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Among select few counties in the nation to use Social Vulnerability Index to increase vaccine equity
MILWAUKEE (March 17, 2021) Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee announced Milwaukee County residents living in the 10 county ZIP codes ranking highest on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index will be the focus of targeted COVID-19 vaccine outreach starting Monday, March 22. Adults who live in the 53204, 53205, 53206, 53209, 53215, 53216, 53218, 53223, 53224 or 53233 county ZIP codes will be contacted by this coordinated effort to get vaccinated. The announcement comes as the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced that individuals with certain conditions associated with an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 will be eligible for the vaccine beginning next Monday.
“With additional vaccine and spots available we are happy to be able to open eligibility for Wisconsinites with medical conditions sooner,” said DHS Interim Secretary Karen Timberlake. “We appreciate the City and County working together on this innovative effort to increase vaccine access especially in neighborhoods where we know too many people experience the pressures of poverty, systemic racism, and toxic stress, creating greater risk for chronic illness.”
The Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management created the Evaluating Vulnerability and Equity (EVE) Model to evaluate and guide equitable vaccine deployment strategies across the county. During a public health emergency, socially vulnerable populations are especially at risk because of factors like socioeconomic status, household composition, minority status, housing type and transportation.
The EVE Model proposes viewing community vaccination rates alongside the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to inform equitable allocation of this essential resource. Regularly mapping these results allows for targeted messaging and resource allocation in a dynamic, needs-focused manner. This information is divided into four categories: high vaccination, low vulnerability; high vaccination, high vulnerability; low vaccination, low vulnerability; and low vaccination, high vulnerability. This information and a more detailed explanation can be found on the Milwaukee County COVID-19 dashboard.
“We appreciate the State taking the necessary steps to increase vaccine access in Milwaukee County. This gets more shots in arms and minimizes barriers to receiving the vaccine in our most at-risk communities,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. “Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee declared racism a public health crisis and we’re acting on our commitment to address racial disparities through ZIP code data, informing our approach and creating more equitable outcomes for our underrepresented communities.”
The Milwaukee Health Department is expanding its vaccination efforts in the ten zip codes. This includes operating two community vaccination clinics at North Division High School, 1011 W. Center St. and South Division High School, 1515 W. Lapham Blvd. These sites will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from March 22 to April 19. With FEMA support at the Wisconsin Center, the Milwaukee Health Department is also setting up additional sites in collaboration with community partners. This expansion of eligibility is the latest effort by Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee to ensure equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“This step is important for communities that have been hit hardest by COVID-19. Increased eligibility will increase the numbers of people vaccinated in the most vulnerable neighborhoods. As family members and neighbors are vaccinated, others who have been cautious about vaccination will have more information and understanding,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “And, I hope this will lead to higher acceptance of the vaccine.”
“We know the chronic stress brought on by structural racism impacts an individual’s overall health and our communities of color have experienced this prior to as well as throughout the pandemic,” said Dr. Benjamin Weston, Medical Director for the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management. “This information helps us target our messaging and resource allocation to a needs-focused approach in our most vulnerable populations.”
Eligible Milwaukee County and City of Milwaukee residents in these ZIP codes can make an appointment starting Monday, March 22 on the city’s vaccine website at Milwaukee.gov/covidvax, by calling 414-286-6800, or by visiting covidmke.com to make an appointment at the Milwaukee County Kosciuszko Community Center.
But nursing homes staffing, lack of PPE still a concern
MADISON, WISCONSIN – The latest release of AARP’s Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard shows that both cases and deaths in Wisconsin nursing homes fell in the four weeks ending Feb. 14. But AARP Wisconsin says that does not mean it’s time for nursing homes or state lawmakers to let our guard down.
