connectivity, and knowledge in using technology. By looking at factors related to participation and barriers, those who are older and living with minors preferred to have a phone call or reminder prior to the scheduled programs. Those who do not live with a minor needed help with using technology. Overall, having the program schedule and information were an important factor for them to join remote exercise programs.  During the pandemic, the Enhance®Fitness participants appreciated the check-in calls for emotional support and encouragement to do exercise. Remote exercise is an option for them to keep active, however, we need to offer exercises that address the needs of the participants.  This presentation will be beneficial for any social service and health professionals, especially for people who plan to offer remote exercises for older adults. By the end of the presentation, attendees will be able to consider using multiple approaches to outreach and implement remote exercise programs for older adults.

Claudette Medeiros, Program Coordinator, Maui County Office on Aging, Aging and Disability Resource Center

Michiyo Tomioka, Evaluation Coordinator, University of Hawaii, Center on the Family

Johnny Yago, Program Coordinator, Kaua‘i Agency on Elderly Affairs

Sarah Yuan, Specialist, University of Hawaii, Center on the Family

Jennifer Tripken, Ed.D., CHES, Associate Director, Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging

Healthy Living

Community-based organizations are transforming services to align with health care ecosystem partners, from health plans to hospitals, in pursuit of achieving the goals of the Triple Aim objectives: Better health outcomes, improved patient experience, and lower costs. In order to show health care payers the value of community-based services, it’s imperative to track the outcomes of services to demonstrate community-based organization's capacity to impact key health care performance metrics like clinical outcomes, readmissions, and more. Attend this session to learn about how to align your products and services with the priorities of health care organizations to enhance your opportunity to expand revenue and support sustainability strategies.

James Stowe, Director, Aging and Adult Services, Mid-America Regional Council

Marisa Scala-Foley, Director of the Aging and Disability Business Institute, USAging

Juliet Simone, Director of National Health and Programs, Oasis

Sharon Williams, Consultant, Williams Jaxon Consulting

Carmen Parker-Bradshaw, Department Vice President of Community Health & Accreditation, Blue KC

Ken Bracht, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, National Council on Aging

Business Acumen

As hearing declines, loneliness can intensify — and set off a cascade of detrimental health effects. Now considered as hazardous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, loneliness significantly raises the risks of depression, dementia, and early death. The number of people living with hearing loss is staggering: As many as 38 million Americans age 20 and older (according to a report by researchers at John Hopkins), and that number is expected to increase to 44 million by 2060.   For most of these adults, hearing aids or cochlear implants are the only treatment, but these devices only help—they do not cure the problem. Assistive listening systems and other technologies are needed, and those with more significant hearing loss especially need to avail themselves of assistive technology to overcome the limitations of the devices.   While assistive technologies are specifically mentioned under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA), few facilities deal  have universal, hearing-aid compatible systems Some venues figure that by installing a PA system, the needs of those with a hearing loss are met. Yet the ADA recognizes that even the best public address systems, combined with the best hearing aids and/or cochlear implants, cannot solve the intelligibility problems faced by people with hearing loss. This is because hearing aids and/or cochlear implants do not restore hearing to normal the way that eyeglasses restore vision.  Distance from the sound source, background noise, and reverberation combine to degrade signal intelligibility and make it difficult for people to hear and understand speech in large rooms, service counters, and public places where announcements are made (e.g., healthcare settings, airports, and train stations.)    Additionally, the comprehension problems are even worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing and glass barriers reduce the audibility of speech and degrade the quality of the speech sounds. Universal masking degrades speech quality even further and denies us all the visual clues we rely on (e.g., lip reading, facial expressions).  This presentation will demonstrate to aging care and senior center professionals what hearing loss is all about, its negative impact on healthy aging,  the effects of hearing loss on cognitive and physical functioning and stigmatization.  It will also include an explanation of  the differences, benefits, and limitations of over-the-counter hearing devices, hearing aids, and cochlear implants. Then it will explore the different types of assistive listening technology and practical ways senior centers can become hearing - friendly and  meet ADA requirements– with an emphasis on improving communication during COVID-19 times.

