December 6, 2022 Washington, DC – LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, is awarding five grants totalling $20,000 to District of Columbia members as part of its ongoing partnership with Community Catalyst and the Vaccine Equity and Access Program (VEAP), a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative. 

The members, who serve older adult residents of nursing homes, assisted living and memory care communities, as well as those living independently in affordable housing for low-income seniors and community villages, will use the funds to develop or enhance local partnerships in the DC metro area with the goal of increasing COVID-19 and influenza vaccine equity and access among older adults and care professionals.

“LeadingAge and its mission-driven members are committed to ensuring the health and well-being of older adults and the people who care for them. The bivalent COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines are the most powerful tools we have to protect older adults and community members now – as the threat of a tripledemic looms,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge. “We are thrilled to be able to bring fresh resources to our members, who are eager to put this money to good use.” 

Awardees were selected for their demonstrated, strong local partnerships and commitment to equity and access for COVID-19 vaccines – particularly people in communities of color, who have been disproportionately impacted throughout the pandemic.

Member grant recipients are: 

Kingdom Care Senior Village (KCSV)

Forest Hills of DC (FHDC)

National Caucus and Center on Black Aging (NCBA) 

Stoddard Baptist Nursing Home

Waterfront Village 

Activities to increase vaccine awareness and uptake will include hosting vaccine clinics, leading educational programs and distributing current literature and resources on COVID-19 and flu boosters, as well as collaborating on the creation of a toolkit about building and maintaining successful partnerships to be distributed among the larger national membership of thousands of providers.

Today’s news is the second announcement of grants to LeadingAge members awarded in Phase 2 of the VEAP program. In October, three LeadingAge members received $20,000 grants, also for implementing COVID-19 and flu vaccine access and awareness efforts in their communities. Phase 1 of LeadingAge’s involvement with the CDC’s VEAP through Community Catalyst was announced in November 2021; for that, LeadingAge distributed 42 grants to members throughout the U.S., who deployed funds to raise awareness of and access to vaccines and boosters. Read more about the initiatives undertaken by Bennett County Hospital and Nursing Home in Martin, S.D.; Stoddard Baptist Nursing Home in Washington, DC; and Lakeview Village, a life plan community in Lenexa, KS, and others: LeadingAge Members Promote, Educate and Vaccinate with CDC Grants, Mar. 24, 2022. 

We represent more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside our members and 38 state partners, we use applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to make America a better place to grow old. Our membership, which now includes the providers of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, encompasses the continuum of services for people as they age, including those with disabilities. We bring together the most inventive minds in the field to lead and innovate solutions that support older adults wherever they call home. For more information visit leadingage.org.