Deaths of nursing home residents are less than half of what they were in the previous four-week time period, dropping from a rate of 1.36 per 100 residents to 0.5. New infections among residents and staff both declined more than threefold over the previous four weeks. Nursing home resident cases fell from 5.1 per 100 residents to 1.5, and new staff cases declined from 6.0 to 2.1 per 100 residents in the latest dashboard.
Despite these encouraging statistics, the dashboard reveals that staffing and shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) remain a significant problem in Wisconsin nursing homes. Shortages of PPE have decreased slightly over the same four-week period, from 27.2 percent of WI nursing homes without at least a one-week supply in January, to 25.8 percent in February.
Meanwhile, staffing shortages are improving, but remain a persistent problem, with 38.8 percent of facilities reporting a shortage in the most recent dashboard, which is down slightly from 39.7 in the previous four-week period.
“Decreasing numbers and vaccine rollout give hope, but we should not lose sight of the chronic, ongoing problems in our long-term care system that were exposed by COVID,” said AARP Wisconsin State Director Sam Wilson.
While the latest data is showing that Wisconsin is moving in the right direction, Wilson said, “now is not the time to let down our guard”. He said policy leaders should not take away the rights of residents to hold nursing homes accountable when they fail to provide adequate care.
“The dashboard data over the last two months of 2020 painted a very dire picture for our nursing homes in Wisconsin, with accelerating numbers of cases and deaths throughout the state,” Wilson said. “At that time, we pleaded with everyone in our communities to redouble our health and safety efforts and prioritize the vaccination process for our vulnerable nursing home residents. Today’s nursing home dashboard release is proof positive that combination is working and working in a big way in Wisconsin.”
AARP Wisconsin will continue fighting for reforms that make nursing homes safe and provide options for seniors to stay in their homes.
The AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard analyzes federally reported data in four-week periods going back to June 1, 2020.
Using this data, the AARP Public Policy Institute, in collaboration with the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Ohio, created the dashboard to provide snapshots of the virus’ infiltration into nursing homes and impact on nursing home residents and staff, with the goal of identifying specific areas of concern at the national and state levels in a timely manner.
The full Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard is available at www.aarp.org/nursinghomedashboard. For more information on how COVID is impacting nursing homes and AARP’s advocacy on this issue, visit www.aarp.org/nursinghomes.
MILWAUKEE—The City of Milwaukee is launching the latest round of the Fresh Food Access Fund this week with new grants available to fund health food initiatives in Milwaukee.
The Fresh Food Access Fund will provide a total of $200,000 to support for-profit and not-for-profit efforts that increase the availability of healthy food or increase knowledge about healthy food choices. Applications for this round of grants must be submitted by April 5, 2021 at 4 p.m.
“Healthy food has the potential to improve the lives of many Milwaukee residents, and that’s the goal of the Fresh Food Access Fund,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “With this effort we can collaboratively reach more neighborhoods where good food options have been limited, and we can share valuable nutritional information so people can make the best choices.”
Grants can go toward a range of initiatives that promote healthy food goals. The Fresh Food Access Fund is expected to draw grant applications that add and improve healthy food access at retail locations and not-for-profit agencies. Applications are also anticipated for educational programs about growing, preserving and preparing healthy food. Last year, matching Fund grants went to 12 educational projects and 12 capital projects.
The Fresh Food Access Fund has received broad support from City elected officials. Alderman Khalif Rainey has been a champion of the Fund since it first won approval in 2019.
In the coming days, two information sessions are scheduled to provide details and answer questions. Specifics about those sessions and more information about the program is available at milwaukee.gov/FFAF.
March 2, 2021. (Milwaukee, WI) — Sharsheret: The Jewish Breast & Ovarian Cancer Community, ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis, the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center (JCC), and Jewish Family Services (JFS) are excited to reinvigorate a long-standing partnership dedicated to providing information, support and education about breast and ovarian health issues.
According to Sharsheret, one in 40 Jews of Ashkenazi descent carries a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, compared to 1 in 500 in the general population, that increases the likelihood of developing breast, ovarian, and related cancers.
