This Week's Updates
Alaska Department of Health sent this bulletin at 08/22/2025 12:37 PM AKDT
Download: Medicaid Long Term Care Eligibility Slideshow Presentation & Resources
ACoA Board Meeting September 25 via Zoom
You are invited! Please mark your calendars for our quarterly board meeting via Zoom September 25th from 9am - 4pm; lunch break 12-12:30pm. This board meeting will feature educational presentations and updates from Alaskan organizations including the Alaska Training Cooperative, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, ACLU Alaska Prison Project, the new State Falls Prevention Coalition and more. Celebrate Employ Older Adults Week with a presentation from the Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Program (MASST). View the Agenda here. All are welcome and Public Comment is at 1pm. Zoom link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86170026613.Celebrating Alaska's Centenarians on National Centenarian Day September 22
We are excited to share that Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA), Alaska Long-Term Care Ombudsman Office and Alaska Pioneer Homes are working on a special project to celebrate Alaska's Centenarians on National Centenarian Day, September 22, 2025.
Are you a Centenarian (age 100 years or older)? Do you know a Centenarian in your community who we should celebrate? Reach out to us at: doh.acoa.info@alaska.gov or call 907-230-0871. Stay tuned!
ACoA Kinship Family Support Webinar with Haa Yatx’u Saani and Volunteers of America Alaska September 5
We are excited to share that in honor of Grandparents Day, we are hosting a free educational webinar on Kinship Family Support in Alaska with Haa Yatx’u Saani and Volunteers of America Alaska on Friday, Sept. 5th at 12pm. Are you a grandparent or relative raising children in your family? Want to learn what supports exist for kinship families in Alaska? Join us! All are welcome.
Zoom link to join at noon on September 5: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81324705401
Have questions or need help accessing Zoom? Call our Program Coordinator at 907-230-0871 or email us at doh.acoa.info@alaska.gov.
ACoA Long-Term Care Medicaid Eligibility Webinar Recording
We appreciate everyone who joined our Medicaid Long Term Care Eligibility Webinar on Monday with Amrit Kaur Khalsa. You can watch the recording here.
Attached to this email is the slideshow presentation and two resources from Amrit (in one pdf): Medicaid LTC Overview for Single Person vs. Married Couple. If you need a transcript from the webinar, please email us: doh.acoa.info@alaska.gov and we will send that to you!
Injury Prevention: Home Falls Checklist
The Alaska Department of Health Injury Prevention & Surveillance Unit recently released a new In-Home Falls Prevention Checklist. Share this with your networks for National Falls Prevention Awareness Week September 22-26.
Facebook post with graphic to download here.
Stay tuned in next week's e-blast for ACoA's new Falls Prevention Awareness Resource and a PDF version of the Home Falls Checklist!
Alaska Legal Services August Updates
ALSC has developed free resources to help Alaskans navigate the fair hearing process when public assistance benefits have been reduced, denied or terminated. AlaskaLawHelp has answers to common questions about the process and a three-step guide to submitting a fair hearing request by email.
Read all their updates including a recent senior client story here.
National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care: Advocating for Increased Personal Needs Allowances in Nursing Homes
AK Department of Health: New Free Fresh Start Program Statewide Starts in September
Are you ready to lose weight and prevent type 2 diabetes? The Alaska Department of Health is supporting an online program to help adults meet that health goal.
The department is working with a new partner called Health and Lifestyle Training (HALT) to offer this online option to eligible adults living anywhere in the state. Participants in this program join at no cost to them. They will be matched with a coach based in Alaska. They will join a group with other Alaskans working toward the same health goal. Participants will focus on achieving a healthy weight, improving what they eat and drink, moving more, sleeping better and reducing stress.
The next program starts in September 2025. In this group, support will be provided by trained health coaches enrolled in eligible university degree programs, such as dietetics and health education. Alaskans who are ready to join can visit https://alaska360.org/lose-weight and read more. Clicking the blue “Get Started” button on that webpage will bring up an online application form. A HALT representative will reach out to determine if the program is a good match for someone’s health goals.
This online program to lose weight and prevent diabetes will be promoted through Alaska’s Fresh Start campaign. Fresh Start connects Alaska adults to programs to prevent and manage chronic diseases. Many of these programs are free or low-cost. Alaskans have options. Fresh Start programs are provided in person, online or over the phone. These programs help Alaskans meet many health goals:
- Prevent type 2 diabetes
- Manage diabetes
- Lower blood pressure
- Stop smoking, vaping, or chewing tobacco
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Full Board of Trustees Meeting Aug 27-28
August 27-28th AMHTA board meeting with in-person and virtual options.
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Building
3745 Community Park Loop, Ste 120, Anchorage, AK 99508
Public Comment Info: Public Comment will be held on Wednesday, August 27 from 10:50am to 11:50am. See instructions for new process below.
- Sign up in advance by emailing: public.comment@mhtrust.org
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Please sign up by 5 PM the night before the meeting.
- Include the following information in your email:
- Full name
- Indicate if you will be attending in person or remotely
- Telephone number
- Organization (if applicable), and the topic of your public comment
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While pre-registration is not required, AMHTA will begin public comment with those who have pre-registered. For more details, you can also view AMHTA's full public comment guidelines.
Agendas & Remote Access Info is available on the Trust website: alaskamentalhealthtrust.org
Need an accommodation? Contact Valette Keller at valette.keller@alaska.gov or 907-269-6039.
Alaska Safety Alliance: Alaska Workforce Alliance Relaunch with Jacqueline Summers
Jacqueline Summers onboarded with the Alaska Workforce Alliance at the Alaska Safety Alliance in July. She’s been brought on specifically to redesign and relaunch the Alaska Health Workforce Coalition which is now coming under the umbrella of the Alaska Workforce Coalition. Funding for this initiative is expected to be decided and awarded by mid-September, which is when planning and outreach will begin in earnest.
Summers brings extensive experience in workforce development and innovation to her work with the Alaska Workforce Alliance (AWA). Before joining AWA, she facilitated the Mat-Su Health Foundation Workforce Development Network for three years. Prior to that, she led Health TIE, a healthcare innovation hub she co-founded, where she partnered with startups to launch Alaska-based pilot projects. Summers serves on the board of UAA’s Alaska AI Solutions Consortium and holds a seat as a Commissioner on the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
Subscribe to ASA's newsletter and learn more about the organization here. You can reach Jacqueline at jacqueline@alaskasafetyalliance.org.
Alzheimer's Association Alaska: Walks to End Alzheimer's this September
There are three Walks to End Alzheimer's happening this September in Alaska: Soldotna, Fairbanks and Anchorage! View the schedule and register to walk here.
Build America Bureau: Rural & Tribal Assistance Pilot Program Webinar Aug 26
Date: August 26, 2025 at 10am AKT
Organization: US Department of Transportation (USDOT), Build America Bureau
The Build America Bureau will host a webinar on August 26, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. ET to provide an overview of the Amended Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The webinar will provide information on changes made to the NOFO, the application process, and eligibility and scope requirements.
For more information about this training, click here.
Caregiver Action Network: From Isolation to Connection - Rural Alzheimer's Care & Behavioral Support Webinar Aug 28
When you’re caring for someone with Alzheimer’s in a rural or underserved community, help can feel out of reach—especially during behavioral challenges like agitation, aggression, or delusions.
Join Caregiver Action Network on Thursday, August 28, at 1:00 PM EST for a free, one-hour webinar, From Isolation to Connection: Rural Alzheimer’s Care & Behavioral Support. You’ll hear from clinical and emotional-health experts who will share real-world strategies and tools you can use right away.
- What behavioral changes can look like at home—and why they can escalate faster in isolated settings
- How to access expert care from afar (virtual memory care, documenting behaviors, talking to providers)
- Where to find peer-to-peer support today
RurAL CAP Foundation Deadline Aug 31
The RurAL CAP Foundation funds a limited number of small grants to support low-income individuals and rural communities. Grants are made quarterly in the amount of $500 to $25,000. Next deadline August 31 followed by November 30.
Thriving Communities Grants: Non-Compete Form Deadline Extended to Sept 2
Grants up to $75,000 available for “severely capacity-constrained” organizations: those with budgets under $500,000 or those serving areas with populations of 50,000 people or fewer.
CFPB Webinar: Cognitive Decline and Financial Exploitation in Older Age Sept 4
Mild cognitive impairment, which often goes undiagnosed in older adults, can adversely affect financial decision-making, leaving vulnerable adults at risk for financial exploitation. Financial exploitation is the most common form of elder abuse, and the research suggests a change in financial management and skills may be an early indicator of cognitive decline. Although a person may be able to perform simple tasks such as writing checks or paying bills, they may have difficulty with more complex tasks such as balancing a checkbook or managing investments.
