PROVIDENCE – The Tufts Health Plan Foundation awarded the Rhode Island College Foundation a three-year, $360,000 grant to support the work of Age-Friendly Rhode Island, RIC announced Wednesday.
Age-Friendly Rhode Island, RIC said, is a coalition of community and state agencies, health care and social-service providers, businesses, municipal leaders and faith-based organizations, among others, who are “committed to healthy aging.”
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The grant will allow the coalition to strengthen its initiatives, like establishing Age-Friendly Rhode Island as a “go-to resources” for healthy-aging issues, developing an anti-ageism campaign, and launching a civic academy that will “foster engagement and leadership” among older and multi-generational leaders across Rhode Island, RIC said.
Additionally, Catherine Taylor, the former R.I. Division of Elderly Services director, has been hired as Age-Friendly Rhode Island’s new executive director. A project coordinator will also be hired for Age-Friendly Rhode Island, according to the college.
The R.I. Statewide Planning Office projected the state would see an increase of close to 100,000 people over the age of 65 between 2010 and 2030. RIC also noted that Rhode Island has the highest proportion of adults ages 85 and older in the U.S. and it faces the challenge of having a “substantial” number of individuals at risk of health conditions that would “impair their ability to age in the community.”
In a statement, RIC Institute for Education and Healthcare Executive Director Marianne Raimondo said the grant and Taylor’s leadership will “continue our efforts to catalyze the change needed to support health aging in the state.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