Juliette Sterkens, Doctor of Audiology or AuD, Hearing Loss Association of America

Kathleen Zuke, MPH (she/her), Associate Director, Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging

Senior Centers

We all share the knowledge of how our world has changed in the past year, and the challenges to service provision and safety measures for those we serve. What is a Village? Villages are membership-driven, grassroots, nonprofit organizations that are run by volunteers and paid staff. Each Village is based on the needs of their individual communities.  They coordinate access to affordable services, provide volunteer services including transportation, inspiring health and wellness programs, home repairs, social and educational activities.  The Village Movement creates positive interactions, collaborates and encourages shared interest by building relationships between community partners-informal, voluntary and reciprocal.    By providing a range of options that allow older adults to choose the home and community-based services that suit them best, Villages make it possible for older adults to “age in place” in their homes and communities.  Lessons learned from this pandemic are that we look at new perspectives and growth for the sustainability of programs in community-based settings.   Villages and Senior Centers have been successful in several parts of the nation have collaborated to build stronger, healthier, connected communities.  This session will provide an overview of the Village movement, how local Village can work together with their senior centers to enhance services, and the positive outcomes of building connection. It will center on how this work can easily be replicated and applied to other communities and organizations.

Barbara Sullivan, Executive Director, Village to Village Network, Inc.

Evy Horton, Vashon Villages Program Manager, Vashon Senior Center

Jackie Gilbert, National Council on Aging, 

Business Acumen

Expo Hall

The presenters will discuss how their health promotion and disease prevention team, based in an academic medical center and a strong anchor mission, was successfully able to train and engage a group of promotoras de salud in the coordination and implementation of evidence-based programs throughout Chicago.    Unquestionably, many promotoras have immense passion and drive, as well as a desire for training and skill building. In fact, many of these women worked as healthcare professionals in their countries of origin—as nurses, dentists, social workers and psychologists, physicians, and even one gerontologist. However, due to their immigration status and/or licensing restrictions, they cannot continue to practice in their field in the U.S. Through listening and collaborating with promotoras,  learned that many have a deep desire for training that would allow them to provide an intervention for their communities. The promotoras were particularly excited about the prospect of completing the CDSME training that would allow them to provide a health intervention for the community members they work so hard to recruit, rather than only connecting them to services and programs.    In November 2019, the presenters trained four promotoras de salud through the traditional 4-day Tomando training. The remarkable recruitment skills of the promotoras to ensure successful recruitmen promotoras t for the programs was undeniable. Two promotoras scheduled a workshop at a church in Little Village during January. Despite the frigid temperatures, the facilitators successfully recruited 25 individuals, of which 21 participated and 16 successfully completed (76%). They recruited through the neighborhood churches by speaking after services during announcements, recruited through other community health workers, and even talked to older adults they saw throughout the neighborhood in restaurants, parks, laundromats, and walking on the sidewalks.   Although we wanted to continue to train more promotoras de salud, the majority of the promotoras were unable to commit to full-day trainings. Caregiving responsibilities and lack of childcare were presented as the primary barriers to commitment. Therefore, we requested permission from the Self-Management Resource Center (SMRC) to pilot a ten half-day training for a group of promotoras de salud for Tomando and Manejo.     This presentation will cover strategies used to engage promotoras de salud and community-based organizations in evidence-based programming, the adaptations made for a successful training to the community, and techniques used to best support the promotoras as they recruited for and facilitated evidence-based workshops.    Additionally, the presenters will discuss how their work with integrating into community-based organizations and working with promotoras de salud has been essential in their health equity work as a health care institution, particularly with addressing barriers to chronic condition management and healthcare access. To that end, the presenters will discuss how the partnerships forged with CBOs and through CDSME helped to enable collaboration with other programming, research and advocacy, and COVID-19 information and vaccination distribution.    The workshop will include a small group activity through which participants can reflect and share their experiences on adapting evidence-based workshops to various communities and their experiences training community health workers (CHWs) as facilitators.

