Updates from i4a on training/education opportunities, public awareness, and advocacy
The Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging (i4a) released its policy agenda January 2024. The association, which represents Iowa's six Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), encourages Iowa's General Assembly to ensure that Iowans living with dementia, and their family caregivers/care partners, have access to local resources, information, supports, and services by establishing a Dementia … Continue reading 2024 Policy Agenda
The Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging (i4a) released a statement regarding the anticipated merger of the Iowa Department on Aging and the Iowa Department of Health and Human Service. "The Area Agencies on Aging are eager to partner with IHHS on the next steps of the merger," said Joe Sample, i4a executive director. … Continue reading Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging’s Statement on Iowa Department on Aging Merger
For Immediate Release Image credit: Christian Emmer Iowa’s Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) have collaborated with Iowa’s executive branch to determine what role Iowa’s AAAs can play in providing information to older Iowans. Iowa’s AAAs can provide information about the scheduling process for securing a vaccine and information about transportation and other services the caller may … Continue reading Iowa’s Area Agencies on Aging Response to Vaccination Scheduling
Iowa's elected officials must move to strengthen elder justice to protect vulnerable older Iowans, especially during a public health crisis.
The Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging (i4a) is proud to announce that it has joined the Dementia Friends U.S.A. public awareness initiative. The program, Dementia Friends Iowa, will train Dementia Friends Champions across Iowa in collaboration with Iowa's Area Agencies on Aging, the Gerontology Society of Iowa, the Aging & Disability Resource Center … Continue reading Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging Announces Dementia Friends USA Program
Kelly Butts-Elston, Connections CEO The Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging welcomes Kelly Butts-Elston, CEO of Connections Area Agency on Aging, as its incoming board president. Kelly has led Connections AAA since 2017 and worked at the agency since 2003. She has served on the i4a board of directors as Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, and as … Continue reading i4a Welcomes New Board President
The upcoming General Election (November 3, 2020) will likely take place before a vaccine is found for the COVID-19 virus. Adults over the age of 60 remain in the highest risk group to have a serious illness due to the virus. In Iowa, with over 70% of individuals over the age of 60 registered to … Continue reading Vote Safely Iowa: Your 5-Step Voter’s Guide During COVID-19
Guest Contributors Theresa Davison and Joe Sample Science and technology have enhanced the opportunity for older adults to connect more with their world than ever before. The burgeoning field of gerontechnology is creating environments for independent living and social participation for older adults through technology (International Society for Geotechnology, 2020). There are two lines of … Continue reading Reducing Social Isolation of Older Adults during COVID-19 with High-Tech Connectivity, Safety, and Exploration Ideas
Guest Contributors Kay Vanags and Emily Winker Finding ways to stay connected during COVID-19 can be a challenge. Despite 90% of individuals between ages 65-69 and 44% of individuals age 80+ using the internet (Anderson & Perrin, 2017), connectivity can still be lacking in places like rural Iowa. Many of the ways older adults are … Continue reading Low-tech Ways for Older Adults to Stay Connected During COVID-19
Guest Contributors: Maria Donohoe and Emily Winker According to a recent AARP and National Alliance of Caregiving study, 11% of family caregivers reside an hour or more away from the person for which they provide care (2020), known as long-distance caregivers. Caregiving tasks often include assistance with daily living activities (e.g., bathing, dressing, preparing meals), … Continue reading Long-Distance Caregiving During COVID-19: Tips from Aging Experts
Guest Contributors: Maria Donohoe and Emily Winker Caregivers and care recipients may not have had to change the ways they provide in-home care and support during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that does not mean that it has been any less stressful. Caregiving can often be an isolating experience even with supports and services provided by … Continue reading Caregiving During COVID-19: Helpful Tips on Staying Safe, Reducing Stress, and Finding Local Supports and Services
Guest Contributors: Angie Guss and Crystal Doig The COVID-19 virus has been referred to as a “hidden enemy.” The policy response to this hidden enemy was to stay home or “shelter-in-place.” As older adults participated in these policy recommendations and mandates, another opportunistic, hidden enemy strengthened itself in the sheltered shadows of COVID-19: elder abuse. … Continue reading Social Isolation and Elder Abuse During COVID-19: What Experts Say We Can Do
Guest Contributors: Kay Vanags and Stacie Speirs “Social distancing” in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic has created confusion and new challenges for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and family caregivers. For these individuals, social distancing has heightened the experience of loneliness and social isolation. With this guest blog from experts in Iowa’s aging network, … Continue reading Managing Social Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Advice Series from Area Agency on Aging Experts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 24, 2020 Iowa’s Area Agencies on Aging are at the front line of meeting the needs of older Iowans, adults with disabilities, and family caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Older adults are at the highest risk for serious COVID-19 illness due to age-related changes in immune systems and, for some, … Continue reading LifeLong Links: Getting Information and Services to Older Iowans, Adults with Disabilities, and Family Caregivers During COVID-19 Pandemic
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (a.k.a. COVID-19) is, as of this writing, considered an outbreak virus with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitoring novel illnesses in the U.S. There are numerous concerns with this contagious virus related to its rate of spread and whether older adults are at a heightened risk associated with coronavirus. We … Continue reading Coronavirus Outbreak: Early Prevention Recommendations for Older Adults
"We must have an honest discussion on the differences between 'elder abuse' and 'dependent adult abuse.' These are not the exact same thing though they have overlap. To properly protect older Iowans from elder abuse, we must understand the differences and the systemic limitations." Joe Sample, i4a Executive Director The Iowa Association of Area Agencies … Continue reading Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging Releases 2020 Policy Priorities
Photo by Huy Phan on Unsplash There are over 526,000 Iowans over the age of 65 (State Data Center of Iowa, 2019). Based on national data that estimates 10 percent of older adults over age 60 are victims of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation (Beach et al., 2010), then there could be over 52,000 Iowans who experience elder … Continue reading Elder Abuse versus Dependent Adult Abuse: What’s the Difference?
