1 / 19

Healthy Aging in Massachusetts: Pathways to Life Long Wellness

Healthy Aging in Massachusetts: Pathways to Life Long Wellness. Walter Leutz, Ph.D. Associate Professor Heller School of Social Policy and Management Brandeis University Waltham, MA. Structure of Initiative. Tufts Health Plan Foundation funding for planning - Spring 2009

tiger
Download Presentation

Healthy Aging in Massachusetts: Pathways to Life Long Wellness

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Healthy Aging in Massachusetts:Pathways to Life Long Wellness Walter Leutz, Ph.D. Associate Professor Heller School of Social Policy and Management Brandeis University Waltham, MA

  2. Structure of Initiative • Tufts Health Plan Foundation funding for planning - Spring 2009 • Mass Health Policy Forums • Issue Briefs • Conferences • Steering Committee and Subcommittees • Consensus plan MHPF is a collaboration of the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University http://masshealthpolicyforum.brandeis.edu

  3. First Issue Brief - September 2009 Questions: • What is "Healthy Aging"? • What programs and policies support HA? • What's happening in MA with HA? Methods: • Research review • Interviews

  4. Ingredients of Healthy Aging Healthy Aging Seniors will …. • Lead meaningful lives • Be pro-active about health • Be socially engaged • Be physically active • Have good diets • Feel safe and secure And….Communities will support older adults to achieve these goals

  5. The Social - Ecological Model of Healthy Aging Health Promotion Physical, Organizational, and Social Environment Individual Behavior Healthy Aging Policy This forum is cosponsored and made possible by:

  6. What’s Happening in MA? Rolling out Evidence-based HA programs - NCOA, AoA, and ARRA grants Aging Network and Health Department leadership AAAs, Councils on Aging, & others on the frontline Existing healthy communities efforts

  7. Challenges to the Aging Network • Evidence-based HA efforts ask the Network to use resources to save resources in health care • Will the partners in this system collaborate? • Will the health care system (or someone) pay up?

  8. Can the Network maintain this infrastructure? October 2009

  9. December 2009 Forum 300+ in attendance Wide range of agencies and interests Tufts Health Plan Foundation extended its support for HA: A Steering Committee Second Forum and Issue Brief

  10. Steering Committee • Composition: • State agency staff • Health and aging services providers • Advocates • Researchers/academics • Conveners: THPF & MHPF

  11. 2010 Steering Committee Meetings • March - Ideas about key elements of a HA strategy • May - Ideas for actions on elements • June - Decided on Core & Cross-cutting elements & to have subcommittees & Forum speakers for Core • Core elements: Evidence-based programs, Public awareness, and Healthy Aging communities • Cross-cutting elements: Systems linkages, Older adult engagement, Evaluation, and Leadership

  12. September 2010 Forum • MA state agency speakers: • Ruth Palumbo - State Unit on Aging Assistant Secretary • Lauren Smith - Health Dept Chief Medical Officer • Outside expert speakers: • Evidence-based programs - Gerry MacKenzie, NJ Department of Health and Senior Services • Jennifer Wallace-Brodeur, AARP Vermont • John Beilenson, Strategic Communications & Planning • Launch Subcommittees

  13. General Purposes of Subcommittees • Develop plans for strengthening HA programming in the area • Account for the related work by state and local government, providers, advocates, & others • Interface with the other sub-committees • Address systems linkages, evaluation, older adult engagement, & leadership • Be politically & financially feasible & sustainable

  14. Timeline • Nov 2010 - March 2011 Subcommittee meetings • March - May 2011 Draft Project Plans • June 2011 Present Plan to HA Steering Committee • Latter part of 2011 Launch Statewide HA Initiative at 3rd Forum

  15. Progress to Date:Public Awareness Subcommittee • General ideas • Improve images of older adults • Raise awareness of benefits of physical activity and social involvement • Consider a broad range of traditional and alternate media • Specific recommendations will be developed to support the work of other two subcommittees

  16. Progress to Date:Healthy Aging Programs Subcommittee • Context: Dissemination of HA programs statewide, including training 1,700 in CDSM through ARRA grant • Micro issues: The nuts and bolts • Get more master trainers to rural areas • Address variations in completion rates • Identify and disseminate best practices • Macro issues: Environmental change • Lack of funding, space, employees • Getting attention, buy-in, and funding at state level

  17. Progress to Date:HA Communities Subcommittee • Develop road map(s) or model(s) for communities • Suggest leaders and stakeholders who may be involved • Specify minimum of organizational and financial resources to start, maintain, and spur on the initiative • Include HA program agencies and participants as appropriate • Include evaluation, reporting, and dissemination • Public-private collaboration and cross-cutting elements

  18. Next Steps • Subcommittees complete plans • Steering Committee reviews and votes on plans • Third Issue Brief and Forum on a state-wide strategy • Launch the strategy - Fall 2011

More Related