To re-launch this unique partnership, the four organizations will present Taking Control of Our Health: Empowerment and Action, a free virtual event on Thursday, March 18th from 7:30-8:30 pm. After an engaging presentation by Melissa Rosen, Sharsheret’s Director of Training and Education, participants will be able to join one of two breakout sessions, “Get Moving” or “Eat Right.”
This event is free and open to the public. To register, please click here. For questions about this program, please contact ABCD Executive Director Ellen Friebert Schupper at [email protected] or 414-977-1785.
About Sharsheret: Sharsheret, a national non-profit organization, improves the lives of Jewish women and families living with or at increased genetic risk for breast or ovarian cancer through personalized support and saves lives through educational outreach. While our expertise is in young women and Jewish families as related to breast cancer and ovarian cancer, Sharsheret programs serve all women and men.
About ABCD: Founded and grounded in Milwaukee in 1999, ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis staff and more than 700 Mentors have supported thousands of breast cancer patients, survivors, and thrivers in the United States and around the world, providing hope, understanding, and guidance to anyone who needs it. Decades of research indicate that patients who take advantage of non-clinical support like ABCD’s free, customized, one-to-one support are more likely to finish treatment, have improved survival rates, show a reduced risk of recurrence, and report experiencing less distress, healthier social relationships, and an improved quality of life.
About JCC: The Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center is a non-profit, social service agency founded upon Jewish ethics and values. It is committed to meeting the ever-changing needs of the entire Jewish community for strengthening Jewish identity and for enriching the quality of Jewish life. The Center provides the total community with a forum for open dialogue regarding matters affecting Jewish life here, in Israel and throughout the world. It initiates diversified social, educational, recreational and cultural programs within a Jewish setting.
About JFS: Jewish Family Services (JFS) is one of the longest standing nonprofit organizations in Wisconsin and has been a trusted social service resource to thousands of adults, individuals with disabilities, families and children in the Milwaukee area for more than 150 years. JFS provides community-based programs that improve the health, personal well-being, and level of independence in order to strengthen and support thousands of persons in our community throughout the life cycle within the context of their unique needs and traditions.
Here’s 5 tips on how you can start yours the right way.
1.Pray
Praying to God daily has helped me for years in more ways than one. We you wake up and acknowledge your higher power, you acknowledge your beliefs. You acknowledge that there’s something greater than you. For me, it’s always been a moment of gratitude and also something that reminds me that I have purpose. Praying lets me know that there’s a reason why I exist. There’s a reason why I wake up. Prayer in the morning can be that for you as well, or even more.
2.Gratitude
It’s extremely important to find things that you’re thankful for in the morning. Whether it’s for life itself, something nice someone did to you, or even for the people in your life. This not only keeps you in a great mood but it’s a tool for humility as well. Staying humble, acknowledging great things subconsciously keeps your mind on the positive.
3.Exercise
Get up and get that body moving. Exercising for 5 minutes to an hour can really make a big difference. Although working out is a physical sport, it’s very much a mental sport as well. It gives you something to push for and when you’re done, it feels so good to have accomplished that task. Making it to the gym or completing a short workout can condition your mind to know that anything is possible. It helps build your morning self-esteem. It gives you good healthy vibes.
4.Listen to Something Positive
In the morning, your mind is craving attention. What you feed it, can truly impact your mood, once again. It’s always great to listen to a positive message in the morning. Whether you go on youtube to find some Les Brown or Tony Robbins or you join in on a positive talk on Clubhouse, get something positive in your system. Music is great but messages that speak to your very being can pull something great out of you. Try it.
5.Write Your TO-DO List
Staying organized with what you have to do feels great. You’d be surprised to know just how phenomenal you are. When you write out the things you need to do, you are more likely to get them done. You will go into the day with tasks at hand and you will end the day feeling accomplished. It’s better to know what needs to be done than to free game your weeks. As you go along, check off your TO-DO’s. Hold yourself accountable and get it done.
