June 2019
May was Older American's Month - How Did You Celebrate?
Did you know Older Americans Month was started by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 after his own personal experiences with his aging father? When his father experienced a stroke and became partially paralyzed in 1961, the entire Kennedy clan helped him with his daily activities. This brought President Kennedy to recognize the lack of services available to frail and sickly older adults in America. Kennedy met with the National Council of Senior Citizens to address the 17 million 65+ older adults living in America. His proclamation of Older Americans Month was the prelude to the Older Americans Act of 1965.
Older Americans Act
Following the assassination of President Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson followed through with Kennedy's wishes of mandated services for older americans. President Johnson signed into effect the Older Americans Act in 1965 which established the Administration on Aging, introduced nutrition programs, created transportation services, federally funded adult day care, brought legal assistance services to seniors and paved the way to passing Medicare.
Older Adults Have Changed
Older adults in America are living longer lives - the life expectancy today for Americans is 80 years old. In 2016, 49.2 million people 65+ lived in America which made up for about 15% of the total American population. This number is expected to double by 2060 because of the Baby Boomer Generation.
The Baby Boomer Generation is an interesting one as the individuals within have coined the term "solo-agers." Many of these older adults are living alone, divorced, with no children/estranged children. The typical family caregiver is
non-existent or is a long distance caregiver. The increased
solo-ager population requires an increased need for community based services. The majority of those services assist in helping
the older adult with daily activities.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) Secretary Jennifer Walthall receives National Impact Award

Jennifer Walthall, M.D., M.P.H. is this year's Jerry W. Friedman Health and Human Services Impact Award winner. The Impact Award is presented annually by the American Public Human Services Association. Dr. Walthall received the award last week at APHSA's National Health and Human Services Summit in Washington, D.C.
AIHS is a Benefit Enrollment Site

Our trained SHIP Counselors are available to assist you with Benefits Enrollment. Meet with our staff to review your eligibility for the various State and Federally funded programs for Medicare Assistance. We know the forms can be confusing - call to make an appointment or stop by our new office to review eligibility!
Do you, or someone you know, need help paying for Medicare Premiums?
Medicare Savings Program (MSP)
Extra Help: Limited Income Subsidy (LIS)
AIHS IN THE COMMUNITY
May was a busy month! Our staff was able to talk to thousands of individuals at different events throughout northeast Indiana. Did you see us at Tapestry, the Wells County Senior Expo, disABILITIES Expo or Huntington Senior Expo ?
AIHS continues research collaboration with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine to disseminate patient-centered research results from a research project with AIHS nutrition program clients and community members as research volunteers. Results of the PCORI-funded patient-community partnership is explained in the manuscript “PlanYourLifeSpan.org _ an intervention to help seniors make choices for their fourth quarter of life: Results from the randomized clinical trial” by the research team published in 2017 in the
Patient Education and Counseling Journal.  
JOIN US



SAVE THE DATE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25TH
44th Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony
2019 COSS Senior Resource Guide





The new and updated 2019 Council on Senior Services Resource Guides are out and ready for distribution. AIHS is a distribution site - stop by to pick up a copy for yourself or a box for your organization!

8101 W. Jefferson Blvd
Fort Wayne, IN 46804
Aging & In-Home Services of Northeast Indiana | 260-745-1200| E-mail | Website