AoA Announces Availability of $5 Million for Nursing Home Diversion Modernization Grants

On June 25, 2007, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina G. Carbonell announced the availability of $5 million for Nursing Home Diversion Modernization Grants. These grants provide an opportunity for States to modernize their existing efforts by adding flexible service options to help individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid to avoid nursing home placement and spend down to Medicaid, and to remain in their homes and communities. These grants will help States to implement the new long-term care provisions that were embedded in the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006, and will provide States with an additional tool to modernize their long term care systems. Building on the latest research and best practices from the field, the Nursing Home Diversion Modernization Grants will complement the Administration's "Money Follows the Person Initiative" by strengthening the capacity of the national aging services network to provide more choices for high-risk older adults in the community and prevent nursing home placement.

Additional information about AoA's Nursing Home Diversion Modernization Grants program, including a copy of the program announcement with application instructions, can be found at http://www.aoa.gov/doingbus/fundopp/fundopp.asp The deadline for applications is: August 24, 2007.

HHS Launches Initiative to Improve the Health of Hispanic Elders

Assistant Secretary Josefina G. Carbonell today joined Acting HHS Deputy Secretary Eric D. Hargan and other federal, state and local officials in Houston, Texas to announce an initiative to improve the health and quality of life of Hispanic elders. Five HHS agencies have teamed up to assist local communities in up to nine metropolitan areas of the U.S. with large Hispanic populations to develop more coordinated strategies for improving the health and well being of Hispanic elders. The announcement was made as part of the HHS "A Healthier US Starts Here" Prevention tour to help educate Houston residents about the importance of preventing chronic disease and illness such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes and living healthier, more active lives.

The HHS initiative “Improving Hispanic Elders’ Health: Community Partnerships for Evidence-Based Solutions” is designed to encourage Hispanic elders and their families to take advantage of new Medicare benefits, including prescription drug coverage, flu shots, diabetes screening and self-management, cardiovascular screening, cancer screening services and smoking cessation programs. Findings from the 2006 National Healthcare Disparities Report prepared by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) show that persistent and growing health disparities exist among Hispanic elders compared to the non-Hispanic white elderly population.

Click here for details on Improving Hispanic Elders’ Health: Community Partnerships for Evidence-Based Solutions. The deadline for applications is Tuesday, July 24, 2007.

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June 7, 2007 – AoA joined Aging with Dignity, United Health Foundation, American Hospital Association and leading aging and health organizations to launch the 500,000 Wishes National Call to Action Campaign.

Five Wishes is a personal care planning tool that helps someone express how they want to be treated if they are seriously ill and unable to speak for themselves. To help further the use of Aging with Dignity’s Five Wishes advance directives document by all individuals regardless of culture, ethnicity or income, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging, Josefina G. Carbonell today joined Paul Malley, the Executive Director of Aging with Dignity and its Founder Jim Towey, President, St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania; Reed Tuckson, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief of Medical Affairs, UnitedHealth Group; and Ruth Sullivan, President Elect of the American Hospital Association's Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy; and other leading national and local organizations to launch the 500,000 Wishes campaign. The goal of this campaign is to leverage the recent translation of this special tool into over 20 different languages by ensuring distribution to different ethnic and cultural groups. It is hoped that at least a half a million copies of these various translations of Five Wishes are distributed over the next year.

Five Wishes, a personal planning tool for long term living, helps people make important personal care decisions that address their medical, personal, emotional and spiritual needs before a health crisis occurs. Five Wishes was made available in 20 different languages besides English and Spanish in response to the increasing number of people who require assistance in communicating their personal wishes in diverse languages - Five Wishes is now available in Albanian, Bengali, Arabic, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Croatian, French, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Urdu and Vietnamese.

AoA encourages national, state and local community organizations to join Aging with Dignity's National Call to Action. To learn more about the 500,000 Wishes campaign or to receive copies of Five Wishes in available languages, individuals may request them online at www.agingwithdignity.org or by calling 888-594-7437.

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The U.S. Administration on Aging celebrates the life of Janet Sainer who passed away on June 4, 2007.

Janet Sainer, a pioneer in the field of aging and intergenerational programs, served for 12 years as the Commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging. Her leadership and collaborative skills while heading the largest area agency on aging in the nation benefited millions of vulnerable older New Yorkers in need of essential home and community-based services, such as those provided through the Older Americans Act which she helped to build, expand and implement.

Prior to being appointed commissioner, Mrs. Sainer directed aging programs for 14 years at the Community Service Society where she developed a demonstration program that led to the establishment of the national Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

Upon her retirement as NYC Aging Commissioner in 1990, Janet Sainer continued to raise public awareness of concerns of older New Yorkers locally as well as nationally. In addition, Janet was recognized internationally in the field of aging, having been appointed as a board member of the Brookdale Institute of Gerontology and Adult Development in Israel.

For close to two decades, Mrs. Sainer served as a special consultant to the Brookdale Foundation Group, and in that capacity, championed the rights and issues of millions of grandparents and other relatives raising children. Her passion for this issue was evident to all who knew her. She was attending a conference on grandparents in Denver, Colorado at the time of her passing.

Janet Sainer's career was one of excellence and commitment. Her personal and professional experiences inspired so many to better understand and appreciate what it means to age in America. Commissioner Sainer leaves a record of accomplishment that will endure for generations. She was determined, tenacious and untiring. The national aging network - and our nation - has lost a true champion.