May is Older Americans Month

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This May, MNRAAA will be highlighting Older Americans Month and recognizing the contributions of older adults throughout the nation. It is also an opportunity to raise awareness regarding abuse and/or neglect within the older adult population. We, as an organization, ramp up our marketing efforts in May to raise awareness about the programs and services we offer to older adults, caregivers, and providers.

 

MNRAAA will partner with the Administration for Community Living (ACL) to share information on the importance of older adults in our community. This year’s theme is Aging Unbound. The theme for 2023 challenges all of us to think differently about aging. A couple of ways to get involved with this year’s theme include:

  • Embrace the opportunity to change. Find a new passion, go on an adventure, and push boundaries by not letting age define your limits. Invite creativity and purpose into your life by trying new activities in your community to bring in more growth, joy, and energy.
  • Explore the rewards of growing older. With age comes knowledge, which provides insight and confidence to understand and experience the world more deeply. Expand that knowledge through reading, listening, classes, and creative activities.
  • Stay engaged in your community. Everyone benefits when everyone is connected and involved. Stay active by volunteering, working, mentoring, participating in social clubs, and taking part in activities at your local senior center or elsewhere in the community.
  • Form relationships. As an essential ingredient of well-being, relationships can enhance your quality of life by introducing new ideas and unique perspectives. Invest time with people to discover deeper connections with family, friends, and community members.

For more information about older adult services in your area, contact us at mnraaa.org or the Senior LinkAge Line at 1-800-333-2433. We also encourage you to get involved with your aging community. Let us know how we can help you and your community. Our goal here at MNRAAA is to assist older adults to thrive. Together, we can accomplish this. Happy Older Americans Month!

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Support Funding for Aging Services in Greater Minnesota

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Local services funded by the Older Americans Act (OAA) through the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging (MNRAAA) are at risk of losing funding. The OAA funds critical services that keep older adults healthy and independent, including meals, homemaker assistance, chores, caregiver support, transportation, and more. The Minnesota Board on Aging is tasked to create an equitable funding formula across the State. The outcome of the proposed formula, the Intrastate Funding Formula (IFF), would cut funds to greater Minnesota. The existing formula is heavily weighted on population. We need a formula that works for rural Minnesota.

Paramount to the successful leveraging of OAA funds is the requirement that these funds be the payer of last resort. States and regions must exhaust all other funding options first. The OAA services are often the only services available in our greater Minnesota communities. Rural Minnesota lacks robust philanthropic funding or a booming network of non-profits to step in and fill gaps when needed. This is why it is imperative that OAA funding is allocated equitably between rural Minnesotans and urban Minnesota. Equitable funding would assure the same opportunities for all Minnesotans.

According to the State Demographers Office and information from the 2020 Census, Minnesota’s rural aging population is growing, and older adults comprise 20% of the population in rural Minnesota counties. While this number is higher than in urban areas, rural areas are also experiencing a greater decline in the working-age population. We are also facing a critical stage of providing care for older adults in our area. Older adults in rural Minnesota are facing obstacles. These include closed hospitals or unreachable healthcare services, fewer transportation options, limited broadband access, a dispersed population, larger distances to food and healthcare access, and greater food insecurity for older adults. Since 2011, forty-two nursing homes have closed in Minnesota, and 73% occurred in greater Minnesota.

The proposed IFF would decrease several services in our region, including home-delivered meals, grocery delivery, trips to medical appointments, adult day programs, counseling and respite for caregivers, snow removal, lawn care, and legal assistance. Without your voice, greater Minnesota stands to lose critical support for community-based services.

Elderly father and son walking.

You can help by submitting a public comment that supports funding for aging services in Greater Minnesota. The public comment period is open through May 3, 2023, and can be found here: https://mn.gov/board-on-aging/. For more information on the IFF and rural needs, visit www.GreaterMinnesotaAging.org.

 

Jason W. Swanson

Executive Director

MNRAAA

507-387-1256

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MNRAAA Executive Director Jason W. Swanson invited to the White House

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The Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging (MNRAAA) Executive Director Jason W. Swanson attended the Communities in Action: Building a Better Minnesota event at the White House on March 1.

