MNRAAA to Hold a Public Hearing/Meeting on July 15, 2020

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The Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging (MNRAAA) will host a public hearing/meeting to gather public input on its Area Plan for 2021. This is a planning document, pursuant to the Older Americans Act, that identifies priority needs, goals, objectives and activities.  MNRAAA will be developing and implementing programs for individuals age 60 years and older and their caregivers in the Southwest region of Minnesota. This public hearing/meeting is an opportunity for the community to provide input for the plan.

Public Hearing Topic: Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging is proposing to use $143,245 Title III-B direct service funds to pay for the Program Development and Coordination Activities during 2021 as a cost of Area Plan administration.

Each of the goals included below are developed by the Minnesota Board on Aging (MBA).

Goal 1:  Leverage the experience, expertise and energy of older Minnesotans
Goal 2:  Equip older Minnesotans with the tools to take charge of their health and make informed decisions about services when they need them
Goal 3:  Support families and friends in their caregiving roles
Goal 4:  Support aging in community with access to a range of services and housing options

Written Comments: The public is invited to make comment in written form and/or by attending the virtual public hearing/meeting:

Wednesday July 15, 2020 at 9:00 AM

Written comments are encouraged and will be accepted until Monday, July 13, 2020.  Please send written comments via email to [email protected].

If you are interested in attending, contact [email protected] by 4:00 PM on Monday, July 13, 2020 and log in information will be provided to you.

 

Jason W. Swanson
Executive Director

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Visiting Those in Nursing Homes During COVID-19

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As a child, I was fortunate enough to grow up with great-grandparents within my hometown. This allowed me to get to know them and stirred my mind into the fascinating world of genealogy. Getting to know them meant visiting, and many of those visits were in nursing home facilities. I found that visiting was a wonderful way to learn from people, to be able to interact and to see family and friends.

With the recent pandemic, nursing homes have restricted visiting rights except for compassionate visiting, which is the ability to visit a family member who is on hospice care. As time passes, we see more and more restlessness due to not being able to visit our friends, families and neighbors. While it may be difficult for us to try to visit them, it is even more difficult for the resident in the facility.

We don’t know how long the pandemic will last, how long the nursing home visiting restrictions will be in place and what it is going to look like when we can visit again. So, what can we do in the meantime? Many facilities are looking at technology to establish virtual visiting, visit via windows and other innovative ways.

Tips for those visiting their loved ones at nursing homes:

  • Contact the facility and see what their guidelines are;
  • Ask your loved one what they prefer (phone, virtual, other); and,
  • Respect the privacy of other residents when visiting.

Finally, we ask that you respect the facility’s policies surrounding visits; these restrictions are in place to protect our loved ones. Talk with staff to work through any questions you may have and make sure to give them a thank you; these times are affecting them as well.

Jason W. Swanson, HSE
Executive Director
MNRAAA

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