Our mission
We promote care of Veterans who are older, and caregiver engagement in planning research, clinical services and educational efforts of the Eastern Colorado Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC).
Our goal is to help ensure that the voice of older Veterans and caregivers informs research, clinical and other types of services to support Veterans as they age.
The Older Veteran Engagement Team was formed for 2 reasons:
- To give Veterans and caregivers a forum to connect with their peers, learn about available support and research, and offer their opinions; and,
- To give providers, researchers and health educators a way to receive feedback at any stage of their projects/initiatives.
If you want to join our team, please contact:
Kathryn.Nearing@va.gov or 303-724-7186
How can Veterans and caregivers volunteer?
We are actively looking for older Veterans and caregivers to volunteer for the Older Veteran Engagement Team. Contact us if you meet the following criteria and are interested in joining the team:
- Men and women who are 65 or older with previous experience in any branch of the military
- Those living in urban or rural areas
- Caregivers of older Veterans (spouses/partners, friends or adult children)
- People with an ability to work well with others, consider different points of view, and offer a variety of perspectives
How your input makes a difference
Older Veterans and caregivers are experts of their own experience. By sharing your knowledge and perspectives, you can help ensure the efforts of researchers and clinical and community-based service providers are beneficial to older Veterans and their caregivers.
Our members have provided input and feedback on topics such as:
- Ways to share information about free hearing aids available through the VA
- Using results of new research that shows older adults benefit from intensive strength training
- A new program to put Veterans in charge of deciding the support they wish to use to remain independent in their homes
Resources
The National Aging and Disability Transportation Center (NADTC) promotes the availability and accessibility of transportation options for older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, and communities.