Older Adult Services Professionals Affinity Group Call – Inaugural Call

With a strong commitment to bringing together and supporting all the NJHSA professionals who work with older adults, we are excited to launch the NJHSA Older Adult Services Professionals Affinity Group..

If you need a web camera, please reach out to Lisa-Loraine Smith, CPO, at the email below  so she can send you one while supplies last.

The NJHSA Older Adult Services Professionals Affinity Group will create an opportunity for NJHSA members who work in the field of older adult services to reflect on and share information about best practices, discuss challenges, brainstorm about relevant topics and lend support to one another. Please note, this group will not focus on the needs and issues of Holocaust survivors as the Network presently runs an NJHSA Holocaust Survivor Affinity group.

Some of the topics may include but are not limited to:

• Your recent accomplishments and accolades
• Current trends that are impacting your community and the aging network
• Political and economic factors that help facilitate or hinder growth for your programs
• Strengthening Aging Network Relationships-Communication and Collaboration
• Intake and assessment processes
• Compliance with contract requirements
• Staffing resources and capabilities
• Measuring Outcomes
• Marketing, outreach and referral sources
• Providing services to challenging clients
• Supporting caregivers
• Meeting the needs of clients with Dementia related disorders
• Funding opportunities and challenges
• Best practices and program innovations in working with older adults
• Policy/advocacy issues impacting clients and services
• Strategies on working with government funders (eg. AAAs, state agencies, Medicare, etc.)
• Staff supervision challenges and management best practices

At this inaugural meeting we want to hear what is going on for you in your agencies. What are your strengths and your struggles in working within this field?  On the call, we will be collecting your feedback and using that to guide our future discussions, so please come prepared to share.

During the first meeting, please be prepared to answer these questions:

1. Your name, agency and role?
2. How long your agency has been providing services to Older Adults and how long you have been in charge?
3. What services your agency offers for Older Adults?
4. What you consider to be your agency’s greatest strength and greatest area for improvement?
5. What topics you would like to discuss over the next year?

Together we are better!