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Issue 37 | November 2018 | Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joys, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. -William Arthur Ward
At the end of November I bid farewell to a career with the Boulder County Area Agency on Aging (AAA). I am eternally grateful to Rosemary Williams for hiring me in 1996. A brief trip down memory lane follows, noting some of the changes and highlights since I started working at the AAA:
The population of adults over 60 in Boulder County has grown by some 40,000. In addition, our consumer base has grown in other ways. The National Family Caregiver Support Program added to the Older Americans Act in 2000, officially identified caregivers of as part of our client pool.
Our options counseling clients grew to include adults with disabilities through the Aging and Disability Resource Center. Our Medicare counseling program assists Medicare beneficiaries of any age and Long-Term Care Ombudsman staff work to protect rights of residents of skilled nursing and assisted living homes regardless of age. In the fall of 2016, we were excited to bring Veterans Services into the AAA.
I used to wonder how the advent of the aging of the Baby Boomers would first be felt by our agency. We got an answer in 2011 when the first Boomers turned 65. That year, our Medicare counseling program saw an increase of 1100 one-to-one contacts as Boomers began to access Medicare benefits.
Among the constants at the AAA is that we are strengths-based. We have begun offering a number of services via vouchers so that there is more consumer choice. We have a history of being innovative and have received a number of Innovations and Achievement Awards from n4a (for Project Visibility, Medicare Counseling, and Falls Prevention Week). We have a talented, dedicated staff who provide the best in public service. We collaborate with a large number of community partners.
We have been successful in expanding our revenue sources beyond Older Americans Act and State Funds for Senior Services so that we can serve more people and broaden the offerings. We brought in a multi-year DOJ elder justice grant that built cross disciplinary training and action. We administer dental assistance funds for low-income older adults. We developed the Aging Services Foundation, which partners with the AAA to bring in funds for a variety of programs such as LGBT outreach and training, caregiver services, and miscellaneous supportive services.
We responded to the lead of the federal Administration on Community Living (ACL) to build our business acumen and to work more intentionally with the health sector. In the past year we completed a contract with an insurance broker to provide Diabetes Prevention Program to their beneficiaries. We changed our name from BC Aging Services to BC Area Agency on Aging in 2012 to better reflect our role. We celebrated our 25th anniversary as an AAA in 2015.
My graduate student internship project with the agency in 1996 was to develop an interfaith caregiver conference. It was held for the next ten years and has morphed into the caregiving symposium, which now attracts some 500 attendees annually. We brought a small respite volunteer program into the agency, which today is the very successful Respite and Companion Volunteer Program.
One of my first tasks as an employee was to work with National Research Center (NRC) to develop a survey on the health and lifestyle of older adults in Boulder County. This has nice symmetry for me because during my last year with BCAAA, I had the privilege of serving as project lead for the statewide CASOA (Consumer Assessment Survey of Older Adults), again working with NRC.
My expectation for the future is that the Area Agency on Aging will continue to provide top notch services with heart and to be open to innovative responses to meet the desires and needs of the growing population of older adults, caregivers, adults with disabilities, and veterans. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to be part of this agency.
-Sherry Leach, BCAAA Manager
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