County Adopts Regional Plan to Bulk Up Services for Seniors

California's San Diego County has a plan to strengthen senior services, known as the "Aging Roadmap," reports the San Diego Union Tribune . The regional plan will extend from the county's Age Well initiative, which concentrated on more affordable housing, intergenerational programs, and improving the community's dementia-friendliness. Issues the Aging Roadmap would target include delivering resources and support for caregivers, broadening prevention of senior abuse, promoting work and volunteer opportunities for seniors, and enhancing medical and social services. The plan also calls for each regional hospital to pursue Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation, designed to help hospitals provide competent, coordinated medical services to seniors through suitable equipment and supplies, staff training, and medical standards. "There are countless community-based organizations, there are hospital-based organizations, county departments that all have programs designed to keep older adults thriving and safe," noted San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Dianne Jacob. "However, we're not all working together like we should; it's not all coordinated. This is an effort to bring everything together, not just within the county government but also the other partners we have out in the community."