SENIOR CARE
Connected Communities Aging well in greater Minnesota BY MARK ANDERSON, MBA, CEO
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innesota is now home to one million older adults, approximately 20% of our state’s population. By 2030, one quarter of Minnesotans will be over 65. As CEO of Knute Nelson, a senior services provider based in Alexandria, I see these demographics directly affecting my rural community. A common fear of older adults is becoming a burden to others and gradually losing their independence. One bad fall or an episode of congestive heart failure can cause seniors and their family to panic about their safety. In my experience, most people wish to be as healthy and self-sufficient as possible. The reality is that 70% of us will need help with daily tasks as the years pass. We may start to have problems with balance or become unable to drive. Our eyesight may get fuzzy. Taking care of our home chores might get harder. The signs of aging may seem a long way off in your life, if you have not personally struggled with a chronic condition or seen a loved one lose self-sufficiency. Yet, it could happen tomorrow to someone in your family or one of your long time patients.
Most communities have options for aging services and supports; however, most people don’t know about them until a crisis hits. It can be hard to ask for help or even to know where to look. That is why last year, working with our local health care providers and other community partners, Knute Nelson launched a pilot project called Connected Communities for Healthy Aging (Connected Communities). It is funded by a $900,000 pilot grant through LeadingAge MN Foundation. The UCare Foundation contributed $100,000 to the innovative pilot. Our goal is to provide a more integrated system of caring for seniors and to help them live their best lives.
A new approach to supporting older adults When our Alexandria Lakes Area Connected Communities pilot started, Olivia Mastry from The Collective Action Lab facilitated a wide-ranging discussion among project partners, including executives from Alomore Health, Horizon Public Health, Lakes Area Age Friendly, Dancing Sky Area Aging, PrimeWest Health, West Central MN Communities Action and UCare Medicare Advantage health plans. She challenged us to put the older adult at the center of our planning and to imagine new ways of working across professional boundaries to support healthy aging. What emerged was an ambitious plan to identify our area’s service providers and gaps in the five key areas of social determinants of health: health care access, lifelong education, economic stability, neighborhood and built environment and social and community context. “For too many older Minnesotans – especially those living in remote rural communities – the prospect of healthy aging diminishes in their later years,” said Ghita Worcester, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Chief Marketing Officer. “Through this pilot project, we are creating integrated hubs of essential resources to help people recapture their sense of a life well-lived. We are excited to join this community collaborative bridging gaps to ensure optimal health and wellness.” Early in our Connected Communities pilot, we identified more than 500 service options in our region that support seniors; despite that, most area residents are unaware of these resources. I have spent my career in senior care, and even I have been surprised to learn about all of the organizations dedicated to helping older people with services such as transportation, socialization and chores around the home. One solution we created is an Age Well Navigator who is connected to local resources. She can assist in supporting an older adult recovering from a hip replacement or help set up remote monitoring and telehealth services so that a person can continue living alone at home safely with appropriate supports and resources. This navigator lives in the area, knows who to call for various types of services and is connected via electronic health records to local health care professionals. Another program component is an Age Well Care Manager who works with seniors to help them craft an individualized plan—for managing their clinical risk as well as increasing social engagement, if needed. This professional is a licensed social worker by training, works with local nurses for clinical expertise and is skilled at coordinating across health care partners, community-based organizations and aging services providers.
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MAY 2022 MINNESOTA PHYSICIAN