We are working to update various aspects of the i4a.org website. We are very excited to provide you with the latest network events in the state. Check out the "menu" button to get access to the page. An example of such events includes the upcoming Family Caregiver Conference in Ottumwa, Iowa on November 2, 2019. … Continue reading Find a Network Event in Iowa
In Bram Stoker's Dracula, garlic was used to repel vampires. Garlic may not be good for vampires, but it may be good for healthier memory as we age. In a recently released study, garlic appears to counteract age-related memory problems...at least in mice. According to Behera and Tyagi (American Physiological Society, 2019), the dietary administration … Continue reading Vampires beware: The link between garlic, gut health, and memory for older adults
Photo via The Telegraph This week's Age Trivia question asked if older adults were less likely to use technology for dating compared to their younger counterparts. The answer is actually mixed...so yes and no. In recent years, all age groups have steadily increased their online dating activities and found intimate partners (see figure below). Data … Continue reading Dating online in the older generations: Love and scams
Photo via firstlighthomecare This week's trivia question asked whether the way people talk to older adults can change brain functioning of an older adult. The answer is yes! A myth associated with aging is that there is, in general, rapid incline in function from childhood to adulthood to middle-age but then a rapid decline after … Continue reading What you say can change older adult brain functioning
President Lyndon Johnson after signing the Older Americans Act, 1965. For over fifty years, the Older Americans Act (OAA) has resulted in helping older Americans remain in their communities-of-choice for as long as possible through local services. Signed in 1965, the OAA was established out of concern for the lack of community social services for … Continue reading Older Americans Act: Services that keep older Americans healthy, safe, and in their community
Image via Houston Chronicle This week's trivia question asked what types of exercises help compensate for age-related changes of the body and mind. Do endurance exercises, such as walking and swimming help? Does resistance training, such as through weights or even body weight exercise help? Does stretching, such as through yoga, help? The answer is yes! … Continue reading Exercises of Endurance, Resistance, and Flexibility Combat Affects of Aging Body
This week's trivia question was whether older adults with access to phones were at a lower risk for falls. The answer is, true! Normal aging processes can have a negative affect on a person's muscle strength, bones, and balance. Each year there are over 800,000 people hospitalized due to fall injuries (CDC, 2016) and millions … Continue reading Older adults with cell phones reduce falls risk
Iowa Capitol (c) WHO Radio On January 14, 2019, Iowa’s 88th General Assembly will begin the 2019 legislative session. Iowa’s GOP remains in control of the executive and legislative branch of Iowa’s government. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa’s first female governor, will be joined by a record 44 female legislators (33 in the House, 11 … Continue reading Iowa’s Area Agencies on Aging 2019 Policy Agenda: Family Caregivers, Elder Justice, and Services
There are over 66,000 Iowans over the age of 65 living with Alzheimer's disease, according to the Iowa Health and Human Services (IHHS) Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Program (ADRD) website. The ADRD program had been a 3-year initiative through IHHS's Division of Public Health, which was funded by the CDC through the BOLD Act, … Continue reading I4A Identifies Dementia Services Specialist Program as Top Policy Initiative
The Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging (i4a) announced that Linda Hildreth will assume the contracted i4a executive director position on January 1, 2023. "I am excited to join i4a in its mission to advocate and support older Iowans, individuals with disabilities, their family caregivers and partners, and the aging network," said Hildreth. "During … Continue reading I4A Announces Linda Hildreth as Executive Director
Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging 