LTSS Newsletter—September 2025

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent this bulletin at 09/22/2025 09:00 AM EDT

LTSS webinar, September 24 – Powerful Tools for Caregivers Program Overview
American Indian/Alaska Native Long-Term Services and Supports

Technical assistance for tribal health care
September 2025
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Letting elders know they matter

September 30 is Orange Shirt Day, when Native communities honor survivors and families who have been impacted by the American Indian and Alaska Native boarding school experience.

Founder of the Orange Shirt Society, Phyllis Webstad, has shared “the feeling of worthlessness and insignificance, ingrained in me from my first day at the mission ….” She has also said, “Even now, when I know nothing could be further than the truth, I still sometimes feel that I don't matter.”

Through person-centered care, caregivers and health care providers can support healing journeys and reaffirm elders' importance. In an article, “Making Older Adults Feel Relevant: A Vital Role For Healthcare Providers,” Martie Moore, RN, recommends:
  • Asking elders about their careers, familial roles, passions, or life experiences
  • Including elders in decisions about their care
  • Referring elders to programs or classes that will help them stay socially connected
  • Fully listening to elders and using respectful language

 

 
     
   

Role of HCBS in person-centered care

  
       
   

Person-centered care acknowledges the importance of addressing each care recipient's psychosocial needs, rather than focusing exclusively on their medical needs.

 

Elders and people with disabilities are more likely to receive person-centered care when they have the opportunity to discuss their goals, preferences, and values with their care team.

 

Home- and community-based services (HCBS) help meet the goal of providing person-centered care by empowering individuals to live more independently than they would in a care facility. For examples of how HCBS help improve quality of life:

 

 

  

Recommended vaccines for elders with heart disease

Respiratory illnesses, such as the flu, can strain the heart, putting elders with heart disease at elevated risk for hospitalization and death.

 

To help prevent dangerous complications and severe health outcomes, the American College of Cardiology recently issued vaccination guidance. According to that guidance, elders with heart disease should receive:

 

  • Annual flu shots
  • Seasonal COVID-19 vaccines
  • A one-time dose of pneumococcal vaccine for protection against pneumonia and other diseases
  • A single dose of respiratory syncytial virus vaccine

 
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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

Powerful Tools for Caregivers Program Overview

Wednesday, September 24

Join the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. – Area Agency on Aging, Region 8 to learn about their experience in providing the Powerful Tools for Caregivers (PTC) Program in tribal communities. An evidence-based educational program for family caregivers, PTC is designed to improve self-care behaviors, management of emotions, self-efficacy, and use of community resources.

 

Objectives:

 

  • Introduce participants to the PTC Program, including its goals, structure, and benefits for tribal communities
  • Explore effective strategies for implementing an evidence-based program, with a focus on community-specific adaptation and engagement
  • Provide practical guidance on budgeting and managing resources for successful PTC Program implementation
  • Share lessons learned and best practices of program use in tribal communities

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 presenter? Let us know before the webinar by emailing ltssinfo@kauffmaninc.com.

Register now.

Presenter
Mary Weston.

Mary Weston
Area Agency on Aging, Region 8 Program Manager
Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.
Caregiver's corner

Partnership to support caregivers in rural Maine

USAging's website offers a series of case studies highlighting successful programs and health care partnerships that support caregivers.

 

One case study features a partnership in Maine between Aroostook Agency on Aging (AAA) (PDF, 165 KB, 3 pp), which serves rural Aroostook County, and Acadia Hospital Mood and Memory Clinic in the city of Bangor. That partnership resulted in the creation of the Memory Center. Notably, Aroostook County's proportion of people living with dementia exceeds that of any other county in Maine.

 

Aroostook AAA assesses people with dementia and their caregivers to determine resource needs and priority concerns. Once the AAA's initial assessment is complete, the care recipient and their caregiver are each connected to a Memory Center team member. Care recipients and their caregivers then have the option of being connected with Acadia Hospital's dementia specialists via telehealth.

 

Caregiver support is just one of the many types of services provided by AAAs. Learn more about AAAs (PDF, 858 KB, 4 pp) and how they make aging in place possible for elders who need help with activities of daily living.

 

A stone pathway between a house in the foreground and a community in the background. Text reads "Aroostook Agency on Aging Access Points" and lists the URL "Aroostook Aging dot org forward slash access hyphen points."

 
Funding opportunities

Tribal injury prevention

Applications due: November 13
View the tribal injury prevention funding opportunity

 

The Indian Health Service (IHS) Injury Prevention Program (IPP) is offering funds for focused, community-based programs and projects to help prevent injuries and violence.

 

IHS IPP expects to award up to 30 cooperative agreements. Tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations are eligible to apply.

 
Upcoming events

Alzheimer's Foundation of America webinars

Upcoming Alzheimer's Foundation of America webinars for dementia care professionals are listed below.

 

  • Best Practices for Curating a Dementia-Friendly Environment
    September 24, 2–3:30 p.m. Eastern

    This interactive webinar will cover best practices for adapting and designing safe, dementia-friendly living environments that promote independence indoors and out. Continuing education credits are available.

 

  • The Intricate Tapestry of Family Dynamics in Dementia Care
    October 15, 11 a.m.–1:10 p.m. Eastern

    This interactive workshop will help attendees better understand dementia's potential impact on roles and relationships within families. It will also suggest strategies to improve communication and collaboration among family members based on families' strengths and challenges. Continuing education credits are available.

 

Alzheimer's Foundation of America logo.

 

Webinar on PCTI care for elders

September 25 at 3 p.m. Eastern
Register for the webinar on PCTI care for elders

 

Learn how a person-centered, trauma-informed (PCTI) approach to care for elders helps promote trust, safety, and empowerment. Presenters from the Center on Aging, Trauma, and Holocaust Survivor Care will:

 

  • Explain how a history of trauma impacts elders and family caregivers
  • Introduce an online training course that provides practical strategies for applying the PCTI approach

 

American Society on Aging webinars

The American Society on Aging hosts webinars to help improve quality of life for elders and their families. Dates and topics of upcoming webinars are listed below.

 

  • My Health Priorities: Provider Training
    October 16, 1–2 p.m. Eastern

    This webinar will review My Health Priorities, an online resource that health care providers, social workers, and service coordinators can use to assess elders' life goals and care preferences with the aim of improving elders' physical and mental well-being.

 

 

LeadingAge Annual Meeting + EXPO

LeadingAge Annual Meeting + EXPO
November 2–5
Boston, Massachusetts

 

LeadingAge, a community of nonprofit organizations serving older adults, will hold this year's Annual Meeting + Expo in Boston. Topics range from aging service technologies, senior living design, and culture-driven innovations to workforce strategies, performance improvement, and program growth.

 

LeadingAge annual meeting topics with a scannable QR code leading to the full session list.

 

Send us your news

Do you have news to share about LTSS in Indian Country? Send it to ltssinfo@kauffmaninc.com for possible inclusion in an upcoming 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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