Pennsylvania expressly values older adults and individuals with disabilities and is committed to building and maintaining an age- and disability-friendly commonwealth so that all Pennsylvanians may live with dignity and independence. To accomplish that goal, Pennsylvania is putting together a 10-year Master Plan designed to help transform the infrastructure and coordination of services for Pennsylvania’s older adults. You are invited to contribute what you think should be the plan’s priority goals, objectives, and initiatives to support the highest quality of life for older adults. As part of that plan, the Pennsylvania Department of Aging (DOA) conducts a stakeholder engagement process, which is arbitrated by the Long-Term Care Council and the Governor. The process will involve outreach and requests for input from anyone or any group with an interest or with some interaction toward aging- and disability-related services, programs, and infrastructure. The state will be holding in-person and virtual stakeholder meetings across the state, with a minimum of an in-person meeting in each county over the next six months. People are also invited to submit comments directly through the website or can email DOA at AgingPlan@pa.gov. FQHCs were very involved in the development of a similar plan in California and DOA is hoping that Pennsylvania’s FQHCs will be as well. More information on the master plan can be found at https://www.aging.pa.gov/publications/MasterPlan/Pages/default.aspx.