Grisel Rodríguez-Morales, Manager of Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, Rush University Medical Center

Padriac Stanley, Program Coordinator, Rush University Medical Center

Xavier Vaughn, Program Manager of Medicare, AARP

Healthy Living

Across the country, Benefits Enrollment Centers have established strong community partnerships with Native American Tribes by building trust through understanding and appreciating tribal culture, allowing them to serve the Elders of those Tribes. Seeing the importance of this work and the value it brings to both individuals and communities at large, a group of the BECs will team up to advocate for this connection to be made by others. The team will participate in sharing stories and best practices to show the impact of the work, while also allowing participants to interpret the opportunity for a similar impact within their own communities. The team will do so by demonstrating how this connection elevates a holistic approach, as well as how this knowledge has been applied and how that application can be replicated. Although each Benefits Enrollment Center and Native American Tribe are unique, the strategies and process of creating a partnership between the two are similar. The presentation team believes that by drawing connections across each of their own geographically and Tribally diverse experiences, participants will gain an understanding of the transferability of creating this type of community partnership. The presentation will also include a discussion to clarify these concepts. Finally, participants will leave with resources to serve as a guide for beginning this work within their own communities.      Presenters to include: Kristina Raner-Five County Association of Governments, Utah Benita McKerry- Native American Disability Law Center, New Mexico Lyle Lomayma- Rio Arriba County HSS, New Mexico Samantha Walker- Western Montana Area VI Agency on Aging, Montana Laura Crews-Senior Source, Connecticut Moderated by Cynthia LaCounte, Administration for Community Living Special assistance from Randy Feliciano, National Council on Aging

Kristina Raner, Benefits Enrollment Center Director, Area Agency on Aging, Five County Association of Governments

Benita McKerry, Intake Specialist, Native American Disability Law

Cynthia LaCounte, Director of the Office for American Indian, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian Programs, Administration for Community Living, Administration on Aging

Lyle Lomayma, Benefits enrollment Coordinator, Adult Day Care Director, Northern New Mexico Rural Health Network

Ann Kayrish, Senior Program Manager for Medicare, National Council on Aging

Economic Security

How often have you heard or thought, "my senior clients can't do this" or "my senior clients won't learn this" when it comes to technology? Assuming a person cannot participate based on age alone is not only statistically inaccurate but also ageist. In this session, we'll explore current aging and tech trends, the basics of user experience and user interface, as well as how to address the barriers the aging process presents for older people in digital spaces. You'll walk away with increased awareness of digital ageism, be able to identify it in your digital spaces, learn how to address it, and what the emerging trend of virtual senior centers have to do with it. Outline - 60 Minutes Identifying Digital Ageism (5 minutes) Why this topic matters (5 minutes) Understanding UX/UI {User Experience and User Interface} (20 minutes) Aging Centered UX/UI (20 minutes) Wrap Up & Questions (10 minutes)

Marie Gress, Founder and CEO, Kovir, LLC

Jean Van Ryzin, Senior Director, Communications, National Council on Aging

Senior Centers

Accessibility of services for seniors is of vital importance, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Nutrition is an important determinant of health in adults over the age of 60, and malnutrition in older adults is often underdiagnosed. Many older adults do not have computers or the training on how to connect to telehealth or virtual programs. This problem has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic as the senior centers are having difficulty reaching their seniors in methods other than phone calls. Many centers are choosing not to host group education like they used to or have a reservation system to keep social distancing, and some have looked for ways to broadcast information virtually (i.e. evidence based self-management programs). This presentation will discuss a project which provides technologies to senior centers for older adults to be able to connect with a Registered Dietician for nutrition counseling. This project has two goals 1.) To increase nutrition knowledge among Georgia seniors by building a replicable means to connect those who have increased nutrition risk with a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and 2.) To develop and utilize standardized web-based nutrition presentations for use at the senior centers across the state of Georgia. The observable results of this project are a new model of support that can be replicated and a measurable increase in knowledge in persons receiving services.  The goals of this presentation are to discuss a creative approach for providing remote nutrition services for older adults in Georgia using telehealth technologies. This innovative method allows for the delivery of cost-effective nutrition education services for seniors who are at highest nutrition and food security risk. The target audience for this presentation includes senior center directors, registered dieticians, and other individuals who provide nutrition services.

