HHS Announces More Than $13 Million for Community Prevention Programs for Older Americans

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ — HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the release of more than $13 million to 16 states to improve the health and quality of life for older Americans. This announcement, part of a collaboration with The Atlantic Philanthropies announced earlier this year, supports President Bush’s HealthierUS Initiative which encourages people to take control over their health in order to live longer, better and healthier lives. HHS will support efforts over three years in up to 16 states to support the delivery of evidence based programs for senior aging services provider organizations, such as senior centers, nutrition programs, senior housing projects and faith based organizations. At least 36 communities will have programs up and running within a year. “Extensive HHS research has shown that making small adjustments and improvements in our daily activities can prevent disease,” Secretary Leavitt said. “These awards will help to expand community-based efforts and strategies for building public private collaborations to support disease prevention and health promotion for older Americans.” This collaboration led by the Administration on Aging (AoA) and involving several HHS agencies, states and various public and private organizations at the community level, will empower older people, who are disproportionately affected by chronic disease, to take more control of their own health through life style and behavioral changes. Chronic disease and conditions such as arthritis, diabetes and heart disease as well as disabilities resulting from injuries such as falls, account for seven out of every 10 deaths, and more than three quarters of all health expenditures in the United States. “President Bush has long promoted the goal of healthy living to prevent chronic disease and reduce America’s health care costs. Through this new effort, we hope to have evidence-based prevention programs in place across the country in order to reach people where they live among their families and friends,” said Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina G. Carbonell. The Atlantic Philanthropies will provide additional financial support and technical assistance to a subset of five to eight states to support statewide deployment of the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program developed by Stanford University and funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The collaboration also builds on an existing relationship launched by AoA in 2003 in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AHRQ, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the National Institute on Aging, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Council on the Aging and numerous private foundations including the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to begin the deployment of evidence-based programs for older people in more than a dozen communities. The list of FY 2006 Award Recipients for “Empowering Older People to Take More Control of their Health through Evidence Based Prevention Programs” is below: AWARDEE STATE California Department of Aging CA Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment CO Florida Department of Health FL Hawaii Executive Office on Aging HI Iowa Department of Elder Affairs IA Illinois Department of Public Health IL Maryland Department of Aging MD Maine Department of Health and Human Services/Office of Elder and Adult Services ME New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services NJ New York State Office for the Aging NY Ohio Department of Aging OH Oklahoma Department of Human Services OK Oregon Department of Human Services, Seniors and People with Disabilities OR Lieutenant Governor’s Office on Aging SC Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services TX Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services WI For more information about Empowering Older People to Take More Control of Their Health through Evidence Based Prevention Programs, contact Donald Grantt at Donald.Grantt@aoa.hhs.gov or call 202-357-0136. Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services