LTSS Newsletter— March 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent this bulletin at 03/20/2023 09:00 AM EDT

LTSS webinar, March 22 – Seasons of Care: Assisting American Indian Elders with Health Care Access, Part 2
American Indian/Alaska Native Long-Term Services and Supports

Technical assistance for culturally competent care
March 2023
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Using traditional foods to help Elders stay well

March is National Nutrition Month, an ideal time to highlight the role of traditional foods in helping Elders stay well.

To that end, we invite you to watch a recently recorded Title VI webinar on heart-healthy traditional foods.

The webinar offers:
  • Practical tips for handling donations of traditional foods
  • Links to resources with helpful information about heart health, nutrition, and food safety
  • Examples of programs that incorporate traditional Aleut foods
     
   

Incorporating traditional foods into LTSS programs

  
       
   

Serving traditional foods in care facilities and congregate meal settings can help improve and maintain Elders’ quality of life.

 

To learn more, check out the CMS LTSS TA Center’s resources on traditional foods. The resources include:

 

 

  

Title VI spending guide

A searchable Title VI program spending guide (PDF, 1.2 MB, 16 pp) is now available to help people better understand which expenditures are covered by grants for nutrition and supportive services; caregiver support services; and or COVID-19 response.

 

Released by the Office for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native American Programs, the guide includes the following seven expenditure categories:

 

  • Congregate meals
  • Home-delivered meals
  • Caregiver support
  • Elder health and wellness
  • Transportation
  • Office and facilities
  • Employee benefits, payroll, and training

 

Call to submit stories about memory loss
Desert road scene. Announcement reads, “Are you or someone you love impacted by memory loss? You have a story to tell. Participate in IA2 Voices from the Community Blog. Enter by April 1, 2023 for a chance to win $100!”

The International Association for Indigenous Aging (IA2) encourages American Indian and Alaska Native Elders and their caregivers to share stories about the impact of memory loss.

 

Stories will appear in the IA2 Community Voices blog and may be featured on the IA2 website or social media pages.

 

People who submit a story online by April 1 may be eligible to receive a $100 gift card.

 
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Join the conversation on LinkedIn

Want to learn more about or discuss LTSS in Indian Country? Looking to connect with others working in the same field?

Join the Tribal Affairs Group on LinkedIn.
Upcoming webinar

Seasons of Care: Assisting American Indian Elders with Health Care Access, Part 2

Wednesday, March 22

From 2015 to 2022, the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation-Southwest Center conducted community-based research in collaboration with American Indian Elders in the Southwest to understand their experiences with health care and health insurance.

 

This webinar will present information on culturally congruent strategies for supporting American Indian Elders, with a focus on patient navigation.

 

Objectives:

 

  • Explain the role of navigation services in helping Elders manage their health
  • Describe two types of support that Elders can expect to find in a tribal senior center
  • List at least two reasons why navigation is a culturally congruent approach for assisting American Indian Elders seeking health care

Please note your

location's call-in time:

 

8 a.m. Hawaii

10 a.m. Alaska

11 a.m. Pacific

12 p.m. Mountain

1 p.m. Central

2 p.m. Eastern

 

Have questions for our presenters? Let us know before the webinar by emailing ltssinfo@kauffmaninc.com.

Register now.

Presenters
Dr. Emily Haozous

Emily A. Haozous, PhD, RN, FAAN
Research Scientist
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

 Dr. Cathleen Willging

Cathleen E. Willging, PhD
Center Director and Senior Research Scientist II
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation
Dr. Elise Trott Jaramillo

Elise Trott Jaramillo, PhD
Research Scientist
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

 Erik Lujan

Erik J. Lujan, MA
Director of Tribal Relations
Western Sky Community Care
Caregiver's corner

Webinars for caregivers of people with dementia

A series of previously recorded webinars for caregivers of people with dementia is available on the Help for Alzheimer’s Families website.

 

The webinars cover a range of topics, such as:

 

  • Role of play in building connections between caregivers and care recipients
  • Tips for helping a care recipient return home after a hospital stay
  • Strategies for addressing a care recipient’s resistance to bathing and other personal care activities

 

The Help for Alzheimer’s Families website also includes experts’ answers to questions commonly asked by caregivers.

 

Additionally, caregivers may visit the website and sign up to receive tips, suggestions, and support via email.

 
Funding opportunities

AmeriCorps Seniors Demonstration Program

 

Deadline: April 5, at 5 p.m. Eastern
Learn more about the AmeriCorps funding opportunity

AmeriCorps created the Native Nations & Indigenous Elders Seniors Demonstration Program to give Elders opportunities to make a difference in their communities.

 

Tribes and tribal organizations are encouraged to propose three-year projects focused on priorities such as:

 

  • Response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Quality of life for Veterans, military families, and caregivers
  • Mental health services
  • Workforce training for Elders

 

ACL’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers Program grant

 

Deadline: April 10
Learn more about ACL’s funding opportunity

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is offering one grant for research and development of technologies to support aging among people with long-term disabilities. The technologies should address rehabilitation challenges or remove environmental barriers.

 

The grantee can expect to receive up to $925,000 per year during the five-year performance period. Tribes and tribal organizations are encouraged to apply.

 

Buses and Bus Facilities Program grants

 

Deadline: April 13
Learn more about the Bus and Bus Facilities Program funding opportunity

The U.S. Department of Transportation is offering 50 grants to help:

 

  • Replace, rehabilitate, buy, or lease buses or related equipment
  • Rehabilitate, construct, buy, or lease bus-related facilities

 

Tribes are encouraged to apply.
Upcoming events

2023 Title VI conference

April 11–14, Washington, DC

Register for the Title VI conference

 

Title VI directors and program staff are invited to this year’s National Title VI Training & Technical Assistance Conference. Registration for the event is free.

 

The conference provides opportunities to participate in:

 

  • Basic and advanced trainings that fulfill the Title VI grant requirement
  • Sessions on topics such as Elder justice, nutrition, and program sustainability

 

Webinar on frontotemporal degeneration

April 12, 1–2 p.m. Eastern

Register for the April 12 webinar

 

Frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) is a form of dementia that affects people younger than 60. Typically, FTD causes personality and behavioral changes, rather than memory loss.

 

Join the American Society on Aging for a webinar that will cover:

 

  • The ways in which FTD differs from other types of dementia
  • The importance of early diagnosis and person-centered care
  • Tips for caregivers of people with FTD

 

Send us your news

Do you have news to share about LTSS in Indian Country? Send it to ltssinfo@kauffmaninc.com, and we'll include it in a newsletter. Contact us with other comments or feedback, too.

 

About the newsletter

American Indian/Alaska Native Long-Term Services and Supports Solutions is published monthly by the CMS Division of Tribal Affairs to share information, funding opportunities, and resources with LTSS planners, tribal leaders, and supporters.
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