Mac users: Increase text size by holding command and +. Decrease text size by holding command and -.Please submit project concepts for work to be undertaken by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) for the benefit of your municipality through our Technical Assistance Program (TAP).
Through this Call for Project Concepts, MAPC is soliciting ideas for projects that will commence in the winter/spring of 2020. Continue reading
Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) – Disability Housing Manager
The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) is seeking a proactive and results-driven professional to serve as the Disability Housing Manager. The selected candidate will assist in identifying and creating housing opportunities for people with disabilities and elders, including those transitioning from institutions to community-living or at risk of institutionalization. The Disability Housing Manager will work collaboratively across EOHHS agencies, and in partnership with the Department of Housing and Community Development and MassHousing to identify and explore housing opportunities for our disabled/elderly populations served. Continue reading
Periodically, the Healthy Aging Collaborative will share news articles that mention state and local efforts to make cities, towns and regions in Massachusetts Age- and Dementia Friendly.
Check out the following articles from November and December 2019 on the momentum of this movement building across the state. Continue reading
The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative (MHAC) was awarded a two-year grant for $175,000 from Tufts Health Plan Foundation to support the development of additional age- and dementia-friendly communities in the Commonwealth. This is one of nine new community investments totaling nearly $1 million reflecting the Foundation’s commitment to policies and practices that support healthy aging.
“We value advocacy and leadership among older people,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president for corporate citizenship at Tufts Health Plan. “The organizations we are supporting demonstrate collaboration with state agencies and other community groups that spurs innovation and makes our communities better places to grow up and grow old.”
Massachusetts has emerged as a national leader in the age-friendly movement. The state was one of the first to earn the Age-Friendly state designation from AARP and 68 of its 351 cities and towns are working to ensure they are great places to grow up and grow old. Inclusing the regional collaborations, those efforts will benefit more than 100 communities. MHAC is a key resource in this work. This grant will support the development of strategic regional partnerships to promote local engagement and continued efforts to advance equity and inclusion.
“We are excited and grateful for the support of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, but also deeply appreciate that – beyond that – their partnership and leadership has been vital for advancing this collective work,” said MHAC Senior Director James Fuccione. “The state’s position as a leader in promoting and supporting inclusive age- and dementia friendly communities has come through collaboration and recognizing the amazing work already happening in our cities and towns.”
About Tufts Health Plan Foundation
Established in 2008, Tufts Health Plan Foundation supports the health and wellness of the diverse communities we serve. The Foundation has given more than $37 million to Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island nonprofits that promote healthy living with an emphasis on older adults. The Foundation began funding in New Hampshire in 2016 and in Connecticut in 2019. The Tufts Health Plan Foundation funds programs that move communities toward implementing age-friendly policies and practices that are relevant, focus on older adults and include them in community solutions. Visit www.tuftshealthplanfoundation.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Moving Massachusetts Upstream (MassUP) Initiative:
The Health Policy Commission (HPC) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking partnerships between provider and community-based organizations looking to address upstream social, economic, and environmental barriers to health as part of the “Moving Massachusetts Upstream” (MassUP) initiative. Continue reading
Although hospital readmission rates decreased overall in recent years for patients age 65 and older, both the volume and rate of readmissions increase with older patient age groups. For example, patients aged 85 and over had the highest readmission rate in 2018 (17.2%), followed by patients aged 75-84 (17.1%).
This is among a list of findings in the Massachusetts Hospital-Wide Adult All-Payer Readmissions SFY 2011-2018 report produced by the state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA). The report provides a statewide look at readmissions from Massachusetts acute care hospitals, enabling insights into statewide, regional, and hospital-specific readmission rates, including breakdowns by payer type, discharge setting, and hospital characteristics. Continue reading
Jewish Family & Children’s Service: Guardian Case Manager for Older Adults Continue reading
The Baker-Polito Administration recently announced a total of $9.5 million for cities, towns and nonprofit organizations to use under the Community Transit Grant Program administered by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The annual competitive grant program awards money to be used for transit operating costs, mobility management or new capital investments. Continue reading
More communities, regions and states are joining the Age-Friendly movement via designation by AARP and the World Health Organization that signals a commitment to improving that location as a welcoming and supportive place for people of all ages.
The number of those commitments is approaching 425, with nearly 70 in Massachusetts, which also was among the first states to join. The most recently designated community in the Commonwealth is Norwood and holds the distinction as the first of more than 400 communities to be led by a chamber of commerce. Continue reading
MHAC is always looking for practices, programs and solutions that can be implemented in age- and dementia friendly communities. Increasingly, arts and cultural opportunities are emerging as a way to bring generations together and create social engagement opportunities. Continue reading