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News From: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation For More Information, contact: Thirteen Communities Receive Grants To Improve
Local Services For Older Adults Princeton, N.J., August 1, 2002 - The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded development grants in 13 communities in ten states to improve long term care and supportive services for vulnerable older adults and their caregivers. The 18-month grants (see attached list), averaging about $150,000 each, were awarded through the Foundation's Community Partnerships for Older Adults program, a new initiative to promote better lives for vulnerable older adults through broad local partnerships among health care providers, social service organizations, local leaders, nonprofit and public agencies, private businesses, and older adults and their caregivers and families. "We're living longer, and living with more chronic illnesses, than ever before," said Jane Isaacs Lowe, Ph.D., senior program officer at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "As the Baby Boomer generation approaches age 65, the demand for long term care is on the rise. The projects funded through the Community Partnerships program will work to prepare for the challenges that our aging population poses." This new initiative is consistent with the Foundation's longstanding commitment to support communities in which older adults can remain in their homes and neighborhoods and continue to live full, independent lives. The 13 Community Partnerships projects will work to:
"Ultimately, care for older adults is a local issue that can best be addressed at the local level," said Elise J. Bolda, Ph.D., national program director for the Community Partnerships for Older Adults program. "There are so many untapped resources in communities; these partnerships will capitalize on those local resources, working together to improve the care and support for older Americans." The 13 projects, which range from rural Southwest Arkansas to metropolitan San Francisco, will focus on two groups of older Americans: those 60 years of age or older who are at increased risk of disability because of poverty, race or ethnicity, chronic illness, or advanced age; and older adults with physical or cognitive impairments who require long term care and supportive services. The local partnerships that have received these grants will be eligible to apply for four-year implementation grants averaging $750,000 to put their strategic plans into action. A second round of development grants for a new cohort of grantees will be announced next summer. The Community Partnerships for Older Adults program is based at the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School of Public Service. The Duke University Long Term Care Resources Program provides technical assistance for the program, under the direction of George L. Maddox, Ph.D. More information about the Community Partnerships for Older Adults program is available on the program's Web site: http://partnershipsforolderadults.org. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, N.J., is the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care. It concentrates its grantmaking in four goal areas: to assure that all Americans have access to basic health care at reasonable cost; to improve care and support for people with chronic health conditions; to promote healthy communities and lifestyles; and to reduce the personal, social and economic harm caused by substance abuse -- tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. The University of Southern Maine's Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service educates future leaders, broadens civic participation, and conducts leading research in: health policy, child & family policy, community & economic development, and public sector innovation. The Muskie School's three nationally recognized policy institutes receive more than $20 million annually to conduct research projects and public service activities in every county of Maine and every state across the nation. The Muskie School is based in Portland and Augusta, Maine. Community Partnerships
for Older Adults Area Agency on Aging of Southwest Arkansas, Inc. Atlanta Regional Commission Broome County Office for Aging Commission on Affairs of the Elderly Copper Country Mental Health Services Institute St. Clair County Community Mental Health Authority Department of Aging and Adult Services Hale Makua Milwaukee County Department on Aging Rio Grande Council of Governments Riverside County Office on Aging Sheltering Arms Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties
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