St. Petersburg, FL – The Area Agency on Aging of Pasco – Pinellas (AAAPP) announces that its Better Living for Seniors Pinellas Falls Prevention Coalition has been honored with a 2019 Aging Achievement Award by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a). The awards program is supported by WellCare Health Plans. AAAPP was among 48 local aging programs to receive honors at the n4a Annual Conference & Tradeshow, July 27-31, New Orleans.

The 2019 n4a Aging Innovations and Achievement Awards recognizes 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. Among the selection criteria was the ease with which other agencies could replicate the program in their communities.

Better Living for Seniors Pinellas, an initiative of the AAAPP that works to engage local aging business partners, drives community-wide work to reduce the prevalence of falls through a Fall Prevention Coalition. Coalition initiatives include Denying Gravity, an innovative fall prevention comedy play put on by SAGES, a local volunteer senior acting troupe and local fire departments; a series of quarterly community provider symposiums; and a pilot program at two assisted living facilities to reduce unnecessary calls to EMS for falls assistance. Through these activities, Denying Gravity has reached more than 1,700 local older adults, and the two assisted living facilities involved in the EMS pilot program saw a 12% overall reduction in 911 calls in 2018. Additionally, a documentary called Saving Claire will premiere locally in September, before being released nationally on PBS.

“AAAPP is so fortunate to have a host of community partners so committed to ensuring optimal quality of life for older adults in Pinellas & Pasco,” said Ann Marie Winter, AAAPP Executive Director. “Falls are strongly associated with negative health outcomes for older adults, so the collaborative efforts to address falls risk is extremely important in keeping our community safe and healthy.”

To read the full press release, click here.

The Community Survey of Older Adults, an effort being put forth by Area Agency on Aging of Pasco – Pinellas, Pinellas Community Foundation, Pinellas County, Pasco County, and the cities of Dade City, New Port Richey, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg, is officially launching this week. This is the first ever survey of its kind in Pasco and Pinellas Counties and the results are going to help the partner entities identify the services that are needed for older adults, caregivers, and adults with disabilities, helping to ensure resources are invested efficiently and effectively.

The partners are encouraging all community entities who work with seniors in Pinellas or Pasco to ensure their clients know and understand they may be selected to receive this survey. We ask that they please respond. Their voices will be heard!

You can find the full press release here.

​Nominations close April 5th. The award ceremony will take place at the Sunshine Center on Thursday, April 25th. Find more information and nomination forms at www.StPeteParksRec.org/sunshinecenter or by downloading this PDF application. 

In recent days, Governor Ron DeSantis has announced a number of appointments to serve on his administration. A pivotal appointment to his cabinet is the new Secretary for the Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) – Richard Prudom. DOEA is the State Unit on Aging, whose mission is to help Florida’s 5.5 million elders remain healthy, safe, and independent.

Secretary Prudom has more than 30 years in executive leadership with the State of Florida where he has worked to develop, implement, and lead public policies and programs that improve the lives of Florida families. Since 2011, he has served at the Department of Elder Affairs as Deputy Secretary, Chief of Staff, and Chief Financial Officer.

With his appointment comes an opportunity to share information about the work being done at the state and local levels to support our aging population in Florida

​Agency Receives No Findings from Dept of Elder Affairs for Tenth Consecutive Year
St. Petersburg, FL, November 20th– For the tenth consecutive year, the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco – Pinellas (AAAPP) has received a monitoring report with no findings from the Florida Department of Elder Affairs (FL DOEA).
Each year, FL DOEA staff performs tests of compliance with federal and state programs, contracts, and sub-awards at each local Area Agency on Aging. Secretary of Elder Affairs Jeffrey Bragg noted AAAPP’s lack of findings for a full ten year period was an “exemplary achievement” and encouraged the Agency to continue to share its processes and practices with other Area Agencies.