Lesley Clack, Assistant Professor, University of Georgia

Madison Copeland, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Georgia

Laura Samnadda, MS, RDN, LD, Director of Nutrition Services, Open Hand Atlanta

Renae C Brown, Chief Dietitian, Division of Aging Services, Livable Communities Section, Georgia Department of Human Services

Simona Eldridge, Staff, National Council on Aging

Senior Centers

Though family caregiving by definition is unpaid, it carries enormous financial consequences for caregivers, care recipients, and society. The economic effects are significant for the two-thirds of family caregivers who are women, as they spend a significant part of their adult lives—9 years on average—out of the paid workforce. Yet, the vast majority of caregivers report they have given little or no thought to their own financial situation and over half describe their financial position as fair or poor. They also face knowledge and skills gaps when it comes to helping coordinate financial matters for a care recipient. Caregiving also has financial implications for care recipients. Both physical and/or cognitive impairments may require older adults to receive assistance managing financial affairs such as paying bills from recipients’ bank accounts, handling various forms of insurance, filing tax returns, and managing investments.  In many cases, caregivers pay recipients’ bills out of their own pockets; an amount averaging $7,000 a year. As with all major life changes, becoming a caregiver will likely require significant adjustments but advance preparation for the new responsibilities can help both the caregiver and the recipient. Sometimes families can anticipate the need to assist an older member, but nearly half of caregivers report that they find themselves providing comprehensive services with little or no notice. Offering financial literacy assistance may be particularly valuable for caregivers during this initial and difficult early phase of caring. More than 60% of caregivers anticipate their role will end upon the death of their care recipient, yet, the caregiver responsibilities often continue long past that point.  As more responsibility is placed on individuals, there is more need for money management strategies to help caregivers with limited resources secure their own financial future. Caregivers need assistance to help ensure their own financial well-being. Strengthening financial literacy for caregivers is critically important as two-thirds of caregivers say they could benefit from financial advice. Strengthening the financial capability of women caregivers especially throughout the caregiving cycle will go a long way toward advancing the long-term well-being of those women and their families. This session is targeted to all aging network professionals who serve caregivers and their families. The goal is to advance the Aging Network’s ability to strengthen the financial capability, preparedness and well-being of family caregivers and to equip them with best practices, resources and tools to manage the financial needs of care recipients. Participants will have an understanding of the unique financial challenges and obstacles caregivers face in planning for their own retirement, as well as how to include financial caregiving in financial wellness programs that will encourage seniors to actively plan. In addition, they will learn about the tools and resources available from WISER and the National Resource Center on Women and Retirement.

Cindy Hounsell, President, Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER)

Laurel Beedon PhD, WISER Senior Research Fellow, Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement

Ruthann Froberg, Research Manager for WISER's Financial Caregiver Portal, Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER)

Genevieve Waterman, Director, Corporate Partnerships & Engagement, National Council on Aging

Diverse Population

More than 2.3 million children currently are being raised by grandparents or other non-parental relatives; this number is expected to increase, in part due to the opioid crisis.  For the caregiver, providing kinship care can be both extremely rewarding and extremely challenging. Although caregivers' lives are enhanced by the experience, providing full-time care to children can decrease caregivers' abilities to address their own health and well-being needs.  Recognizing that these caregivers would benefit from improved coordination of resources intended to support them, as well as better dissemination of information about those resources, the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act (enacted in 2018) established an Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. The Advisory Council has been working to identify, promote, coordinate, and disseminate to the public information, resources, and the best practices available to help grandparents and other older relatives both meet the needs of the children in their care and maintain their own physical and mental health and emotional well-being.  This session will include an update from Greg Link of the Administration for Community Living on the Advisory Council’s work.  The Administration for Children and Families, a federal agency located in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, implements policies and programs that promote economic and social well-being of children and families.  Its kinship navigator program, administered through ACF’s Children’s Bureau, provides assistance to grandparents and other kinship caregivers in learning about, and accessing, available resources and services to assist them and the children in their care.  In addition, we have asked ACF to touch upon any other relevant ACF resources, as well as how ACF-funded resources might vary from region to region and how to connect with ACF regional staff.  Community-based organizations play an important role in supporting grandparents raising grandchildren and other kinship families.  This session also will include a community-based organization that will discuss its experiences, challenges and lessons learned in providing support to these families.

