GIH Advocacy for the Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA)
The OAA provides critical services that address the social drivers of health for older adults. Grantmakers In Health (GIH) and Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) are partnering to engage funders in advancing the reauthorization of this important piece of legislation.
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Health Affairs: Community Care for High Needs Patients
Almost everyone wants to live in their own home and community as they age. Yet for many, later age brings frailty and the accumulation of chronic conditions. This month’s issue of Health Affairs examines how we can best provide care in the community for people with advanced illness.
Suicide in Older Adults: A Quiet Epidemic
There is a widespread and dangerous popular misconception that permeates our society that aging and despair—and even depression—go hand in hand. One of the most drastic consequences of such marginalization is the resultant isolation and feelings of burdensomeness that, when exacerbated with key risk factors, may drive suicide in older adults.
Join the Age-Friendly Health Systems Movement
The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative is an opportunity to build, together, more effective health systems that reliably deliver on the promise of better care for older adults.
Catalyzing Anchor Institutions to Invest in Healthy Local Economies
Health care is uniquely positioned to serve as an anchor sector because of its evolving mission toward more holistically addressing community and well-being, its stable role as one of the largest, community-rooted employers, and its mostly nonprofit and public status.
New Tools to Combat Ageism
The idea that we live in a rapidly aging society is not news, but here is an important fact: in ten years (by 2030), the United States will have more people over the age of 65 than children under 18 for the first time in its history. And yet, our society has not responded to the opportunities or the challenges that this change provides.
Trends in Health Philanthropy: The Challenge of Family Caregiving
Every day, millions of Americans provide unpaid care to a family member. A few years ago, it was estimated that 43.5 million adults had provided care for someone in the previous 12 months, with most caring for other adults, fewer for children, and a small percentage for both age groups.
Publications and Reports
2024 Survey Summary: Firearm Violence Prevention Strategies
GIH conducted a survey in September 2024 about funder engagement in firearm violence prevention. This fact sheet summarizes the survey results with a total sample of 81 health funders. This public health crisis and social justice issue is preventable, and health funders have an important role to play in advancing firearm violence prevention efforts.
Progress Report: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Campaign
In October 2023, Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) and Grantmakers In Health (GIH) launched an 18-month initiative to engage funders in the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA). This report highlights key activities and takeaways and previews future programming.
Fact Sheet: Five Ways Congress Can Strengthen the Older Americans Act, and What Philanthropy Can Do
First signed into law in 1965, the Older Americans Act (OAA) provides critical services that address the social drivers of health for older adults such as nutrition, transportation, senior centers, elder rights protections, caregiver support, and health promotion. A popular, bipartisan, and effective law, the OAA is set to expire on September 30, 2024, if it is not reauthorized. Foundations play a critical role at every stage of the OAA, from the time Congress begins reauthorizing the law, to the appropriation of funding, to the implementation of OAA programs. Now is the time to act.
Connect With Funder Peers on Population Health
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