Dear Age-Friendly Community,
- communication and civic/social engagement,
- healthcare and community supports,
- housing and outdoor spaces, and
- transportation.
The workgroups met up to six times to identify what is most clearly coming through the data. The workgroups have submitted problem statements that will be shared with the age-friendly steering committee. The committee will assess the problem statements over four work sessions in an effort to translate them into the regional age-friendly priorities. Our hope is to host an event later this spring that will invite input and share our findings.
Over the last few months and continuing into the spring, Carol Foote, Age-Friendly Franklin County & North Quabbin Program Manager, Meg Ryan, FRCOG Public Health Nurse, and Rachel Stoler, FRCOG Community Health Program Manager have, visited 16 of the 30 towns in LifePath's service area (many of which overlap with Cooperative Public Health Service towns) to share specific town results from the needs assessment as compared to the broader regional sample. More visits are on the calendar and are being scheduled. If we haven't visited your town yet, please be in touch with us to let us know your meeting schedule!
Next steps: Action Planning!
The steering committee continues to meet monthly as they gear up for the next phase of the project. The next step in the process is to create our Action Plan. Here is an overview of what that will look like. Based on the work of the workgroups, the steering committee will create a region-wide Community Action Plan, and towns are invited to modify this or create their own town-wide Community Action Plans.
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Congratulations to Towns Newly Designated as Age-Friendly! |
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We'd like to welcome and congratulate the following towns on their new designation of being recognized by AARP as age-friendly:
Buckland, Hawley, Monroe, Rowe and Shelburne
Of LifePath's 30 town service area, we offer our thanks to the 25 towns that are committed to making this region more age-friendly! Congratulations!
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Elevating Inclusive Age- And Dementia Friendly Communities with Dr. Alexandre Kalache |
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Alexandre Kalache, MD, PHD, MSc, is a leading voice in the global age-friendly movement, shared insights from his work advancing healthy aging and discussed how the New England states are building momentum for this work. Dr. Kalache also has a connection to Massachusetts through his service on the board of the Age-Friendly Institute.
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Hear Here Northfield!
The Town of Northfield has approved $50,000 from ARPA funding for equipment (a hearing loop) and devices that will be installed to enhance 3 rooms in Town so that those experiencing hearing loss may listen with ease. Rooms will be outfitted in the Northfield Senior Center to aid in hearing in their Select Board meeting room (in the Town Hall) and in a conference room at the Dickinson Library.
This will allow for those with hearing impairments to be able to listen to meetings, watch TV, participate in Zoom events, and listen to music and special guest speakers, etc.
These specially adapted rooms are open to the public and persons of all ages can benefit.
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Dementia-Friendly Initiatives |
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Meg Ryan and Carol Foote have been making the rounds including presenting for the Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren group, North Quabbin Community Coalition, and the North Quabbin Citizen's Advocacy members.
Meg will travel farther east to Devens on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 to the Mass COA 2023 Small and Rural Conference to present "Dementia-Friendly Initiatives – What Can I Do Even If I Do Not Have Money or Much Time?"
Join the conversation that will center around the fact that small and rural communities face unique needs that can often be met through regional collaboration.
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LifePath Welcomes a New Executive Director |
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Meet Gary Yuhas who started on Monday, March 20 as LifePath's new executive director. Welcome Gary!
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Contact info:
For questions, comments, or if you would like to share a story or article through this newsletter, please reach out to Carol Foote, Age-Friendly Project Manager, at:
413-829-9199
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Age-Friendly Project
Steering Committee Members
Our deepest gratitude to each of our steering committee members:
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Cathy Savoy - Athol Council on Aging
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Denise Schwartz - OASIS council at Greenfield Community College
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Jeanne Dodge - LifePath's Rainbow Elders
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Michael Archbald - Foothills Health District
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Lynne Feldman - LifePath
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Mary Giannetti - Heywood Healthcare
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Meg Ryan - FRCOG
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Rachel Stoler - FRCOG
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Peggy Vezina
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About the Age-Friendly project:
LifePath's Age- and Dementia-Friendly project is a community-led effort that aims to bring about policy and systems-level change to make Franklin County and the North Quabbin more livable for people of all ages, with a focus on older adults.
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This global model was developed by the World Health Organization and has been adopted by over one thousand communities worldwide. Using an 8-domain model focused on both the built environment and the social environment, the project will convene and support regional stakeholders to assess the current needs of the older population and propose concrete steps to meet those needs, including policy and planning recommendations, community education programs and physical improvements.
The Age-Friendly Project is supported by the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Fund, one of three funding opportunities created as a result of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's landmark revision of the Determination of Need regulation in 2017.
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