April 12, 2023 Washington, DC — Continuing its partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, today announces the members who will receive grants totalling more than $270,000 from the agency’s We Can Do This public education campaign, with more to be distributed in the near future. 

The funds, available through the association’s ongoing collaboration with HHS, are being distributed to more than 20 LeadingAge members who serve hundreds of older adults in a variety of care settings and communities nationwide. The goal: to promote education about and increase uptake of COVID vaccines.

Even as the longstanding public health emergency comes to an end, older adults remain vulnerable to severe illness from COVID. An updated COVID vaccine restores protection that may have waned over time, including protection against severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

 “These grants help ensure the health and safety of everyone in our member communities,”  said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge. “Our members are committed to protecting the health and safety of the people they care for and serve.”

Marcy Hunter, executive director of affordable senior housing community Seabury at Springvale Terrace, in Silver Spring, MD, last month organized a “Get Pinched on St. Patrick’s Day” clinic with her grant. She jumped at the chance to participate in “We Can Do This” because, she says,  “funds to support an event like this are hard to come by.” Over 20 shots were administered to residents, staff and family that day, while all participants enjoyed sweets, raffles, and karaoke. 

Other recipient communities, located across the U.S., include: 

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.