June 2, 2026 Older Adults Committee - Jun 02, 2026

meeting

Fairfax County Board Committees 1h 17m 4 speakers 8 agenda items transcribed 1 day ago official recording ↗

▲ 0

Transcript

jump: agenda · speakers · find in transcript

Transcript

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What agenda items and introductions open the Older Adults Committee meeting?

Unknown 0:07

OK, good morning, everybody. Let's go ahead and get started. Welcome to the June 2, 2026 meeting of the Board's Older Adults Committee meeting. We have a few items on the agenda tonight, or this morning. It's not tonight, not yet. We're not going to go that long. But before we get started, I did want to recognize we have several members of our Commission on Aging that are here. I would ask, would you members please stand up here? Thank you very much for attending. Thank you. And thank you all for all your work on these issues we're going to be covering and so many more over the last few years. It's really making a difference. So thank you again. The first item we have is an update. This is something that we do every year.

Unknown 1:04

And it's going to be an update on the Shape the Future of Aging plan. And we have Bethann Margetta from the Area Agency on Aging. Bethann, go ahead and take it away.

Bethann Margetta 1:23

Okay. It's nice to see all of you again. I'm Bethann Margetta. I'm an assistant program manager with the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging, or the AAA, and I have the pleasure of supporting the work of the Shape the Future of Aging program. At the last Older Adults Committee meeting, we reviewed steps that were taken to operationalize the SHAPE plan. I'm delighted to take this opportunity to share progress of the third year of SHAPE implementation and updates on initiatives. As you know, the SHAPE plan acts as a north star, not only internally as we evaluate the needs of the older adult population and their caregivers, but also to inform and support the work of community-based organizations that serve and support the same populations.

Bethann Margetta 2:07

The plan was intentionally designed to be aligned with the countywide strategic plan and one Fairfax. Since we last shared an update, SHAPE initiative development committees have continued to meet regularly to identify initiatives and move the work of SHAPE forward. The Commission on Aging members who co-facilitate these committees have focused attention on identifying long-term priority areas of focus and visioning impact. The COA members have also focused on reframing ageism through revisiting equity discussions with a lens to ensure inclusive language is woven into the fabric of new initiatives avoiding ageist stereotypes. Next slide, please. That's actually the next slide, too. Thank you. Now I'll go over some updates on completed initiatives.

Bethann Margetta 2:57

You will recall a dot system is used as a measure of progress on the scorecards included on the next three slides of the presentation. Also note that the page numbers referenced under the recommendations refer to the shape plan in your packet. One of the completed initiatives developed out of the Services Committee was the Market Research and Awareness Campaign. This initiative was created to help provide information to adult and aging on how to improve awareness in the community of the county services for older adults, caregivers, and adults with disabilities. Multiple recommendations from the market research have been implemented that will help improve awareness of adult and aging services in the community, which I'll go into more detail later in the presentation.

Bethann Margetta 3:39

Another successfully achieved initiative is the Exploring the Dimensions of Aging Embodied Labs Pilot. You'll recall the Inova ElderLink team presented a demonstration on one of the virtual labs to this committee in the fall of 2024. The Embodied Labs Pilot expanded significantly, adding immersive modules which support end-of-life conversations and advanced care planning. The initiative is now fully established as an ongoing program, supporting both professional and family caregivers. Another completed initiative out of the Housing and Neighborhood Support Committee is the Consumer Guide to Home Repair and Renovation, developed through a collaboration with Rebuilding Together and the Department of Housing and Community Development.

Bethann Margetta 4:22

It is a tool with resources to support consumers who wish to age in place. The guide can be found online on the Adult and Aging webpage and is now available in the top languages spoken in the county.