Rhonda Schwartz, Regional Administrator, Administration for Community Living

Greg Link, Director, Office of Supportive and Caregiver Services, Administration for Community Living

Lilianna Hernandez, Child Welfare Program Specialist, US Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families

Sonja Shute, MSW, Senior Director, PSS Circle of Care

Maura Porcelli, Senior Director, Senior Community Service Employee Program (SCSEP), National Council on Aging

Diverse Population

The COVID-19 Pandemic has caused many activities to shift into a virtual landscape.  Exercise and physical activity have not been spared.  However, is it safe to provide fall risk screens and fall prevention exercise programs in the virtual landscape?  Does it pose unnecessary risk to the consumer and the provider?     In 2020, the faculty and students at Winston Salem State University partnered with community stakeholders, such as the YMCA and the Piedmont Triad Regional Council Area Agency on Aging, to provide over 85 virtual fall risk screens to older adults.  A total of 36 older adults were referred to a virtual group Otago program and 10 older adults were referred to a virtual Moving for Better Balance group. Thus far, 42 older adults have completed the virtual exercise programs combined with no reported occurrences of safety events related to program implementation.     We believe that the virtual landscape offers healthcare providers the opportunity to better screen older adults longitudinally for changes in fall risk, even in the post-COVID world.  This work has the potential to improve reimbursement patterns for older adults who may incur more risk driving to a medical appointment than they do performing a fall screen virtually.  This presentation will discuss the implementation of a virtual fall risk algorithm to screen older adults for needed referrals.  The use of the algorithm to triage individuals into appropriate evidence-based fall prevention programs will also be reviewed.  Methods to trouble shoot safety concerns and digital illiteracy will be provided to participants.  Lastly, the opportunity this work offers to decrease healthcare costs by decreasing falls in older adults will be discussed.

Megan Edwards Collins, PhD, OTR/L, CAPS, CFPS,, Associate Professor WSSU OT Department, Winston Salem State University

LaVerne Garner, PT, DPT, Winston Salem State University

Alison Hartman, PT, DPT, Winston Salem State University

Nancy Smith, PT, DPT, PhD, Winston Salem State University

Kristen Kiefer, Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer, National Council on Aging

Healthy Living

Roughly 12 million individuals in the U.S. are eligible to receive both Medicare and Medicaid. For these low-income seniors and younger adults with disabilities, it can be challenging to navigate a complex maze of options to receive health care and long-term services and supports (LTSS) in a coordinated manner. At the same time, a number of options exist to offer this population integrated care, yet many beneficiaries and the counselors who assist them do not fully understand these options. In this session, representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, ADvancing States and NCOA will provide a brief overview of the various integrated health plans, and “dig deeper” into demystifying the landscape of integrated care plans for Medicare-Medicaid enrollees. Presenters will explain the Medicare-Medicaid demonstrations in numerous states, the evaluations on their impact on care and how these plans can help improve access to quality health care for this population.

Camille Dobson, Deputy Executive Director, ADvancing States

Leena Sharma, Project Manager/Senior Policy Analyst, Community Catalyst

Lindsay Barnette, Director, Models, Demonstrations and Analysis Group, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Federal Coordinated Healthcare Office

Leslie Fried, Senior Director of the Center for Benefits Access, National Council on Aging

