New Web link supplies information on older adult services, assists with long-term care options           

[JUNE 10, 2005]  SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Department on Aging recently created a new link on its website to inform residents about the Older Adult Services Advisory Committee.

"This is an excellent resource for the public to use to learn about what the Department on Aging is doing to increase the quality of life for Illinois seniors, and to offer options for care to people who need assistance," said Charles D. Johnson, director of the Department on Aging.

The Older Adult Services Advisory Committee was created last year under the Older Adult Services Act. The 32-member committee is required to study and make recommendations on numerous system-restructuring initiatives required by the act. The committee also monitors, develops and provides guidance on multiple reports and demonstration grants. Committee members include representatives from a variety of statewide associations, senior service organization representatives, citizen members and family caregivers.

The Older Adult Services Act calls for the restructuring of all aspects of service, including the provision of housing, health, financial and supportive services for older people. It also calls for the development of a Nursing Home Conversion Program, to be established by the state departments of Public Health and Public Aid. The program would reduce reliance on nursing homes by Medicaid, the federal-state program that pays the health care costs for the poor. Savings from this effort would be reallocated to a broader array of options for home-based or community-based services to older adults.

"During my 30-year career in this field, I have never met a single senior who expressed the desire to leave home for care in an institution," Johnson said. "Now we have the opportunity to make an important difference in the quality of the lives of the people who need us most."

The link for the Older Adult Services Advisory Committee can be accessed by going to the Department on Aging site at www.state.il.us/aging and then clicking on the button "Older Adult Services Act." [Or click here to go directly to the page.]

[Illinois Department on Aging news release]