Aging Well in Boulder County | Issue 18 | March 22, 2017

The Older Americans Act mandates that Area Agencies on Aging advocate for older adults and their family caregivers. But we can’t do it alone! Help us influence policymakers and tell the stories of older adults, family caregivers and people with disabilities across Boulder County.

Interested in receiving advocacy alerts and the latest policy news impacting seniors? Sign up to receive our advocacy alerts.

Stay current with state legislation that impacts older adults here. 

Volunteer to Make a Difference in Caregivers' Lives

Coming home from the hospital? Project Homecoming will provide you five nutritious meals for free.  This program is designed for people of any age or income level who have a short-term need for meals due to illness, accident, or surgery.  Call today for more information:

Meals on Wheels of Boulder: 303-441-3908 

Coal Creek Meals on Wheels: 303-665-0566

Meals on Wheels of Longmont: 303-772-0540

May 16th 
 

The 2017 Caregiving Symposium—back by popular demand!—is scheduled for Tuesday, May 16, 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., at the Plaza Convention Center, in Longmont.  For more information about the event, contact Emily Cooper at 303-678-6116.  

We often talk about referrals and supports for older adults being discharged from hospitals, but lately we’re seeing an increasing need: supporting older adults being released from the Boulder County Jail. The Support and Mental Health staff at the Jail has been challenged to provide resources for older adults who have been discharged from their long term care facilities while incarcerated. Often times these clients are also facing significant physical and mental health issues along with a lack of resources.
The Jail Education and Transition (JET) team recently reached out to our staff to see if there was a better way for them to have access to these clients while incarcerated. BCAAA staff members Steven Seay and Keith Carr attended a jail management meeting in order to brainstorm possible solutions. This collaboration has made their efforts more effective and clients will be able to access resources before leaving the jail. Moving forward we will continue to collaborate with the JET team and the Jail staff to identify opportunities for older adults to access resources while incarcerated.

For more information on resources for older adults, contact our Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) today, 303-441-1617

Boulder County's Community Services Department is now accepting applications for the role of Boulder County Homeless Services System Manager. In this senior-level management role, the Homeless Services System Manager will be responsible for planning and managing regional efforts to coordinate, integrate, support, and evaluate homeless policies and services across Boulder County.

Learn more and apply, here.

List Your Company in our LGBT-Friendly Business Guide

We are working on the 2017 edition of the Silver Lining Directory, a guide for LGBT older adults on inclusive and affirming providers in Boulder County. If your company is LGBT friendly, and especially if your staff has attended Project Visibility training, please contact Sara Thompson to be included.  There is no charge for inclusion in the guide, but we will be offering advertising opportunities.  Deadline for inclusion is March 31! Contact us today.

Collaborating to Improve Care Transitions  

The AAA helped initiate the Boulder County Care Transitions Collaborative in 2012 to encourage a community-wide approach to improving care transitions and reducing hospital readmissions for seniors. Member organizations include hospitals, home health agencies, skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities. The collaborative is currently developing tools to assist nurses and case managers match their patients with the most appropriate Assisted Living and Memory Care Communities in the county, based on their patient needs. We are contributing to this effort by hosting an Assisted Living Quick Reference Guide for healthcare professionals on our online resource directory. The guide outlines payer sources, services and activities each facility accepts or offers. Check it out today! 

The transgender community faces many obstacles to care including discrimination in public accommodations and difficulties in accessing health care.  This information comes from a recently published survey of nearly 30,000 transgender people by the National Center for Transgender Equality.  While this survey was not elder specific, we can glean some important information from its findings. We know that elders often need medical care more often than the general population, and according to the survey, 23% of transgender people have skipped care because of a fear of mistreatment.

Most medical professionals have never received cultural competency training on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.  Cultural competency training is important, and we offer it through our Project Visibility Program.

Our next Project Visibility Community Training is April 13 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in Lafayette.  If you are interested in attending this training, or having a trainer come to your facility to train staff, please contact Ash Bell.                            

As the Area Agency on Aging, we partner with some pretty amazing organizations to support seniors across the county. One of these partnerships is with Boulder County CareConnect (BCCC). BCCC connects volunteer-powered services to adults 60+, helping them stay in the comfort of their homes. With funds from the Area Agency on Aging, BCCC provides rides to medical appointments, grocery shopping and delivery, snow shoveling and yard work to older adults in Boulder County.

Since July 1, 2016, they have served 449 seniors! These programs provide key support to vulnerable seniors to help them remain in the community. For more information on BCCC and the services they provide, visit their website.

Erica Corson and Kari Middleton from our Elder Rights team recently provided some custom training to volunteers at the Longmont Senior Center. The sessions included information about what it means to be old and effective communication strategies for working with older adults. From caregiving to long-term care, health and nutrition to Medicare, aging well to housing, we will customize training to the specific needs of your group. Contact us today to schedule a presentation!
 

Advocacy

Caregiver Programs

Elder Rights

Info & Assistance

LGBT Programs