Seniors Count Partnership

For information, contact:
Arlene Kershaw
603-621-3558
akershaw@eastersealsnh.org

Chapter 1: How did this Partnership get started? How are they structured?  What have they been doing?

Chapter 2: What Difference Did the Community Partnership Make Here?

Chapter 1: How did this Partnership get started? How are they structured?  What have they been doing

I. WHY Did the Partnership Happen Here?

Led by the Easter Seals of New Hampshire, in October, 2001, several community leaders decided to bring together representatives from an array of public and private social service organizations and local businesses in Manchester, New Hampshire to discuss the challenges encountered by frail older adults in the area. A report on these issues produced the year before “promptly went on a shelf”, which the COO of Easter Seals, Chris McMahon, decided was unacceptable. That was the catalyst for the Task Force which became the Seniors Count! Partnership. “As we convened, we became deeply concerned about the challenges of our older neighbors and vowed to make a difference. We called ourselves Seniors Count! to reflect our belief that age does not diminish a person’s worth and value to our community.”

The Seniors Count! Task Force pulled in stakeholders from older adults, caregivers, elected officials, hospitals, the county commission, the state department of health and human services, AARP, city departments, local service organizations, businesses and leadership from the State Unit on Aging and the Area Agency on Aging. At the same time, a variety of contributions from Easter Seals, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, other businesses, foundations and individuals provided the support for what became the Seniors Count Partnership to move towards its vision. Early on this Partnership adopted the approach of identifying key issues impacting the quality of life for frail elders, and then piloting initiatives to test 1) how the community can collaborate, 2) the effectiveness of program designs, and 3) their systemic change impact.

Demographics – This aging mill town is one of the most densely populated areas in the state of New Hampshire with a population of 107,000. As is true for much of the United States, by the year 2020, the population of older adults is expected to double, from 14,000 to over 25,000; and the number of frail elders over 85 will grow even faster. Of the seniors living in Manchester’s inner city, 57% live alone. While Manchester’s older population represents 9.4% of the state’s total aging population, over 15% of the state’s senior population living below the poverty line reside in Manchester. An annual income of over $31,000 is needed to rent an average one bedroom apartment in Manchester, yet the state-wide mean annual income for households living on Social Security is $13,974, and for those households which have retirement income as well, it is just $18,267.

Data Collection – The Seniors Count Partnership employed many creative tactics to collect data and create an accurate picture of the older residents of the Manchester region, including a review of data available on quality of life for older adults and the implementation of surveys and 10 focus groups comprised of older consumers, community service providers and local business & civic leaders. The “Flow of Funds” analysis of funding for senior programs showed where the money was going currently. Baseline health, geographic and economic information was compiled by the city department of Public Health. Early Seniors Count service coordination initiatives gave direct input from at-risk seniors. In town hall meetings and symposiums, participants helped set priorities and begin planning, based on all the information gathered and shared.

CPFOA grant funding allowed the Partnership to undertake a wide ranging process of data gathering which “brought the coalition together and generated concrete plans and actions. The process of gathering the data enabled collaboration among institutions that had never worked with one another and the information itself guided and motivated the Partnership’s decision-making and future plans.”

Findings of the Seniors Count! Partnership – “We have learned:”

• That although they may be at risk, these seniors often know exactly what they want or need, contrary to the assumptions of conventional wisdom.
• To listen to what at-risk elders want, rather than what we think they need; often resulting in more satisfaction for the senior, who exercises choice, retains dignity and often picks the less expensive alternative.
• How cumbersome navigation of the current long term care system is.
• That 60% of the at-risk elders encountered so far have no family or close relative available.
• There are severe shortages in service options, ranging from adult day service programs to assisted living to home care. (29 million in public dollars went to home and community based services versus 237 million dollars to nursing home care in 2005).
• That sixty percent of all public expenditures for older adults benefited only 648 elders (4.5% of the senior population) who used nursing home care in the year the analysis was completed.
• That 40%-50% of older adults report having disabilities that affect their ability to manage their daily lives.
• That the community at large fails to grasp the issues of at-risk seniors: how they fall between the cracks and how many cannot get what they need.
• How rigidity of regulations can make it difficult to create new solutions.

II. Getting Started: What Vision, Structure and Expected Impact emerged?

Vision: “Seniors Count seeks nothing less than to change the face of aging in New Hampshire. The objectives of Seniors Count are to engage the entire community to fundamentally alter the systems that deliver assistance and information, as well as to change the way the community thinks about and relates to seniors. By the end of 2010, Seniors Count will have demonstrated significant progress toward its ultimate objective of having seniors, especially those that are frail, experience the highest possible quality of life.”

“The invisibles” – who are not on anyone’s radar screen, are at risk….not because their houses lack plumbing or utilities, ….but because the seniors themselves are no longer able to clear away heavy New Hampshire snows, replace a light bulb or other household tasks. Seniors Count has learned and is continuing to learn how important it is to do something about…..non-medical factors that can put older adults at-risk for more serious medical issues and independent living choices.”

Structure
The Seniors Count Partnership evolved into a 2 tiered structure with a Collaborating Council (a core leadership group), and a Coordinating Committee responsible for the implementation of initiatives and functional committees. An Administrative workgroup of all project staff worked with both bodies, and also coordinated grant submissions. Believing that “programs are not systems changes”, the Seniors Count Partnership worked to keep a dialogue going about “what is systems change and to determine systems change goals” throughout all activities. Four committees reporting in to the Coordinating Committee drive work in 1) Communications, 2) Resources, 3) Evaluation, and 4) Initiatives – which has individual subcommittees on 8+ initiatives/programs.

