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Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
USAging Announces New Public Awareness Campaign to Raise Visibility of Area Agencies on Aging
Washington, DC, June 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USAging is celebrating 50 years as the national organization that represents Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and Title VI Native American Aging Programs. As part of the 50th anniversary, USAging has launched a new public awareness campaign—Area Agencies on Aging: Helping You Live Long and Stay Strong. The goal of this campaign is to make the public aware of AAAs as a vital community resource and to educate consumers about the range of important services that AAAs offer to older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers. There are more than 600 AAAs serving every community across the country ready to help them to age well where most want—at home and in their community. All people hope to enjoy a long and healthy life—but many find that they need a little help as they go through the aging journey. 'Research has shown that two-thirds of older adults will need some support to age well at home,' said USAging CEO Sandy Markwood. 'But people often don't know about AAA services or seek them out until they are in crisis—thereby missing the opportunity to connect to the range of services that are available to help them age well.' Services Provided by AAAsFor Older Adults: Home-delivered and congregate meals: Nutritious meals at home or in group settings. In-home support: Assistance with daily tasks like bathing, cleaning and dressing. Transportation: Rides to medical appointments, stores and community activities. Health and wellness programs: Fall prevention, chronic disease management fitness classes. Benefits counseling: Help understanding and enrolling in Medicare, Medicaid and more. For Caregivers: Respite care: Short-term relief to prevent burnout. Training and support: Educational tools and support groups for caregivers. Information and referral: Guidance to local programs, services and community resources. 'By 2035, older adults are expected to outnumber children under age 18 for the first time in the history of this country,' said Markwood. 'By 2040, a full 22 percent of the American population will be 65 years or older. Currently, there are more than 53 million unpaid family caregivers in the United States. There has never been a more crucial time for people to learn about AAAs and the services that are available to them to help them live long and stay strong.'For more information, visit or connect with your local AAA by contacting the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or CONTACT: Bethany Coulter USAging 202.872.0888 bcoulter@ in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
USAging and 50+ National Groups Call on Congress to Protect the Older Americans Act
Washington, DC, May 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USAging and more than 50 other national aging and health-focused organizations and enterprises have called upon Congress to protect the federal Older Americans Act (OAA) in a letter sent today to the leaders of the committees of jurisdiction for the OAA. The letter calls attention to a proposal to break apart OAA services under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reorganization. 'We're pleased that so many other national advocates for older adults and caregivers are raising their concerns about this grave mistake,' said USAging CEO Sandy Markwood, 'and we look forward to working with the Trump Administration, Secretary Kennedy and Congress to ensure that the OAA stays unified and is appropriately administered at the federal level by a human services agency.' The OAA creates and funds critical supports and services that help older adults stay healthy, safe and able to remain living independently in their homes or communities. These services include in-home help with dressing, bathing and eating; rides to medical appointments; case management; adult day care; home-delivered and congregate meals; and many more. 'We are concerned, however, that the HHS reorganization threatens to disrupt this efficient, effective delivery system and leave older adults and caregivers stranded,' the letter says. 'A leaked copy of the HHS budget for Fiscal Year 2026 would splinter apart the programs that make up the Older Americans Act.' USAging and the other signers are concerned that the proposed HHS reorganization threatens to disrupt the OAA's effective federal, state and local delivery system and leave older adults and caregivers without the supports they need. Dividing up the different OAA programs and spreading them across two different HHS agencies, as has been proposed, will severely impact the ability of older adults to get the OAA services that are critical to enabling them to remain living at home and in the community versus facing placement in institutional settings, as well as drive cost inefficiencies through unnecessary and wasteful administrative burden on federal, state and local aging agencies. The signers are calling for members of Congress to ensure that the HHS reorganization does not break apart the OAA and instead keeps all of HHS' OAA programs together and administered at the Administration on Aging (AoA) under an Assistant Secretary on Aging, even if AoA is moved under the Administration for Children and Families. CONTACT: Bethany Coulter USAging 202.872.0888 bcoulter@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
