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MBA Strategic
Plan
The Minnesota Board on Aging has identified five strategies for its work focus. Within the overall context of the Transform 2010 Blueprint, these actions represent specific actions of the Board and the Area Agencies on Aging in Minnesota to help the State prepare for the coming Age Wave.
A. Communities for a Lifetime: Work through the AAAs and in partnership with others to ensure that Minnesota’s communities are good places to grow up and to grow old and offer physical, social and service features for their residents of all ages.
A.1. Improve the ability of Minnesota’s communities to support aging persons . . .
- Expand and strengthen volunteer-based community programs funded through OAA and CS/SD resources. Fund ways to provide incentives for mutual support, such as volunteer “banks” where hours invested in volunteering for others are redeemable in comparable hours of service provided by other volunteers; “Pay-it-Forward” approaches and other local (non-government) models.
- Work with cities and counties to help them develop their own capacity to help people age in place:
- Housing options for their older residents, chore service, home modification for accessibility or other “home maintenance” services.
- Property tax relief for older persons: freeze property values for community residents aged 65+, but allow local governments to increase the mil rate.
- Information about tax benefits and other programs for which they might be eligible.
- Planning and zoning that preserves the residential nature of neighborhoods and promotes safety
- Infrastructure changes: e.g., crosswalks for slower walkers, clearer, larger signage, parking accommodations.
- Inter-generational “community-building” programs that create bridges across cultural, language, age or other barriers.
A.2. Encourage business and community efforts that encourage older Minnesotans to continue working in both paid and volunteer roles:
- Flexible work hours and menu-based benefits
- Multiple opportunities for volunteer and civic engagement work—utilizing the talents, skills and experience of older residents to benefit the community,
A.3. Work with MnDOT and key transit funders to address the growing transportation needs of older Minnesotans – explore new transit models that are more comparable to private transportation than current models: longer hours of operation, more dependable (and easier) scheduling, and maximally affordable.
B. Consumer Choice: Improve the ways that older Minnesotans (and their families) find out about—and make decisions about—service and support options.
B.1. Develop new program model/s to assist all persons in understanding and making difficult long-term care decisions.
- Improve the quality of the State’s central database (www.minnesotahelp.info) that includes both public and private service/support options
- Ensure the availability of person-to-person assessment and care plan assistance (elements in Minnesota’s current Long-Term Care Assessment process) to all older persons regardless of income level.
- As this concept is developed, ensure optimum requirements (knowledge, skills and abilities) for personnel to do this work (i.e., this is not a standard nursing or social work role); and non-conflict of interest, (i.e., this assistance is not provided by a direct service provider).
B.2. Increase public awareness of Minnesota’s access system—Senior LinkAge Line® and www.MinnesotaHelp.info® by using more market-based, creative campaigns such as the Blue Cross/Blue Shield recent successful “Do” campaign, or Wells Fargo’s “Call anytime” campaign.
B.3. Make sure that the information about service and support options include things that persons can do for themselves—or at no cost—such as exercise, diet, and health promotion information.
B.4. Develop and pilot new (and significantly more effective) models for engaging and supporting family caregivers.
C. Health System Reform: Continue to partner with health care providers to jointly increase preventive strategies (i.e., health promotion), help people help themselves, improve chronic care and improve the return on our health care investments.
C.1. Actively encourage all health care and long-term care providers, health insurance companies, health plans and Aging Network providers to promote wellness and to support disease prevention programs.
C.2. Promote the development and public adoption of long-term care financing options, including alternatives to Long-Term Care Insurance.
C.3. Promote health care reform that adequately addresses the special and sometimes unique needs of each patient, some of whom who may present with situations or combinations of chronic conditions that are not covered by any “evidence-based” protocols.
C.4. Partner with higher education in Minnesota to develop a strategy to recruit, train and maintain an increasing cadre of gerontology/ geriatric-trained health care personnel, including new types of professionals to better meet the new types of long-term care and chronic health needs of the future.
C.5. Work with the ElderCare Rights Alliance to measure and report on the capacity of the current system to ensure protection of frail and vulnerable elderly receiving in-home care in their own homes and apartments.
D. Technological Change: Promote access to and adoption of new communication and information technologies by older Minnesotans, as well as by the service provider industry.
D.1. Expand Senior Surf Days to promote opportunities for persons who did not grow up with the Web to be introduced to (and to use) new web-based communication technologies.
D.2. Support new ways for older persons to acquire or access computer equipment (e.g., repair and donation programs or equipment lease).
D.3. Create a Governor’s Age Wave award for the development of new, innovative technologies that specifically assist older persons who want to age in place and support the early adoption of new Assistive Technologies that support older persons in their own homes.
D.4. Support the State’s current effort to develop and standardize Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in order to improve coordination across health care providers, health plans and health care settings (including home care)—while assuring that privacy considerations are identified and addressed.
E. Visibility of Aging Issues/MBA: Continue to increase awareness of aging issues created by Transform 2010 in targeted audiences, to create strategic partnerships to implement MBA’s Strategic Plan. Share best practices statewide.
E.1. Annually identify key partners (e.g., trade associations, church, business or community groups), develop a presentation that translates 2010 issues into their language—with implications for their business—and present at their annual conference.
- Engage MBA members as voluntary Speakers Bureau to widen possible sphere of influence.
- Explore ways that MBA members can be a resource to the AAAs.
E.2. Use Age and Disability Odyssey as a conduit for sharing best practices in aging services, community programs, public policy.
E.3. Implement at least one strategy that targets the younger generation to raise awareness of volunteer/career opportunities that will open up to them as a result of population aging.
Updated April 9, 2008
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