Economic Security

During the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of older adults have reported feeling lonely and isolated from others, which is double the proportion reported pre-COVID-19. Around half have infrequent social contact with family, friends, or neighbors from outside their homes. Additionally, it has been well-documented that loneliness and isolation decrease mental well-being and quality of life. Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP®) is an evidence-based self-management approach that helps people to decrease and prevent troubling feelings and behaviors, while increasing their personal empowerment and quality of life. WRAP also helps people plan and engage in social and physical activities of their own choosing during pandemic restrictions to feel less isolated and more in control of their lives. Specifically, WRAP participants go through a process of identifying personal wellness resources and developing an individualized plan to use these resources on a daily basis to manage their physical and mental health. They also identify stressors and signs that things in their lives are getting harder to manage, along with simple action plans for responding to stress, negative thoughts, and challenging times. For older adults, their participation is often the first forum where they are encouraged to talk about their emotions and wellness with peers in a hopeful, caring, and non-stigmatizing atmosphere. Originally taught to adults with psychiatric disabilities, WRAP has been adapted for many different groups, including people with other types of disabilities, those with diabetes and heart disease, veterans, and people undergoing stressful life transitions. WRAP instructors are peers in their experiences with mental health or aging challenges or both. This presentation will describe the WRAP approach and provide an overview of the research evidence for its effectiveness. Also discussed will be the impact of social isolation on mental and physical health, and how WRAP is helping older adults to overcome these challenges. Workshop participants will learn how instructors encourage older adults to create and implement their WRAP plans by framing conversations holistically, in terms of intersecting physical, emotional, and relational health. Additionally, WRAP uses real-life illustrations and appropriate disclosure to model and encourage sharing. WRAP instructors in this project cater illustrations to themes close to the hearts of older adults, such as living well with memory challenges, loss of loved ones, challenges engaging in activities that were easier prior to COVID-19, coping with change, and dealing with loneliness. Workshop participants also will learn how to implement WRAP for older adults using freely-available resources that are suitable for online presentation during the pandemic. The presentation will be targeted to service providers, program managers, system administrators, natural supporters, and older adults interested in strategies to manage their wellness.

Dr. Judith Cook, Professor and Director, University of Illinois at Chicago, Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy

Sean Johnson, MA, CRSS, WRAP for Seniors Project Coordinator, University of Illinois at Chicago

Jessica Jonikas, Associate Director, University of Illinois at Chicago

Kathleen Zuke, MPH (she/her), Associate Director, Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging

Healthy Living

This presentation will share the mission of Healthy Aging North Carolina, an initiative of the North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness at the University of North Carolina in Asheville and our work closing the clinician-community gap between patients of medical providers and the evidence-based community health programs we support including: A Matter of Balance, Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention, Walk with Ease, and the Chronic Disease Self-Management Education suite of programs. As North Carolina’s statewide resource center for evidence-based community health programs, Healthy Aging North Carolina connects people to the programs and agencies that improve community health, increases the capacity of providers to offer these programs, maintains a website with current program information and online registration systems, and collects and analyzes data to report results.  Strategies utilized by Healthy Aging North Carolina to ensure availability of programs  including accessing new funding, building a coalition, centralizing technical assistance, conducting educational meetings and ongoing trainings, developing academic partnerships, recruiting and training leaders, using data warehousing techniques, and more will be presented. These strategies support the agencies we partner with by providing them with technical assistance, reduced-cost leader trainings, healthy aging resources, and support with program fidelity and administrative processes. The primary focus of the presentation will be detailing our tactics for engaging clinicians not only through such peer reviewed publications, but also by offering continuing education credits and conducting outreach through presentations and organizational relationships. The associated measurements for evaluating the outcomes of our clinician engagement efforts will also be outlined. A secondary focus of this presentation will be to demonstrate an application of clinician engagement through the reimbursement pathway of DSMES. The target audience for this presentation includes leaders and team members of organizations either supporting the implementation of or directly implementing community based health programs, particularly those interested in statewide implementation strategies and/or clinician engagement efforts that support referrals to programs.  The goals of this presentation are to educate this target audience about our organization, the evidence-based community health programs we support, statewide implementation strategies, and clinician engagement tactics. We hope that participants will leave this presentation with ideas and tools to engage hospital systems, health plans, and clinicians in referring their patients to evidence-based community health programs in their own communities through some of the strategies we present.

