Colorado Gerontological Society

Background Statement

Organized in 1980 as a not-for-profit, the mission of the Colorado Gerontological Society (The Society) is to provide information, education and training, advocacy and public policy, and services to those who serve older adults and to older adults and their families. Over the course of the years since 1980, The Society has launched and successfully implemented a significant number of programs. Some of these include:

1. Senior Issues Briefings and Network North meetings, in-person monthly professional education programs in Denver and Boulder offered since 1982, were replaced in 2020 by the virtual Current Events series. Over

479 individuals throughout Colorado were able to participate in at least one of the seven virtual educational events.

2. The Telephone Buddy Program was developed in 2020 to respond to the social isolation, depression, and loneliness that many older adults experienced as a result of the Stay-at-Home orders issued during the

Pandemic. 135 volunteers were recruited from corporate and community-based volunteer programs as well as older adults whose normal social and civic activities had been suspended due to the pandemic. These

volunteers called once or twice a week to more than 150 older adults living in their own homes to check on the well-being of the older adult and share experiences. Funding has been received to continue the

program beyond the pandemic.

3. Publication and distribution of hard copies of Senior Resource Guidebook since 1992. 20,000 copies were distributed in 2019-2020.

4. The Society continues to be a leader in offering training, technical assistance, and consultation services for long term care professionals and front line staff. The 40 hour administrator training program which The

Society has offered for more than 25 years and the 16 hour supplementary training program have been revamped as virtual programs, including the competency exam. In 2020, The Society also began offering

technical assistance and consultation services addressing a variety of topics impacting the improvement of the quality of care and quality of life for residents in long term care, especially for those who reside in

assisted living. 587 individuals were able to participate in at least one of the 12 webinars and 8 virtual trainings The Society offered.

5. Annual delivery since 1988 of at least 200 holiday baskets to low income seniors. Due to the generosity of community and corporate donors, 107 volunteer teams delivered 532 baskets in 2020.

6. Sponsor of the Salute to Seniors since 1990. The Salute is a senior expo; 1300 older adults and families attended in person in 2019. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, we offered the Salute as a virtual

online event for the first time with over 950 registered individuals. We were able to offer the Salute again virtually in 2021.

7. Administrator of vision and hearing grants to seniors since 2007. More than 544 individuals were served in FY 2020-21 using $1,000,000 in grant awards.

8. Administrator of dental grants to seniors since 1993. The Society used more than $300,000 in grant funding to provide dental services to 205 individuals in FY 2020-21.

9. Counseling, referral services, and advocacy on aging issues since 1982. Issues The Society frequently faced in helping older adults in 2020 often resulted from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

10. Medicare/Medicaid counseling and outreach since 1988 including Medicare Monday consumer education programs throughout the state. Almost 800 individuals throughout Colorado attended one of the 11 virtual

Medicare Monday events in 2020.

11. Expanded services in 2010 to serve Latino elders with specialized outreach for benefits, advance care planning, and program development. More than 862 Latino seniors received advance care planning education

and services in 2018. In 2019, expanded programming to better meet the needs of African American older adults based on results of focus group, to include hosting Medicare Monday event in densely populated

African American community center.

12. COVID-19 provided The Society with the opportunity to self-assess and evaluate its day-to-day operations. The Society fosters a philosophy of ensuring diversity and inclusion, as well as cultural and linguistic

appropriateness across all areas of its work. Evidence based person-and-family centered service delivery approaches, self-assessment, engagement of community in design of programs and data driven service

delivery ensure that services meet the identified needs and focus on quality. The Society is dedicated to serving all older adults, meeting them where they are to remove barriers to access and advocate for the

removal of barriers when necessary.

13. Publication of STA-Well News, a regular consumer publication that is distributed to 27,000 households in Colorado since 1974 (publication was originally distributed by Senior Answers and Services, an

organization whose functions were merged with the Colorado Gerontological Society in 2008).

14. Columnist for senior newspapers with articles on senior issues since 1997. Monthly distribution of more than 300,000 copies by the various newspapers in the state.

15. The Society's senior-friendly website, www.senioranswers.org, had 16,775 users, 28,111 page views, and 19,516 sessions in 2020. Originally developed in 2000 and upgraded several times since then, the website

is getting a new look in 2021 compliments of the Schwab Pro Bono Challenge project and a team of volunteers and consultants. The goal is to enhance the user experience at the website through a better site map,

social media interface, and menus among other improvements.

16. Eileen Doherty, the Executive Director, has been actively involved in public policy, including working with the legislature and regulatory boards since 1977. She has authored numerous pieces of legislation and

regulations that helped to improve the lives of seniors.