Bridging the awareness gap in services for aging and caregiving populations.

Less than 10% of older adults are aware of services and benefits available to them?

We were intrigued by a recent article published by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation titled, “Most older adults don’t know about resources that can help them navigate aging & caregiving.” This article detailed the findings of a poll where 4,000 adults over the age of 50 were asked about their awareness and use of Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), State Health Insurance Assistance Programs and related services in their community. To their surprise, less than 10% of respondents said they were aware of these resources and had used them. Even more troubling, about two-thirds of replies said they were completely unaware that these resources are available to them.

These findings suggest that countless older adults aren’t aware of the many health care and social care options available to them, such as access to food, vaccinations or health care referrals. These communities could be missing out on resources that would greatly improve their lives!

At Blooming Health, we specialize in partnerships with AAAs, community based organizations, and other government agencies to overcome awareness challenges in the health and social care spaces by fostering meaningful connections and increasing access to essential services for underserved communities. Our platform simplifies the communication process through centralized location of information and resources, reaching members in their language of choice (80+ as of this post) by email, text messaging or traditional voice calls.

We have achieved meaningful results for hundreds of organizations across the country. Among our successes:

Helping Communities Navigate Complex Resources

Our platform simplifies the process of informing community members on resources available to them, ensuring they receive timely and relevant information in a format that is easy to understand and access.

• Our collaboration with the AARP Foundation to improve awareness and usage of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enabled a 5X increase in requests for SNAP benefits, unlocking over $180,000 in value for older adults. [Case Study]

Overcoming Language Barriers

Non-English speaking communities often miss out on essential services due to language barriers. Blooming Health’s platform is capable of translating a message into 80 additional languages to inform the most diverse populations.

• The Montgomery County Office for Aging uses our platform to update their community on pantry distribution and farm to table produce programs. The office saves up to one week a month making calls to clients while keeping them better informed. [Case Study]

Address Social Isolation and Loneliness

Social isolation and loneliness are significant issues among communities, affecting their mental and physical health.

• Chautauqua Office for the Aging used our platform to assess their community’s level of loneliness and social isolation, connecting residents to assistance based on responses to their automated surveys. In one community survey, 24% of respondents identified as being lonely, a number that dropped to 15% in a follow-up survey nine months later after outreach and treatment.

Improved Health Outcomes through Better Information Access

Our platform provides targeted health information that is specific to the needs of your community.

• Working with New York’s Project FIND and Breaking Ground, we assisted in improving low-income and homeless seniors’ access to shelter and health services such as vaccinations. Project FIND helped connect 45% of their housing residents to a primary care physician using our platform, an 8% increase from the previous year. [Case Study]

Even though underserved communities have access to many resources for finding local services, there needs to be a greater public effort to reach out to those who may benefit but aren't actively searching. The Blooming Health platform is optimized for this purpose, enabling improved awareness and access to essential services.

Let's work together to raise awareness of your services in the community. We are happy to offer a free consultation to assess your community’s needs. Contact us at partners@gobloominghealth.com for more information.