The Bulletin Board

‘State Plan on Aging’ work to continue with final listening sessions this week

By: Annmarie Timmins - January 31, 2023 3:48 pm

The Department of Health and Human Services is holding its two final listening sessions this week to gather input on the state plan for aging. (Screenshot)

The state is holding its final two listening sessions this week to gather public input before it updates its plan for supporting residents as they age.

The Department of Health and Human Services is also taking feedback via an online survey that asks about the availability of community supports, including health care programs and screenings, affordable housing, transportation, and in-home long-term supports and services.

The department will host a virtual listening session Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. that can be joined by video or telephone. The video link and phone number are on the department’s website, dhhs.nh.gov, under events.

An in-person session will follow on Thursday, from noon to 2 p.m. at the William B. Cashin Senior Activity Center in Manchester.

The New Hampshire State Plan on Aging, administered by the department’s Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services, lays out a number of ambitious goals and strategies for helping older residents stay active and healthy; encouraging “age-friendly” communities that allow older residents to age at home; and connecting that population with housing, health care, and other services.

New Hampshire has one of the oldest populations in the country. In 2019, the Legislature established the state Commission on Aging to follow issues related to aging in the state and advise lawmakers and the governor on policy and planning.

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Annmarie Timmins

Senior reporter Annmarie Timmins is a New Hampshire native who covered state government, courts, and social justice issues for the Concord Monitor for 25 years. During her time with the Monitor, she won a Nieman Fellowship to study journalism and mental health courts at Harvard for a year. She has taught journalism at the University of New Hampshire and writing at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications.