West Virginia Partnership for Elder Living

The West Virginia Partnership for Elder Living, formerly known as the Long Term Care Partnership, is committed to fostering West Virginians’ ability to age in place with improved economic security and in a setting they choose--whether at home, in a residential care facility, or elsewhere.

West Virginia has one of the oldest populations in the U.S., and its size is growing. Our state also has the nation’s highest disability rate. And, with less access to residential long-term care than most other states, many West Virginians will elect to remain at home as they age.

Public and private professionals from many disciplines across West Virginia are working hard to improve the experience of getting older. The Partnership seeks to bring together these varied efforts to create an integrated network of thought and action. By emphasizing collaboration and communication, we will propel statewide progress to support West Virginians in a more successful and financially secure aging experience.

You are being asked to participate in an assessment of the way in which services are made available to elders in West Virginia who transition in care for chronic and advanced diseases/illnesses/injuries.

The survey is being made available to all professionals in the state who provide care to elders, work with or support other care-givers, work on policy regarding care of elders, or in any way touch the issues that revolve around care for chronically ill elders. The results will be made available to all and should give us a clear picture of what services are available, which are utilized, what the barriers are to getting care, and what care services are needed.

Please follow this link to the survey: https://www.research.net/s/WV-Elder-Transitions-Survey

Stay Up to Date with our New Blog

WVPEL Director Phil Schenk has started a blog on this web site that will point to interesting articles and news bits about various issues in the world of aging. In addition, Phil will post events in West Virginia that may be of interest to readers. To get to the blog, just click the "blog" button on the top of this page or bookmark http://blog.wvpel.org.

What's Happening at The West Virginia Partnership for Elder Living?

Work groups have started working on issues such as: in-home direct care workers; economic factors affecting the ability to age where you want; and transitional care for elders with chronic diseases. We welcome your participation in any of these or in development of other groups to address issues of interest to you. Read more.

Make a Plan for Alzheimer's: Final Report

Recently posted to our online "Library" is the final report with recommendations of the Make A Plan (MAP) planning project for Alzheimer's in West Virginia. The planning involved input from more than 50 participants from all over the state and from many professions and interest groups. This report was presented to the West Virginia Legislature's Joint Interim Committee on PEIA, Seniors, and Long Term Care on December 12 and received very positive response from the lawmakers. The project's director, Jane Marks, who is CEO of the Alzheimer's Association West Virginia Chapter, gave praise to all who participated. Her leadership was inspirational and resulted in a very impressive report.

WVPEL acted in a facilitation role for the project and is proud to post this report as an example of the kind of work that can be done through our coalition-building model. Don't forget that we are starting new work groups to look at

• the role of community resources in transitional care for those with chronic diseases and other needs for care and
• the economic needs of elders in our state utilizing the Elder Economic Security Standard Index for West Virginia (also in our Library). 

Contact Phil Schenk at pschenk@wvpel.org for details.

We've Got a New Name!

You may have noticed that we have changed our name. As of September 29, 2011 we are the West Virginia Partnership for Elder Living. We changed the name to more accurately identify what we do. We're not just about long term care. We bring partners together over a wide array of issues related to elder living as we pursue our mission to foster West Virginians’ ability to age in place in a setting they choose. We invite and encourage you to let us help facilitate a collaboration of organizations and individuals working on an issue in your field that falls into that mission.

Our website is now located at both www.wvpel.org (Partnership for Elder Living) and www.wvltcpartnership.org The old address will still bring you here for awhile. Please note that staff emails have also changed. For example, please now contact Partnership Director Phil Schenk at pschenk@wvpel.org and update your address book accordingly.

Gerentology Practioner Certification Needed

A group at West Virginia University which received funding from the West Virginia Long Term Care Partnership (now the West Virginia Partnership for Elder Living) has completed a study of the need for a Gerontology Practitioner Certificate. The study, led by Dr. Kristina Hash of the WVU Division of Social Work, shows strong support and need for such a certification program. Over 300 respondents contributed to the study. This data will now become the basis for efforts by a committee of professionals from around the state to pursue development of a certificate program. The West Virginia Partnership for Elder Living, congratulates Dr. Hash on this work and is proud to have been a partner in it. Read the report

West Virginia Ranks 49th Among States in the First Ever Long Term Scorecard

Certain states significantly outperform others in the delivery of long-term services and supports (LTSS) to older adults and people with disabilities, according to a new report released jointly today by AARP's Public Policy Institute, The Commonwealth Fund, and The SCAN Foundation. See the state-by-state results and read the report on the Mountain State at http://www.longtermscorecard.org.

Grants Available for Special Projects

Have an idea for a project that would address an issue in long term care in West Virginia that you would like to have funded up to $5,000? Briefly describe it in an email to pschenk@wvpel.org. The West Virginia Partnership for Elder Living is interested in projects that would involve partnerships among organizations, agencies, and individuals.