These 5 tips help me to stay productive, high-energied, and focused. Drop something that’s a part of your morning routine to stay healthy in the comments. We want to hear.
The Gardetto Family Community Dental Clinic, one of Wisconsin’s only special needs dental clinics, received a $7,500 grant from the Catholic Community Foundation. The clinic, located at 2450 W. North Ave., was established by St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care to exclusively serve people with physical and cognitive disabilities.
“We are most grateful to the Catholic Community Foundation for their generous support of this clinic,” said St. Ann Center President Sr. Edna Lonergan. “Our costs for treating adults and children with disabilities is very high, and we are one of the few dental clinics in the state that accepts government pay programs like Medicare and Medicaid. For too long, people with disabilities have had limited access to quality dental treatment—this grant helps ensure they get the care they need.”
Many special needs clients come to the clinic after suffering for years with moderate to severe dental pain, and are often unable to communicate the discomfort they are in. Because of the extreme need, the dental clinic at St. Ann Center’s Bucyrus Campus attracts patients from every area of the state.
To read more about the clinic, visit stanncenter.org/community/
Milwaukee community leader will help implement Milwaukee’s public health approach to violence prevention
Milwaukee, WI (March 1, 2021) – Ascension Wisconsin is proud to welcome Marques D. Hogans Sr., MPH as the new Project Manager for the National BUILD Health Challenge for Sherman Park.
Hogans is a seasoned public health leader with more than a decade of experience. Most recently, Hogans served as the Equity Data Analyst for the Milwaukee County Office on African American Affairs, conducting research and identifying data (facts, figures, racial equity metrics), those which aid in promoting equitable opportunities for African Americans in our community. He has also consulted for Ubuntu Research and Evaluation, and Data You Can Use, and served as Public Health Educator for the City of Milwaukee Health Department. Hogans holds a Masters’ of Public Health from the Medical College of Wisconsin and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Kentucky State University.
Hogans,aShermanParkresident,willengagecommunitymembersaroundT heMilwaukee Blueprint for Peace, a community-driven agenda for addressing the complex factors that drive violence in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood.
Last year, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County and partners Ascension Wisconsin, City of Milwaukee Health Department’s Office of Violence Prevention, and The Sherman Park Community Association, Inc. received the BUILD Health Challenge® award.
The award provides $250,000 in funding and additional resources to support community-driven strategies in the Sherman Park neighborhood. The overall objectives of the project are to increase resident well-being and prevent violence.
In addition, Ascension Wisconsin has committed to provide $336,000 in matching support to ensure the project’s success.
“I look forward to working alongside the community to link neighbors with health resources, workforce development, and healing activities,” said Hogans. “This important work will increase individual and community resilience, resulting in a reduction of violence and health inequities.”
Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood, long associated with the systemic inequities its residents experience, is poised for rebirth. BUILD Sherman Park will advance a community-driven process to implement The Blueprint For Peace, Milwaukee’s public health approach to violence prevention. BUILD Sherman Park focuses on empowering Sherman Park’s residents, fostering safe, strong neighborhoods, as well as strengthening capacity, coordination, and collaboration for health and safety. BUILD Sherman Park will be led primarily by its Sherman Park Community Council. A group consisting of residents and other stakeholders with vested interest in the historic Sherman Park Neighborhood, including youth. The vision is that as residents increase access to and utilization of the neighborhood’s natural and built environment, community and health resources, community and government leadership, and healing activities, individual and community resilience will increase. The result will be a reduction of violence and an increase in health equity.
“Marques will help align our efforts with BUILD Sherman Park to achieve our shared vision of a healthy, safe and prosperous Sherman Park community,” said Reggie Newson, Vice President of Government and Community Services and Chief Advocacy Officer, Ascension Wisconsin. “Marques will lead the way with this work, helping all of us to engage residents through BUILD Sherman Park to support partnerships and an authentic community voice as we work together to improve the health of our community.”