Advances in the neuroscience of cognition and aging can help family members and professionals recognize the signs of poor monetary management and take steps to respond to and prevent the financial risks associated with early cognitive decline. Those research findings can be used to inform the work of law enforcement, adult protective services, financial institutions, clinicians, and other service providers. They are also relevant to older adults, who can be empowered to take steps to protect their financial well-being.
Commit to Connect: 2025 National Summit to Increase Social Connections Sept 9-10
Commit to Connect will host the virtual 2025 National Summit to Increase Social Connections on September 9 and 10, from 9am to 11:30am AKTC each day. Sessions will focus on this year’s theme, “Scaling and Replicating Effective Social Connection Programs,” and highlight innovative initiatives that strengthen the aging and disability networks’ capacity to address social isolation and strategies to replicate and scale these programs nationwide. The full two-day agenda can be found below.
Registration is free but required. This event will include CART captioning and ASL interpretation. The session recordings, PowerPoint slides, and other materials will be posted on this page after the event. Contact info@committoconnect.org with any questions.
ACL's NADRC: Webinar on End-of-Life Dementia Care Through Storytelling Sept 22
This webinar will explore how the third season of the innovative educational telenovela "Recuerdos Perdidos" (Lost Memories) is supporting Latino families and professionals in navigating late-stage dementia and end-of-life care. Participants will learn culturally responsive strategies for dementia education, how to lead group discussions using the facilitator guide, and ways to address common hospice misconceptions. Real-world examples will highlight how organizations across the country are using this tool to reduce stigma, build knowledge, and support caregiving at home.
Dr. Lisa Gaytan Harper, associate vice president of programs & health equity at Alzheimer’s Los Angeles, will present.
NADRC webinars are free of charge and open to the public. Pre-registration is required to attend. Closed captioning is available during the live event and is included in the recording for all NADRC webinars. Recordings will be available for viewing on the NADRC website. If you have questions, please email NADRC-Webinars@rti.org.
Administration for Native Americans: Alaska Region Free Project Planning & Development Training in Anchorage Sept 23-25
Join ANA Alaska Region Training & Technical Assistance Center for this free training. Participants will receive gain a foundation for creating community-based projects and grant writing skills.
- Learn how to connect with your community
- Make a step-by-step plan
- Figure out how to collect the right information
- Plan how much your project will cost
- Put together your funding request
If you have any questions about the PPD training, please, Ask a Question
Alaska Dementia Action Collaborative: October In-Person & Virtual Meeting
Register now for ADAC's next quarterly meeting on Friday, October 10th, which will be in person in Anchorage at the BP Energy Center. Join us for an exhilarating day of connection, discussion, and learning. The Alaska Dementia Action Collaboration has been working diligently to coordinate the work of building a robust system of support for people impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. It’s time for a review of progress and ensure we are keeping sight of our long-term goals.
The agenda includes a review of A Call for Action: Alaska’s 10-year map to address Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias which is the driving force behind the work of the Alaska Dementia Action Collaborative and informational sessions on a Fairbanks based Village to Village model and a discussion with an Alaska audiologist on the connection between hearing loss and dementia risk.
AARP: Policies That Allow More Homebuilding Can Help Older Adults
More than seven-in-ten older adults would prefer to remain in their communities as they age while large majorities of those 50 and older favor a roster of zoning and land-use policies that would allow more homes to be built, according to surveys by AARP and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Read more here.
National Caregiver Support Collaborative New Resources
NCSC Checklist for Caregiver Assessments: Derived from environmental scans and interviews with leading organizations, this checklist provides a self-guided roadmap for organizations implementing caregiver support programs to advance and refine the use of caregiver assessment in their programs.
Caregiver Assessment Profiles: This series informs states, aging, tribal and kinship networks about promising practices for developing and conducting caregiver assessments. Examine features of Wisconsin’s practical checklist-style assessment and the Caregiver Assessment Tools used in Connecticut and Pennsylvania to evaluate caregivers’ needs and create personalized care plans.
Caregiver Promising Practice Spotlights: This series highlights innovative, evidence-informed, and evidence-based practices to effectively support older family, kin, and tribal caregivers. Discover our spotlighted programs’ innovative approaches to caring for those with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, such as the Penn Memory Center’s Caring Collective peer mentorship program, and Emory’s Integrated Memory Care medical home. Another highlighted program supports working caregivers through its Empowering Caregivers program, created by Dementia Capable Southern Arizona and the Pima Council on Aging.