The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Office of Public Engagement hosted over 50 state and local elected officials and community leaders across Minnesota. Minnesota was the thirteenth state highlighted in a series of “Communities in Action” events that the White House is hosting with state, local and tribal leaders to demonstrate how the Biden-Harris Administration delivers results for the American people.

During the half-day forum, participants heard from Biden-Harris Administration officials – including Department of Veteran’s Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, Chair of the Council on Economic Quality Brenda Mallory, White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, White House American Rescue Plan Coordinator Gene Sperling, Senior Advisor and Director of Public Engagement Keisha Lance Bottoms, Director of the Domestic Policy Council Susan Rice, and Senior Advisor and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Julie Chavez Rodriguez – about the benefits and impact of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act for working families in Minnesota.

“It was a tremendous honor to attend this event. I was privileged to provide an update on our providers’ work during the pandemic and our continued work to expand our programs as we move away from the pandemic,” stated Swanson.

Swanson also addressed Secretary McDonough, a Minnesota native himself, about the forthcoming Veterans Directed Care program expansion. “MNRAAA has partnered with the Sioux Falls VA since 2008. We are happy to see potential expansion to other areas. It was nice to hear the Secretary’s comments on this important program.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz provided video remarks, and White House officials heard from participants on the positive impact of these legislative accomplishments. They also discussed how the Biden-Harris Administration would continue to work with states and local governments, labor leaders, businesses, nonprofits, education, and healthcare leaders to leverage these historic investments to create and expand opportunities for working families.

After the meeting, Swanson and fellow Area Agency on Aging Director, Dawn Simonson, met with staff from the Administration for Community Living (ACL). A discussion was had about continued partnerships and collaboration between the aging and disability divisions.

ACL was created around the fundamental principle that older adults and people of all ages with disabilities should be able to live where they choose, with the people they choose, and with the ability to participate fully in their communities.

“MNRAAA will continue to partner with ACL to assist older adults to thrive,” stated Swanson.

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Support Senior Nutrition Programs

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A recent study by Defeat Malnutrition found that one in two older adults (65+) are at risk for malnutrition. Cooking for oneself becomes difficult as we age. Going to the store to have fresh ingredients to prepare meals is no longer a priority. Payment for medications, utilities, and health-related bills takes precedence over groceries. Senior nutrition programs are cost-effective programs that help reduce malnutrition and social isolation. MNRAAA partners with Lutheran Social Services and Prairie Five to provide congregate dining and home-delivered meals to older adults and their caregivers in southwest Minnesota.

Congregate dining allows individuals to gather at a community site (usually a senior center or community center) to share in a meal. At these sites, numerous activities occur. Some senior centers are fortunate enough to have staff to schedule programs. Others have active members that host card games, have book clubs, and others make scrapbooks. The common thread they share is socialization. Studies have shown that socialization is key to maintaining health, especially for older adults.

The other senior nutrition program is home-delivered meals. Providers can meet individuals in their homes, including those who may be unable to leave their homes. Reasons can range from the inability to obtain transportation, a chronic illness, anxiety, fear of falling or an acute illness. The staff and volunteer drivers deliver meals and indirectly provide wellness checks. As relationships are developed, those delivering the meals can tell if a recipient is falling ill or has had recent health concerns. We regularly hear that a driver discovered a recipient had fallen, and the driver was able to call for assistance. If not for that driver, we tremble to think how long that individual may have laid before aid was rendered. Finally, the driver provides socialization with the recipient, which is important for healthy aging. Home-delivered meals are sometimes the only interaction older adults may experience that day or week.

MNRAAA is working to raise awareness around the Senior Nutrition Program, destigmatize the program, and work with our partners to innovate these important programs for older adults and their caregivers. Do not forget about older adults. People of all ages need adequate meals and healthy foods.

If you know someone who may benefit from these services, contact the Senior LinkAge Line at 800-333-2433. You can also find congregate dining locations or home-delivered meals programs online at https://mnhelp.info/.

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