Nadia Mazza, CDC Arthritis and Chronic Pain Project Manager, North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness and UNC Asheville

Natasha Vos, Chronic Disease Project Manager, NC Center for Health and Wellness at UNC Asheville

Laura Plunkett, Senior Program Specialist, Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging

Healthy Living

When working with diverse elder communities it is essential to realize that outside forces can add to the lifetime of discrimination that some older adults have faced. The more intersecting identities a person holds, the more likely they have lived and continue to live and navigate with daily obstacles. The Older Adults Equity Collaborative (ODEC) is composed of five national minority aging organizations, each of whom represents one of five major racial, ethnic, and LGBT minority older populations, serving as an interconnected resource center for the Aging Network. Consortium members include MHP Salud, the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA), the National Indian Council on Aging, Inc. (NICOA), the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging (SAGE), and the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc. (NCBA). This session is for those seeking to build inclusion of these groups into the work they do to provide assessment, planning and service delivery. Join this virtual session for a panel discussion on best practices, resources, and technical assistance for serving diverse elders documented in the new guide, Serving Diverse Elders: Strategies for Meaningful Inclusion in Service Planning and Delivery. The goal of the guide and the session is to help readers understand the unique challenges of diverse elders as they age, provide tools and resources to advance inclusion during state and local planning, and lay the groundwork for the Aging Network to further their commitment to serving diverse elders.

Shannon Patrick, MPH, Health Strategy Specialist, MHP Salud

Miriam Suen, SCSEP Regional Director, National Asian Pacific Center on Aging

Rebecca Owl Morgan, Project Coordinator, National Indian Council on Aging

Sherrill Wayland, Senior Director of Special Initiatives and Partnerships, SAGE

Xavier Vaughn, Program Manager of Medicare, AARP

Diverse Population

Nebraska has found success in working with local colleges and universities to offer classes, enrollment events, employee retirement seminars, recruit new counselors and receive client referrals.  These educational institutions bring name recognition, affordable (often free) facilities with needed technology, and a trusted reputation.  This has been a fantastic partnership but it is common that most higher education institutions are located in urban areas leaving out residents of rural communities.  While there is a great need in our rural areas for Medicare and economic assistance education, many barriers prevent successful rural outreach. The key is finding the right, trusted partner to assist your organization to become a recognized and reliable rural resource.  A partnership between Nebraska SHIP and the Nebraska Community Colleges has allowed our program to bring this successful practice to rural Nebraska.   The intended audience is any organization serving rural areas with the goal of educating these organization on the benefits of partnering with local community colleges.  This presentation will show why this partnership was needed, how the relationship began and developed, the current outcomes experienced by both organizations and future areas for growth.  Specifically, the presenter will discuss the technology made available by community colleges that helps remove potential barriers such as travel costs, limited staffing and time, and adequate facilities.

Alicia Jones, Nebraska SHIP Director, Nebraska SHIP

Emily McDonald, Director of Economic Security, National Council on Aging

Diverse Population

Age-tastic is one of the first health and wellness programs for older adults using game play to break down barriers and promote positive health outcomes through a holistic approach. Developed by the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA), it combines board game play for “dollars” with group discussions and try-it-at-home activities to educate older adults and change health and wellness behavior.  Played in 8, 1 hour per week sessions, participants learn about: falls prevention, the benefits of social engagement, financial mistreatment, fraud prevention, healthy nutrition, exercise, and medication management.  

Come back Thursday and try your skill at the virtual edition of Age-Tastic as we showcase the modules Feelin’Alright and Money Matters.

Samantha Santana, Project Coordinator, Aging in New York Fund

Dr. Jackie Berman, PhD, Senior Director, Research, New York City Department for the Aging

Listen in as NCOA President & CEO Ramsey Alwin hosts a live Q&A with the stars of Duty Free, a new film exploring the joys and challenges of aging well. All attendees have free access to watch the movie on the conference platform.

Ramsey Alwin, President & CEO, National Council on Aging

Sian-Pierre Regis and Rebecca Danigelis, Director and Star, Duty Free

Networking