The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative submitted comments to the state legislature’s Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight in support of Senate Bill 2797, An Act to rename the Executive Office of Elder Affairs to the Executive Office of Aging and Independence.

The committee held a public hearing to consider the name change, which is part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to expand their reach and ensure older people in the Commonwealth can access needed information, services, and support through every stage of aging.  According to the executive agency, modernizing the agency’s name will reduce stigma around growing older, normalize aging as a natural process, and emphasize that older people value independence and self-determination.

See MHAC’s comments in support of S.2797 here and see Governor Healey’s announcement on filing legislation to initiative the name change here.