Senior’s Count Vision of Impact

• Collaboration among agencies helping seniors is commonplace.
• New partnerships focused on at risk seniors include the public, for-profit and non-profit sectors.
• Many serving seniors will focus on seniors’ needs rather than bureaucratic needs.
• Most seniors will have their non-medical needs met.
• Most in the community are prepared for aging and know how to get their needs met.
• A neighborhood approach assisting seniors to remain in the community will be in place.
• Increased levels of volunteerism will be evident in programs assisting seniors.
• ‘Systems’ will less often interfere with ‘helping.’
• Most public planning activities will include a focus on senior needs.
• More dollars will flow into help for seniors
• More members of the community engage with seniors.
• Most seniors get what they need when they need it.

III. WHAT: Implementing initiatives to address priorities. What did they do?

Priority 1: Increase the community’s perception of the value of the Seniors Count philosophy & the importance of understanding life-long aging issues

• New Hampshire Public Television filmed two "Seeing Seniors" series (a total of 7 programs with Arlene Kershaw representing Seniors Count) that have been repeatedly rebroadcast after their initial airings.
• The Partnership launched a Public Service Campaign (“Check On Your Neighbor”) at the same time as the Seniors Count website, to raise awareness of elders who may need support and information sources. Blog fact sheets on Safety Checklists, Holiday Gift Ideas for Seniors, and Opportunities to Make a Difference generated 9,000 hits. The Seniors Count blog on the Union Leader’s newspaper website generated up to 127,000 hits a month.
• The Video created by Seniors Count, “Partnership with a Purpose,” aired at Annual Symposiums and many other venues to raise awareness of the power of Partnership. Multiple media campaigns of radio, TV and print ads have challenged the public to “Imagine a City,” and they complement the “Annual Report to the Community” on the Partnership’s work and plans. 16,500 copies of fact sheets on Working Caregivers and Memory Impairment were distributed through the Chamber of Commerce and Business NH Magazine.
• To promote the concept of “Livable Communities,” Seniors Count partnered with the Dartmouth-Hitchcock School of Medicine and AARP on a seven week continuing education series for physicians with the theme “The New Thinking about Aging: Fostering Health, Coping with Frailty.” The Partnership conducted the last session on “Imagining a Senior Friendly City.”

Priority 2: Decrease unmet needs, service gaps and barriers to access through systems change approaches.

• Due to the high number of very frail and low-income older adults in Manchester with little family support, the Partnership created the Flexible Spending initiative to meet unfunded basic needs. 22 partners purchased products & services which help 300+ older adults annually maintain their independence; with major funding from a local foundation and other community donors. The related Seniors Count Partnership Community Liaison Initiative has helped 185 frail seniors so far via a surrogate “eldest daughter” function that coordinates services, and helps elders get what they need in a timely manner in keeping with their own choices. A local foundation agreed to fund one of the Community Liaisons full time to keep the often simple and non-medical solutions chosen by elders available.
• The Partnerhship’s Neighborhood and Home Maintenance Initiatives started with safety surveys for older home-owners and now coordinate seasonal clean up events and fix-it programs which have used more than 400 volunteers from schools, businesses, and youth groups to perform home maintenance chores for 300 seniors in a variety of neighborhoods. They have become valuable tools for creating safer, more secure living environments for frail seniors, as volunteers often return to shovel snow or install a ramp.
• The “Adopt a Senior” project pairs carefully screened college students and other volunteers with frail seniors whose well-being is strengthened by the visits and trips with their new “friends”. The City of Manchester has allocated a VISTA volunteer to the Seniors Count Partnership, who will do outreach for the Neighborhood initiatives for one year.
• The Aging Sensitivity Curriculum came about serendipitously while attempting to engage more youth in the Seasonal Clean up Event, because the Mayor wanted the students to “understand what elders are going through”. The Partnership collaborated with the Manchester Regional Area Committee on Aging to create the Aging Sensitivity Curriculum for the schools. All 2,200 students at Memorial High School and 600 at West High School have experienced the curriculum. To increase its availability, Seniors Count Partner, New Hampshire Public Television, made the curriculum available through their educational "knowledge network."
  

Priority 3: Influence community planning efforts to increase attention on needs of frail seniors.

• The New Hampshire Endowment for Health funded a one-year policy analyst position to work with the Policy Work Group identifying policies and regulatory barriers that impede access to care.
• The Partnership conducted a session on the concept of a “Livable Community” in February 2008 with 45 community members and representatives of the City Planning Office, Zoning Office, Transit services, Public Works, Architects and Developers.

Priority 4: Increase the capacity of the Partnership to achieve its Goals

• Three new workgroups were formed by the Partnership on Sustainability, Policy/Advocacy and Public/Medical Education to focus on emerging priorities, reporting in to the Coordinating Committee.
• Seniors Count recruited high level community leaders, such as the Mayor, CEO’s from United Way and Catholic Charities, etc. who have helped bring visibility and resources to the Partnership.
• Partnership volunteers are creating a “Community Tool Box” to acclimate professionals to the field of aging and they are also developing a one day conference in 2009 for continuing education.

Priority 5: Increase resources that enable the Seniors Count Partnership & the community to address the needs of frail seniors.

• An “Honor Roll of Support” plaque is now on public display and the the Resource Development Committee is also using pledge and individual donation drives to raise fiscal support for the Partnership. The Seniors Count Partnership continues to attract grant monies and to collaborate with Partner agencies on grant applications. Exploratory conversations are underway with the state about some funding of similar partnership initiatives in two other sections of New Hampshire, near the coast and “up north”.
• Agreements were reached with local colleges to complete student training requirements through the “Neighbor Care” volunteer initiative, leveraging additional human resources to the Partnership.

Chapter 2: What Difference Did the Community Partnership Make Here?

Coming soon!