Our 2018 presenting sponsor
RECENT EVENTS
Eleventh Anniversary Conference Sets 2019 Agenda for RI Seniors
Two hundred people attended our Eleventh Annual Statewide Conference on November 2. Executive Director Bill Flynn led off with a keynote address about the Senior Agenda's victories won through community organizing, and about our goals for 2019. The first plenary session was a panel discussion on Elder Abuse with experts on the subject. George Neubauer, a board member of the Senior Agenda, moderated a discussion that focused on the current systems in place and how they could be improved. The second plenary session was a "town hall meeting" for the purpose of setting our 2019 agenda through the sharing of stories about the challenges of aging in the community. Twenty-five exhibitors showcased a varied array of services and products which could improve seniors' quality of life.
SENIORS WIN BIG IN 2018 LEGISLATIVE SESSION!
Thanks to our community efforts and the efforts of many people and groups, especially our senior centers, the Fiscal Year 2019 state budget responded to our top three priorities:
- It restores $400,000 in funds for senior centers that were cut in 2006 (DiPalma & Ruggiero, sponsors).
- It establishes a blueprint for major upgrades to The Point, our state’s information and referral program for seniors and persons living with disabilities. These include an interactive website, options counseling, and community outreach about the availability of The Point (Goodwin & Carson, sponsors).
- It increases Medicaid wages for homecare providers- 10% for CNA’s and other personal care workers, and 20% for nurses and therapists (Serpa, sponsor).
We also achieved passage of our top non-budget priority- enabling legislation for an Individual Provider (IP) program that would allow persons eligible for Medicaid-funded homecare to hire their own personal care workers via a registry maintained by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). This was a major victory, taking the first step toward achieving a program that has made a huge difference in “rebalancing” long-term care in many other states (Blazejewski and Goodwin, sponsors).
We are very grateful to Governor Gina Raimondo, and especially to Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello for fulfilling their commitments made at our March Legislative Leaders Forum.