Agencies Encourage Engaging in Healthy Activities and Taking Steps to Prevent Disease

ALBANY, N.Y. (September 19, 2024) - The New York State Department of Health (DOH) and the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) are recognizing Healthy Aging Month in September by highlighting New York's programs that encourage a healthy lifestyle and promote the State's Age-Friendly Health System.

"The Department remains steadfast in our commitment to adopting and adapting policies to empower all New Yorkers to embrace healthy lifestyle choices that are critical to ensuring healthy aging," State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. "Among those healthy choices are ensuring protection from disease by getting vaccinated against viruses that can lead to serious health complications and even death, particularly for those with underlying medical conditions. I recently signed standing orders to make it easier for every New Yorker to get these safe and protective vaccines."

COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and flu are respiratory viruses that typically circulate from fall through spring. Vaccines to protect against infection are safe, effective and readily available and are encouraged for the very young, those over age 60, individuals who are pregnant, or who have underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease.

Commissioner McDonald recently signed standing orders that allow pharmacists across New York to administer COVID-19 and RSV vaccines without an individual prescription from a health care provider.

Additionally, with respiratory virus season now underway, the annual flu shot provides another layer of protection for individuals, their families and their communities to avoid spreading potentially serious and even deadly disease.

The Department of Health also maintains the NYS Vaccines for Adults Program (VFA), which provides vaccines at no cost to eligible adults. The vaccines are distributed to health care facilities that are enrolled as VFA providers.

New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) Director Greg Olsen said, "Our network of local offices for the aging and partners offers a multifaceted approach to support healthy aging for a diverse population of older adults, with an emphasis on high-need populations as well as helping older adults avoid conditions that may otherwise lead to higher needs. That is the central goal of healthy aging, whether it's providing in-home supports, combatting social isolation, nutrition programming, or the array of other services and supports delivered by our network. Under Governor Hochul's leadership, NYSOFA is proud to work with partners at all levels, public and private, to innovate and create the conditions for a truly age-friendly state."

NYSOFA and its network of 59 mostly county-based Area Agencies on Aging and their community partners serve approximately 1.3 million older New Yorkers annually. This network provides over 20 core non-medical, community-based supports to help older adults age in place, overcome social isolation, and address social determinants of health. This includes the nation's largest nutrition program for older adults, senior center programming, elder-abuse prevention and mitigation, health insurance counseling, personal care supports, transportation, case management, respite and caregiver services, social adult day services, legal services, health promotion and wellness, home modifications, part-time employment, training and placement assistance for low-income older adults, volunteer opportunities, and more.

In 2023, NYSOFA conducted a statewide community needs assessment survey that garnered 27,000 responses from older adults in every region of the state. It found that 72% of older adults consider their overall health to be "excellent/good" and 78% called their community an "excellent/good" place to live, among other results. NYSOFA data also shows that older adults served by the NYSOFA/aging services network also exhibit among the highest needs that are being addressed through preventive, community-based supports. The average person on NYSOFA's caseload is 83 years old, female, lives alone, has four or more chronic conditions, and stays on NYSOFA's caseload for 6.4 years.

NYSOFA has additionally established over 20 public-private partnerships that are changing the landscape of aging services, making NYSOFA a leader among states in adopting technological approaches to some of the most complex issues confronting individuals as they age. These low-cost, high impact digital solutions are helping to combat loneliness and social isolation while improving overall health and wellness. Learn more by reading our new Innovations in Aging report. Among these innovations are: a free online community for older adults to connect with one another through NYSOFA's partnership with GetSetUp; the ElliQ proactive care companion utilizing AI for NYSOFA clients experiencing social isolation; a statewide caregiver portal through Trualta and assessment tool through ARCHANGELS to provide evidence-based support and awareness of caregiving intensity while connecting to supportive resources; NYSOFA's initiative providing animatronic companion pets to isolated older adults; and more.

Age-Friendly Initiatives and the Master Plan for Aging

The Age-Friendly Health System reinforces the State's commitment to making sure the evolving health care system in New York remains focused on identifying paths to improve health and wellness, strengthen the State's focus on age-friendly communities, and enhance the overall quality of life for all generations of New Yorkers.

The State's Age-Friendly Health System Initiative began in 2017, the same year AARP singled-out New York as the first Age-Friendly State in the nation. In 2018, the State reinforced its commitment by encouraging health systems across New York to adopt age-friendly policies and programs, resulting in a robust response from 248 health systems in New York State that have achieved that recognition.

Both DOH and NYSOFA, in partnership with other state agencies, local governments and community stakeholders, continue to draft the groundbreaking Master Plan for Aging (MPA), an evolving blueprint of strategies to ensure older adults and individuals of all ages can live healthy, fulfilling lives while aging with dignity and independence.

To learn more about the MPA or to share your thoughts, send an email to: [email protected].

Healthy aging across the lifespan is a cross-cutting principal that also underpins the State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP), also known as the New York State Prevention Agenda, which is a strategic plan of health priorities that aim to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities for all New Yorkers across the state.

The Prevention Agenda focuses on five key priority areas - prevent chronic diseases, promote a healthy and safe environment, promote healthy women, infants and children, promote well-being and prevent mental and substance use disorders, and prevent communicable illness.

Each priority area is accompanied by a priority-specific action plan that includes focus areas, goals, objectives, and measures, and provides a menu of evidence-based interventions to be implemented by community partners in accomplishing Prevention Agenda goals, including reducing health disparities among racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, age groups, and persons with disabilities.

Additional information about community programs, including chronic-disease self-management, nutrition counseling, socialization, and caregiver assistance is available on the New York Connects website here or by calling 1-800-342-9871.

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