Navigating/Accessing Health Care and Social Services

Navigating/Accessing Health Care and Social Services  Accessing and navigating health care and social services is a widespread concern amongst older adults. The needs assessment found even when services are available in a community, seniors tend to be unaware of them or how to access them. Additionally, an inability to navigate health care services and the inability to pay out-of-pocket are barriers keeping older adults form accessing health care and social services. To measure overall health care access in a community the health care provider density is measured. In Montgomery County, Md., Fairfax County, Va., and Washington, D.C., the provider ratios were often better than the national average, however, the remainder of locations within the service area saw ratios that were worse than the national benchmark.

Highlights of Our Impact 

Sarah’s Circle, Washington, D.C. 

Established in 1983, Sarah’s Circle provides affordable housing and an overlay of supportive services designed to help very low-income older adults aging on their own terms. 

Sarah’s Circle was awarded $5,000 to support its meal program, which serves residents of its apartment building as well as low-income seniors from the neighborhood. The meal program targets households whose incomes fall well below 30 percent of area median income. Approximately 105 older adults will receive a total of 10,000 meals.

Highland Food Pantry, Winchester, Va. 

Begun in 1990 as an outreach program of Highland Memorial Presbyterian Church in Winchester, Virginia, Highland Food Pantry (Highland) provides over 20,00 individuals with food annually; of those, approximately 1,200 are seniors.

The 2019 grant of $7,500 will support Highland’s Special Delivery program that serves older adults who are food insecure and are unable to travel to Highland to pick up food. The seniors will receive easy to prepare, high value protein food which will be delivered to their homes on a monthly basis by volunteers or the agency that provided the referral. Read More

Impact in Action

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