Resources for Aging Network and Health Care Partners
Engage with partners by sharing actionable resources they can put into practice, such as a Caregiver Identification Tool and guidance for billing caregiver training and education. Additionally, health care partners can earn continuing education credits and learn about strategies for including family caregivers in the care team by accessing free trainings developed by the University of California, San Francisco. Check out the newest self-paced online training tailored to engage kinship and grandfamily caregivers here!
Virtual Trainings for Caregivers to Share Experiences
Share opportunities for caregivers to have their voices heard with the populations you serve! Community Catalyst is offering virtual trainings for caregivers to share their experiences and impact their communities. Learn more by contacting healthinnovation@communitycatalyst.org.
Innovative Caregiver Services and Supports Hub and Summit
Explore USAging’s Caregiver Services and Supports Innovations Hub and follow USAging for information about their free, virtual fall Summit on Innovative Caregiver Services and Supports on September 18, 2025.
Webinar on Strategies for Supporting Working Caregivers
Stay up to date with University of Southern California’s efforts to identify strategies for partnering with employers to support working caregivers.
Opportunity to Join Research Network
Join the National Alliance for Caregiving’s (NAC) Creating and Advancing Caregiving Research and Evidence (CARE) Network, designed to connect providers, researchers, and other interested parties in developing and advancing NAC’s caregiver research agenda.
IHS Alzheimer's & Disease Dementia Program: Journey Mapping
Journey mapping is an evidence-based process that charts a patient’s experience through a health care system. The approach highlights challenges, strengths, and opportunities for improvement.
Journey maps can:
- Guide patients and families through the progression of disease.
- Help clinics identify roadblocks or gaps in services.
- Support patient-centered policy and program development.
Webinar: Living Well with a New Diagnosis on August 28.
Milken Institute Report: Mind the Gap - Investing in Dementia as an Opportunity to Extend Healthspan
We are living through an age of remarkable longevity. Globally, the number of people aged 60 and over is projected to double in the next 25 years. But this longevity boom masks a critical problem: the growing gap between lifespan and healthspan—the years lived in good health. A key contributor to the healthspan–lifespan gap is dementia. By 2050, more than 150 million people are projected to be living with dementia unless treatments are discovered.
The recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration of blood tests for Alzheimer’s detection, along with a deeper understanding of modifiable risk factors and the arrival of disease-modifying therapies, offers new hope for addressing dementia care. However, if research and investment in this area do not increase—or worse, are not maintained at current levels—progress will stall, and the field risks significant setbacks.
This report identifies four key domains for continued strategic funding and research to address dementia at scale:
- global prevention
- detection and diagnostics
- targeted treatments
- care and support
Investing urgently in a dementia-ready world requires a growing global recognition of the need for action.
Read the full report to explore recommendations and discover opportunities to center dementia care in longevity extension strategies.
NCOA: Medicare Shorts for Professionals
The National Council on Aging has developed a new resource tailored for professionals who work with older adults. The “Medicare Shorts: For Professionals” YouTube playlist features concise, easy-to-follow videos that explain key Medicare concepts.
UsAgainstAlzheimer's BrainStorm Podcast
Leading dementia care expert Dr. Carolyn Clevenger joins the latest episode of the BrainStorm podcast to tackle one of the biggest challenges in caregiving: dementia care and agitation management.
As the Founder and Director of Emory's Integrated Memory Care Clinic, Dr. Clevenger is at the forefront of innovative dementia care. Her integrated, comprehensive approach is transforming how families, caregivers, and patients navigate the pressures of caregiving. In conversation with BrainStorm host Meryl Comer, she offers constructive, actionable advice that caregivers can implement immediately to manage agitation and feel more supported in their role.
Tune into this episode to learn:
- Why tracking behaviors and triggers can be caregivers’ most powerful tool
- How caregivers can adapt their approach to meet patients where they’re at
- Dr. Clevenger’s holistic method to dementia care through integrated memory care – which combines primary care, dementia specialist services, and family caregiver support all in one practice
KFF News & MedPage Today
Health Care Groups Aim To Counter Growing ‘National Scandal’ of Elder Homelessness
Overdose deaths disproportionately impact older Black men
TTHealthWatch Podcast: Mortality in those with dementia
How Older People Are Reaping Brain Benefits From New Tech
Newsweek: Alzheimer's: Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Protect Women From Disease
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