NEI3A Receives Prestigious Aging Achievement Award from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a)
posted 7/21/2014 in
Press Releases
Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A) announces that its Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) National Resource Center recently received recognition from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) with an Aging Achievement Award, an honor presented by n4a to member agencies. The awards program is sponsored by CST your Link to Life (CST-LTL). The SMP National Resource Center was among the 45 local aging programs to receive honors during the n4a Annual Conference & Tradeshow held July 12-16, 2014, in Dallas, TX.
The 2014 n4a Aging Innovations and Achievement Awards recognize Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and Title VI Native American aging programs that develop and implement cutting-edge approaches to support older adults, people with disabilities and their family caregivers. A part of the criteria for the selection of the honorees was the ease with which other agencies could replicate the program in their communities.
“With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act underway, our members are investigating new ways to position themselves in the long-term and health care marketplaces, as well as to strengthen long-standing services to meet the needs of America’s rapidly growing older adult population,” said n4a’s Chief Executive Officer Sandy Markwood. “Our members work tirelessly, and with little fanfare in their communities, and this program enables us to shine a well-deserved spotlight on their ground-breaking work,” Ms. Markwood added.
NEI3A’s national Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Resource Center is funded by the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL). In 2011, when ACL developed volunteer program policies to protect clients, volunteers, and organizations, NEI3A’s SMP Resource Center staff served on the policy steering committee. Since then, the SMP Resource Center has provided the 54 SMPs nationwide with training, technical assistance, and tools to implement the policies. These tools include several manuals, online training, and 80 sample procedures, forms, checklists, and templates. Between 2011 and today, these resources have been accessed over 36,000 times through The Center’s website, www.smpresource.org.
“The Center provides valuable resources to assist in the fight against waste, fraud, and abuse of Medicare funding. Working to support a nationwide effort, The Center proudly serves those on the front line of defense for our seniors. We appreciate the opportunity to serve and support the Senior Medicare Patrol in their very important work.” state Mike Isaacson, Chief Executive Officer of NEI3A.
The 2014 n4a Aging Achievement Awards honored traditional and new strategies in a range of categories including Advocacy, Care Transitions, Caregiving, Community Planning/Livable Communities, Economic Security/Financial Assistance, Elder Abuse/Financial Exploitation Prevention, Ethnic/Cultural Diversity, Health/-Long-Term Services & Supports Integration, Healthy Aging/Nutrition, Home & Community-Based Care, Information & Referral, Technology, Transportation/Mobility Options, Volunteerism/Civic Engagement and “You Name It!”
All winners are showcased in an n4a publication http://www.n4a.org/pdf/N4A_report_final_lowres.pdf.
For more information about NEI3A’s national SMP Resource Center, go to www.smpresource.org. To view their award winning training materials, click on Resources for SMPs and VRPM.