Like many of you, we are looking forward to slowing down a little this summer. So, we will cutback our newsletter to once a month until September.
Happy summer everyone!
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Rosemarie Doremus
May 29, 1933 - July 30, 2022
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We are sad to share the news that Rosemarie Doremus, former Hunterdon County AAA director and one of NJAAW's founders, has passed away.
Simply put, there would be no NJAAW without Rosemarie. She was a leader in aging services in Hunterdon County since 1974 when she opened the County’s first Senior Center. While aging was her focus, Rosemarie also offered an intergenerational lens on healthy aging throughout her personal and professional life. She provided leadership at the local, state and national levels by serving as a New Jersey delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Aging. In 1999, she joined 3 other Executive Directors of County Offices on Aging (Margaret Chester, Susan Chasnoff and Carl West) and Grace Egan to create a statewide organization to address the issues they saw in their communities. That organization, NJ Foundation for Aging, continues their mission to this day as New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well.
Rosemarie’s commitment to helping older adults was clear in her many leadership positions in New Jersey as well as on the national stage. She was a Board of Trustees Member of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (NAAAA); President of the New Jersey Association of Area Agencies on Aging (NJ4A); and she served as a Volunteer Mediator of the Court, Community Dispute Resolution, in Somerset.
NJAAW staff, volunteers and board members (current and former) remember Rosemarie very fondly. We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends. She was a special and very kind woman, always supportive to our cause and a true advocate for NJ's older adults. For those of you who knew Rosemarie throughout her outstanding life and career, her obituary can be found here:
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Episode 130 – Lifelong Learning |
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Lifelong learning is more than taking a class or reading a book. Lifelong learning is a guide and a strategy to age well with benefits for the mind, memory, physical health, social well being and builds community. Many studies show the importance and relevance of a quest for learning and curiosity at any age.
In this episode of Aging Insights, Executive Director Cathy Rowe visits the OSHER Institute of Lifelong Learning at Rutgers University, also known as OLLI-RU. One of over 100 Osher Institute sites around the country, OLLI-RU is at the center of lifelong learning in New Jersey. With a new state of the art facility and a significant expansion and virtual learning under COVID disruptions, OLLI-RU offers hundreds of classes for older adults in New Jersey and beyond.
Join us to visit the site as it re-opens, and meet Executive rector Megan Novak, and Program Coordinators Kristen Michaels and Rajini Kurian to learn about classes, opportunities and the community of these learners.
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Save the Date for
NEW JERSEY AGE-FRIENDLY VIRTUAL FAIR
Sept. 15 9:30 am - noon
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NJAAW, the Rutgers School of Social Work, The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation and The Grotta Fund for Senior Care are hosting an online opportunity to connect with a range of communities, organizations, networks and projects that are advancing the NJ age-friendly communities movement. Click here to sign up to participate. |
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Join the Essential Jobs Essential Care NJ Coalition
NJAAW and PHI have partnered to build on the progress many NJ organizations have made in supporting the direct care workforce. As the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear, direct care workers provide critical support to older adults and people with disabilities across the state.
We are now moving into our next phase - forming committees to take deeper dives into the issues and build a road map to recruit and train new workforce members as well as improve wages and working situations for current workers.
1. Training
2. Job quality
3. State policy
4. Recruiting/supporting new workers
5. Data
If you are interested in joining one of these committees, please register here or email CRowe@NJAAW.org
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FREE WEBINAR: COVID-19 Outbreaks and Boosters in the LTC Facilities
NJ LTCO and FACE NJ recently hosted a free webinar with Dr. Meg Fisher and Casi Golaszewski of the New Jersey Department of Health to provide an update on the new COVID-19 subvariant. Dr. Fisher and Ms. Golaszewski discussed case trends in NJ long-term care facilities, the importance of vaccinations, and strategies to keep people living in long-term care facilities safe.
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NJ Department of Human Services Launches New 988 Suicide Prevention Lifeline
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New Jerseyans can now use the new, three-digit number 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 number is available for anyone experiencing thoughts of suicide or a mental health or substance use crisis. It provides free and confidential support to people in suicidal crisis or mental health-related distress via call, text or chat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the U.S.
988 is available for call, text, or chat for those experiencing a mental health-related or suicidal crisis, or those looking to help a loved one through a crisis. It provides easier access to the Lifeline network – a national network of over 200 local, independent crisis centers equipped to help people in mental health related distress or experiencing a suicidal crisis. Some callers may be connected to services or other resource lines depending on their needs.
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Cultural Responsiveness in Intergenerational Programs Webinar on Aug. 16
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Join Generations United on August 16 at 2 p.m. ET for a webinar on the importance of cultural responsiveness in intergenerational programming. The virtual event, co-hosted by the National Indian Child Welfare Association and the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, will include examples of organizations bringing younger and older people together in diverse communities and provide practical recommendations for designing programs and activities that reflect different cultural norms and values. Register today!
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Increases in SNAP Benefits
NJAAW is very pleased with recent passage of several hunger relief bills by the NJ Legislature and Governor. Most notable for older adults is the increase in benefits for snap. Executive Director Cathy Rowe testified to the Senate Committee on Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens on June 23, supporting the increase and noting that a return to pre-COVID levels would not only leave seniors with less food purchasing power, but for many makes SNAP benefits not worth the effort.
- “COVID revealed the large number of senior citizens who were eligible for SNAP but did not apply. Part of that is a perceived stigma, but a large part was that at $20 per month, with complicated applications and recertification processes, many senior citizens did not see SNAP benefits worth the effort. The increase in SNAP benefits during the public health emergency was essential in helping older adults get through the disruptions caused by the pandemic. If the SNAP levels were to return to pre-COVID levels, recipients are not going back to the same purchasing power. Inflation has driven up the cost of food (and gas and other items that take away from a household’s food budget). Going back to pre-COVID levels means SNAP recipients would have less purchasing power than they did 2 years ago and would be more food insecure than before the pandemic. The proposed increase might not seem like much, but for an older adult, it is a trip to the grocery store. It can provide breakfast every day for the month or fresh vegetables at dinner.”
The new legislation sets the minimum monthly SNAP benefits at $50 and simplifies the application process for senior citizens.
Please encourage eligible seniors to consider applying for this important assistance as we continue to work to expand benefits and fight food insecurity.
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Professional Development and Education |
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S-Cope & Trinitas Regional Medical Center
Offer Summer Coffee Talks
S-COPE presents a series of “Coffee Talk” sessions. They are brief, 30-minute webinar discussions full of information hosted on Thursday’s at 1:00pm! So grab your pen, paper, and mug and join in.
Topics will include:
- August 4th - Impact of Diet on Mental Health
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August 25th- Dementia and the Brain
- September 29th - Sexuality in LTC
See flyer for details and instructions by clicking here: Coffee Talks
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The International End of Life Doula Association is offering training programs July - September. Formats offered include 3 week/6 sessions; 4 week/8 sessions or weekends/ 5 sessions
PREREQUISITE: None, open to all
REQUIREMENTS: Internet access, computer or tablet with audio & video capabilities.
CONTACT HOURS FOR NURSES: Optional
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LGBT Senior Housing and Car offers Live Webinar for NJ LGBTQI+, HIV+
Long-term Care Bill of Rights (NJS2545)
"Designate-In person" Certification
Wednesday August 10th & Thursday September 8th 9:30AM - 4PM
5.5 hours of Continuing Education Credits available (added fee) for Nursing, Social Work, Activities Professionals, LTC Administrators
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Follow NJAAW on social media! |
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