Older adults experience a higher risk of chronic conditions which can lower quality of life and contribute to the leading causes of death among this population.

2018-2023

Projects

• Move Today is a non-aerobic exercise class designed to improve flexibility, balance, and stamina using a Thera band. 
• Project Healthy Bones is a popular state created program that combines both exercise/education and is best for people with osteoporosis or low bone density. 
• HealthEASE education curriculum training is 3-hour training designed to increase the number of older adults who participate in health education and mental health services. There are 8 modules in the curriculum that can be delivered as 1-hour sessions separately or part of a series. The modules include Keeping Up the Beat (heart health), Keeping Your Mind Sharp, Be Wise About Your Medications, Serving Up Good Nutrition, Move to Get F.I.T., Bone Up On Your Health (osteoporosis), Standing Tall Against Falls, and The Big Three (women’s health).
• GetSetUp is an on-line platform offering more than 500 live classes led by seniors in a wide range of topics, many focused on physical and mental health. In
• November 2022, the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services (DoAS) released the Caregivers Taskforce Report, which was the result of the work of the Caregivers Taskforce members from March 2020 through March 2022. The Department is working towards implementing some of the recommendations in that report, such as the creation of an online Caregiver Hub coming in early 2025. 
• In May 2024, DoAS released the NJ Age-Friendly Blue Print, full of recommendations that came from work with the Age-Friendly Advisory Committee, public listening sessions, and other information gathering. The Blue Print provides strategies and best practices to improve New Jersey’s communities for older adults and enable people to remain in their homes and communities as they age. In an effort to implement recommendations from the report, DoAS also released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for $5M in funding for communities and organizations to implement age-friendly practices. 
• The NJDOH Mission Critical Team has been up and running since November 2022 starting with the Veterans Memorial Home at Menlo Park once a week in-person visit, Deptford Care Center four days per week in person visits, Spring Hills Matawan, assisted living, supported virtually, and New Vista Nursing & Rehabilitation Center 4 days per week in person visits to support and strengthen the facility’s administrative staff to improve sustainable practices for quality and safety of the residents.

Legislation

• P.L.2021, c.131, raised the income limits of New Jersey’s two state prescription assistance programs – Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD) and Senior Gold – by $10,000 each, effective Jan. 1, 2022. When the SFY25 budget was signed, legislation was also signed (P.L.2023, c.79) raising the income limits again by $10,000 effective Jan. 1, 2024.  About 140,000 seniors and adults with disabilities are currently enrolled in these programs.
• The 2022 bill S2894/A4335 establishes Mission Critical Long-Term Care Teams and provides for identification of and intervention at long-term care facilities at risk of operational and financial distress.

Outreach

• In 2018, DoAS created an on-line application, NJSave, for PAAD, Senior Gold, and other important services.  A promotional effort focused on mailings and presentations was launched and, prior to COVID, DHS/DoAS staff spoke at more than 140 senior centers, subsidized housing, and retirement community clubhouses.  
• To promote the availability of free, unbiased Medicare counseling and programs that help seniors pay for Medicare (i.e., Medicare Savings Programs and the Part D Low-Income Subsidy), DHS/DoAS contracted with an ad agency that ran radio ads and digital ads – including on roadside billboards – for several months in 2022 and the beginning of 2023.  
• DoAS, in June 2023, entered into a $2M contract with an advertising agency to promote all of its programs, including those that help seniors maintain their health in the community.
• In 2023 and again in 2024, DoAS staff facilitated a Move Today workshop, two Project Healthy Bones trainings, and a Northern and Southern regional HealthEASE training.
  DoAS entered into a partnership with GetSetUp in November 2022.  Through August 2024, more than 103,000 classes were attended free-of-charge by New Jersey older adults.
• DoAS also distributed over 500 tablets to homebound seniors to help them stay connected with family, friends, and health care professionals. The tablet also came preloaded with the Get Set Up platform to promote use of this free service as well. 

Grants received by NJDHS

• DoAS has been awarded a federal Alzheimer’s and Dementia Programs Initiative (ADPI) grant, Enhancing Services and Decreasing Stress for Caregivers and the Persons Living with Dementia (PLWD) in their Care. This grant is in the first of three years to develop a training for professionals on how to respond to caregivers’ inquiries regarding Alzheimer's and dementia and to expand stress busting classes for caregivers to learn how to cope with caring for loved ones living with dementia. 

Disparities/inequities

• Hip fractures among persons 65 years and older are more common among women than among men.
• Hip fractures are two to four times more likely among White persons aged 65 and over than among persons of other races/ethnicities.
• Similarly, fall-related deaths among persons 65 years and older are two to three times more likely among White persons compared to persons of other races/ethnicities.
• However, men aged 65 and over are more likely than women to die from fall-related injuries.
• Fair or poor health status among persons aged 65 years and older is most commonly reported among Hispanic persons (39% in 2020) compared to Black (24%), White (16%), and Asian (7%) persons.

Final Assessment

• Targets were achieved for hip fractures and general health status.
• Physical activity and the funding ratio improved but did not achieve their targets.
• Fall-related deaths got worse.

For more information, please refer to these resources:

• NJDHS Aging Services
• Healthy Aging
• National Institute on Aging
• Older Adult Fall Prevention
• Healthy People 2030