BUILD Sherman Park is currently working together through a number of health-focused partnerships, including:
birth outcomes.
interrupters to prevent retaliatory violence among shooting victims.
To watch a short video that explains the community partnerships behind BUILD Sherman Park,
click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooyi7ZTRqA0&feature=youtu.be
If you would like to learn more about the Resident Advisory Committee click here: BUILD
Sherman Park Community Council Application
ABOUT ASCENSION WISCONSIN
In Wisconsin, Ascension operates 24 hospital campuses, more than 100 related healthcare facilities and employs more than 1,300 primary and specialty care clinicians from Racine to Eagle River. Serving Wisconsin since 1848, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Ascension is one of the leading non-profit and Catholic health systems in the U.S., operating 2,600 sites of care – including 145 hospitals and more than 40 senior living facilities – in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
ABOUT UNITED WAY OF GREATER MILWAUKEE & WAUKESHA COUNTY
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County fights for the health, education, and financial stability for every person in our local community.
ABOUT THE BUILD HEALTH CHALLENGE
The BUILD Health Challenge is a unique national program focusing on bold, upstream, integrated, local, and data-driven projects that can improve community health. The BUILD Health Challenge award provides funding, capacity-building support, and access to a national peer learning network to enhance collaborative partnerships here locally to address our community’s most pressing health challenges. Special thanks to the BUILD Health Challenge for its support of this initiative.
The BUILD Health Challenge is made possible with the support of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, Blue Shield of California Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, de Beaumont Foundation, Episcopal Health Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc., New Jersey Health Initiatives, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
ABOUT SHERMAN PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
The mission of Sherman Park Community Association is to make Sherman Park an attractive, interesting neighborhood where people of all races, religions, and national origins come together to celebrate and respect our differences, as well as our shared values.
ABOUT THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION
The Office of Violence Prevention provides strategic direction and oversight for City efforts to reduce the risk of violence through linked strategies in partnership with government, non-profit, neighborhood, and faith organizations.
Life for everyone is different today than it was a year ago before the pandemic, but for some individuals life today may even be different than it was a month ago, a week ago, or even 24 hours ago.
And maybe, even probably, they don’t like the way change is disrupting their previously predictable personal world.
But since change is inevitable and comes whether you like it or not, the best approach is not to resist it and do battle with it, but to find ways to make change your friend, says Andi Simon (www.andisimon.com), a corporate anthropologist, founder of Simon Associates Management Consultants, and author of Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business.
“A friend is someone we trust, who is special to us and is appreciated,” Simon says. “We enjoy being with them. But instead of seeing change as a friend, we treat it the way we do a stranger. Like a stranger, change is foreign to us and we are afraid of it because we are afraid of the unknown.”
People resist change in part because that’s the way the human brain works.
“When we are young, our minds create a story about who we are and that story becomes our reality, even though it’s not really reality,” Simon says. “The mind knows what you like, who you are, and it deletes anything that does not fit your reality.”
That’s why when people encounter a change, the brain’s default is essentially to say, “We don’t do that.” The brain is trying to be helpful, seeking to keep people comfortable within their normal habits. But in the process, it’s creating barriers to progress that people need to overcome, whether in business, personal development, or life in general, Simon says.
So, how can people become friends with change? She has a few suggestions:
People are often better at making changes than they give themselves credit for, she says.
“When you look back, it wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t have computers, we didn’t have the internet, we didn’t have i-Phones,” Simon says. “We didn’t have anything like we have today.
“Cartoonist Bill Watterson has a quote that says, ‘Things are never quite as scary when you’ve got a best friend.’ So, we’ve got to make change our friend and enjoy the journey.”
