COVID-19 Response

The Aging and Disability Business Institute is now accepting nominations for the The John A. Hartford Foundation 2022 Business Innovation Award. Each year, this award recognizes community-based organizations (CBOs) that have created innovative solutions to improving the well-being of older adults and people with disabilities through strategic partnerships with health care entities. The Institute is looking for nominations of CBOs that have contracts with health care entities related to advance care planning, caregiving, COVID-19 response, dementia care, and those that address health equity.

The Administration will require COVID-19 vaccination of staff within all Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities to protect themselves and patients from the COVID-19 Delta variant. On Thursday, September 9, 2021, CMS, in collaboration with the CDC, announced that emergency regulations requiring vaccinations for nursing home workers will be expanded to include hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings, and home health agencies, among others.

NAMD spoke with Medicaid Directors and senior program leaders to understand where they are focusing their time as they continue to respond to the pandemic, pursue long-term program innovation and improvement, and manage their staff. NAMD has found that Medicaid Directors and senior leaders are currently focusing on program innovation and strategic initiatives, stakeholder engagement, program operations, staff management, COVID response.

Georgia’s Department of Human Services’ Division of Aging Services (DAS) used WellSky’s configurable platform to meet the case management, data collection, decision making, and reporting needs of the state during the pandemic. Download this case study to read about how Georgia was successful in meeting the increased needs of seniors during COVID-19.

ACL issued grants totaling $1.4B to help older adults recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, funded through the American Rescue Plan. These grants will help provide meals and nutrition services, support family caregivers, help older adults connect and engage with others to reduce social isolation, re-open senior centers, and help residents of nursing homes resolve complaints.

On February 25. 2021, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the Continued Funding for Senior Services During COVID-19 Act to ensure continued federal support for our Nation’s seniors. This legislation would allocate more than $1.5 billion to the aging network to continue providing essential services, such as meal delivery, vaccine outreach and programming and caregiver support.

ACL awarded the $175 million for Nutrition Services and Native American Nutrition and Supportive Services to enhance ongoing community efforts begun with the support of previous COVID-19 supplemental appropriations.

AUCD recently released an FAQ document to support state and local disability leaders advocate for the role of individuals with disabilities in the allocation and distribution plans for a COVID-19 vaccine. The FAQ includes information on the approval, manufacturing, allocation, and distribution processes for a COVID-19 vaccine, AUCD network vaccine resources, and links to addition federal, state, and local public health resources.