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Information and referral professionals can join with their peers for a three-day conference focused on elevating the sector. This conference will offer expert-led sessions on topics relevant to information and referral and dedicated networking opportunities with peers. Aging and disability professionals in Information & Referral/Assistance are invited to join the ADvancing States’ National Information and Referral Support Center, USAging, and other partners for the Conference’s Aging and Disability Symposium.

Presented by the American Society on Aging (ASA), this webinar addresses the often-overlooked issue of elder abuse and neglect. With nearly 1 in 10 Americans over the age of 60 experiencing some form of abuse, the session will define different types of abuse, offer examples within the older adult population, and explore investigative techniques applied to abuse cases.

Participants in this webinar will learn to: 

• Define abuse and neglect.

Explore the integral role of Care Navigators in interdisciplinary dementia care teams through insights shared in an upcoming webinar jointly hosted by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the National Alzheimer's and Dementia Resource Center (NADRC), and RTI International. Care Navigators are valuable members of interdisciplinary dementia care and support teams that assist people living with dementia and their caregivers in connecting with needed resources and providing important insight and information about their clients to the full dementia team. 

The next Federal Communications Commission (FCC) -  Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) meeting, where DAC members will engage in discussions covering a working group report and recommendation on the transmittal of audio description files to Internet Protocol programming, will be held on Tuesday, January 30. Participants will also receive updates on best practices for quality Telecommunications Relay Services and the use of artificial intelligence to caption live video programming during this meeting.

On January 8, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a call for proposals for the 2024 CMS Health Equity Conference, scheduled for May 29 - 30, 2024. This free two-day conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bethesda, Maryland, and will also be available for online participation.

Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organizations and nursing home leaders are invited to a webinar hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), addressing the critical issue of low COVID-19 vaccination rates among nursing home residents. Despite the vulnerability of nursing home residents to COVID-19 infection, only 37% of nursing home residents were up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations as of December 31, 2023.

Join the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for an upcoming webinar discussing their annual survey of the nation’s actions and attitudes related to disaster preparedness and sharing the survey results with the public. This webinar will feature key findings from the recently released results from the 2023 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness.

During January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) recognizes National Poverty in America Awareness Month. In 2022, the national poverty rate was 11.5%, remaining the same as in 2021. CMS OMH recognizes the importance of advancing health equity for Americans in all areas during National Poverty in America Awareness Month and encourages readers to review and share the materials in this resource hub throughout January and the rest of the year.

Key Findings:

Registration for the National Council on Aging’s (NCOA) 7th Annual Older Adult Mental Health Awareness Day Symposium is currently underway.  The May 2nd online event is free of charge and will feature presentations addressing the mental health needs of older adults. The Symposium is open to public health practitioners, aging network professionals, mental health providers, health care professionals, and anyone interested in ensuring the mental health of older adults. The symposium is sponsored by NCOA, the U.S.

Explore the critical role of data in protecting nursing home residents from poor care in an upcoming webinar hosted by the National Consumer Voice. In this webinar, Consumer Voice will discuss how leveraging information on ownership, staffing, and finances can empower regulators to proactively hold facilities accountable for poor care and prevent harm to nursing home residents.