About Andi Simon
Andi Simon, Ph.D. (www.andisimon.com), author of Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business, is a corporate anthropologist and founder of Simon Associates Management Consultants (www.simonassociates.net). A trained practitioner in Blue Ocean Strategy®, Simon has conducted several hundred workshops and speeches on the topic as well as consulted with a wide range of clients across the globe. She also is the author of the award-winning book On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights. Simon has a successful podcast, On the Brink with Andi Simon, that has more than 125,000 monthly listeners, and is ranked among the top 20 Futurist podcasts and top 200 business podcasts. In addition, Global Advisory Experts named Simons’ firm the Corporate Anthropology Consultancy Firm of the Year in New York – 2020. She has been on Good Morning, America and Bloomberg, and is widely published in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Business Week, Becker’s, and American Banker, among others. She has been a guest blogger for Forbes.com, Huffington Post, and Fierce Health.
Long Term Care Providers Are Encouraging Staff To Receive Vaccinations To Protect Fellow Colleagues And Vulnerable Older Residents
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Health Care Association (AHCA), representing more than 14,000 nursing homes and long term care facilities across the country, and LeadingAge, the association of more than 5,000 mission-driven aging services providers including nursing homes, announced today, with the help of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nationwide goal of getting 75 percent of the approximately 1.5 million nursing home staff vaccinated by June 30, 2021.
“With COVID-19 vaccinations being distributed across long term care facilities over the past two months, we have already seen a decline in cases in nursing homes, indicating that the vaccines are working,” said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA. “Many of our staff continue to be excited about the vaccines and the hope they represent, but some caregivers still have questions. We are continuing to inform our staff about the credibility and safety of the vaccines through our #GetVaccinated campaign, and we hope this goal will further encourage more of our staff members to get the vaccine.”
In December, AHCA launched #GetVaccinated, a nationwide campaign that aims to encourage all long term care residents, families and staff members to consent to the vaccine as well as provide credible information to help inform their decision.
“Achieving a high rate of staff vaccinations will be a game changer for nursing homes. Real progress has been made in vaccinating nursing home residents. Now we must also achieve high rates of staff vaccinations,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge. “It’s critical to acknowledge the reasons for vaccine hesitancy are real and varied, and staff concerns must be understood and thoughtfully addressed as we work toward this goal. LeadingAge is committed to doing all we can with our partners and the Administration to ensure staff at our mission-driven members—at nursing homes and other care settings—have the information, conversations and support they need to get vaccinated.”
LeadingAge, in partnership with the Black Coalition Against COVID (BCAC), is sponsoring a national town hall Thursday, March 4 to address concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine among all levels of staff working in aging services communities. The association also regularly shares important vaccine resources and hosts special webinars to connect members with experts on vaccine education.
According to a preliminary analysis, COVID cases decreased at a faster rate among nursing homes that had completed their first vaccine clinic, compared to those nearby that had not yet administered the vaccine in the first month of the vaccine rollout. Recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data shows cases and deaths in nursing homes are declining rapidly, which hopefully indicates the vaccines are reducing the spread of the virus, according to AHCA.
“We look forward to working with President Biden’s Administration and the CDC to make this goal happen,” added Parkinson. “We cannot chance slowing the positive progress we have already made. Long term care facilities have been at the forefront of the pandemic since the beginning and our staff care for some of the most susceptible to the virus, making it even more imperative that their caregivers get vaccinated. The sooner we can get more of our staff vaccinated, the sooner we will be able to defeat this deadly virus.”
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ABOUT AHCA/NCAL
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represents more than 14,000 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers and homes for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit www.ahcancal.org or www.ncal.org.
ABOUT LEADINGAGE
We represent more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside our members and 38 state partners, we use applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to make America a better place to grow old. Our membership, which now includes the providers of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, encompasses the continuum of services for people as they age, including those with disabilities. We bring together the most inventive minds in the field to lead and innovate solutions that support older adults wherever they call home. For more information visit leadingage.org.