Milestones Area Agency on Aging

Home delivered (hdm) and congregate meals are among our core services. Hdms are designed for homebound individuals, and congregate meals are provided at neighborhood meal sites to help reduce isoloation and facilitate socialization. Participated in Iowa caf, restaurant partnership to provide contracted meals to seniors in underserved areas. Nutrition education is also provided, as well as additional helpful information in the form of a monthly newsletter (Milestones minute) launched in january 2019. The Agency had additional national emergency funding (arpa, cares act, caa) for most of the year, which was used to expand service delivery. In nutrition program, the biggest impact was establishment of the Iowa cafe's, congregate sites established at local restaurants in each of our seventeen counties and which used a swipe card technology for consumers to dine at their convenience. Congregate sites, which reopened in july of 2021, were slow to recover but attendance has been steadily increasing in most locations. To attract consumers, many site managers have been offering creative events and, in select sites, we've upgraded site technology to accomodate internet streaming for health promotion and evidence-based virtual classes. As with all older americans act nutrition programs, contribution-based meals are available to persons 60 years of age and over and their spouses regardless of age.

Information & assistance refers to the lifelong links statewide toll free line that provides information and service referrals to callers in each aaa's service Area. In sfy20, the Milestones i & a program served 2,867 consumers, demonstrating the greater need which came about as a result of the fear and hardship experienced by consumers due to the pandemic. In sfy21, i & a served 2,566 callers, as the pandemic and the related concerned continued. Though conditions have "normalized" socially, sfy22 data shows that the numbers increased again, with 2,640 consumers served by i & a. This indicates that not only have the needs continued to increase despite the stabilized pandemic conditions, but also that Milestones information & referral service is a trusted resource across our region, and across the state, as well.

Milestones offices reopened to the general public in fy22. Home visits resumed and operations are proceeding much as in pre-covid times, with the biggest change being to maintain consistent sanitization throughout the office buildings and vehicles. Virtual delivery was not terribly successful in our service Area, so home visits never completely ceased, but fy22 brought the largest movement back in the director of a return to normal operational protocols. Iowa return to community program was initiated and is still being built and stabilized. This is a care transitions program to support those returning home from the hospital or restorative care, and provides services to help consumers recover safely and avoid rehospitalization.