Links


owa Association of Area
Agencies on Aging

Many agencies and organizations provide information for older adults and their families. Visit these websites for additional resources.

Select a Category:

Family Caregiving | Federal Agencies | State Agencies
Elected Officials |Area Agencies on Aging

Family Caregiving
Administration on Aging Caregiver Resources
www.aoa.gov/caregivers
Caregiver Resources on the Administration on Aging website. Includes Because We Care – A Guide for People Who Care.Family Caregiver Alliance
www.caregiver.org
Up to date information from the National Center on Caregiving. Includes fact sheets on various diseases, tip sheets for caregivers, statistics and research results.www.caregiving.com – Caregiver Newsletter
Features 7 on-line support groups, message boards, articles on caregiving, opportunities for caregivers to speak out, and books about caregiving. Their mission is to help caregivers in “managing the stress, making the decisions, and discovering the meaning.”

The Center for Family
www.familycaregivers.org
Caregivers Helps family caregivers understand their caregiving journeys – the how’s, why’s, and when’s. Provide “Kits for Caregivers” to guide caregivers through all the stages of caregiving.

Health in Aging
www.healthinaging.org
The American Geriatrics Society’s Foundation for Health in Aging advocates on behalf of older adults and their special needs through public education, clinical research, and public policy. The site includes Eldercare at Home: An FHA Resource for Families Giving Care at Home

National Alliance for Caregiving
www.caregiving.org
The National Alliance for Caregiving is a non-profit joint venture created in 1996 to support family caregivers of the elderly and the professionals who serve them.

Resource Directory for Older People
www.aoa.gov/directory
www.nih.gov/nia/health/resource/rd2001.htm
The Resource Directory for Older People is a cooperative effort of the NIA and the Administration on Aging (AoA) listing Federal agencies, AoA-supported resource centers, professional societies, private groups, and volunteer programs. Inclusion in the directory does not imply an endorsement by NIA or AoA. You can view the Directory on line or download a copy in Adobe PDF format.

Today’s Caregiver Magazine
www.caregiver.com
Newsletters with articles about caregiving, discussion lists, chat rooms and an on-line store with products designed specifically for family and professional caregivers.

The Well Spouse Foundation
www.wellspouse.org
National non-profit membership organization that gives support to spouses and partners of the chronically ill or disabled. Provides a newsletter, chat room, letter-writing “round robins” to isolated caregivers, support groups, and recreation.

Iowa’s Area Agencies on Aging
There are 13 Area Agencies on Aging in Iowa, covering every county in the state. They are here to provide you with services to help you care for your loved one. Iowa’s Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) have 30 years experience coordinating and offering services that help older adults remain in their home – if that is what they wish – aided by home based and community based services. Iowa’s AAAs provide older adults and their families with information about local services and also serve as portals to care, assessing needs and determining eligibility. Click here to find the Area Agency on Aging closest to you or your loved one.

National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
http://www.n4a.org/default.cfm
N4A is the umbrella organization for the 655 area agencies on aging (AAAs) and more than 230 Title VI Native American aging programs in the U.S. They operate the Eldercare Locator, a toll-free nationwide telephone service (1-800-677-1116), which helps caregivers locate services for older adults in their own communities and publish the National Directory for Eldercare Information which includes a listing for all Area Agencies on Aging, Title VI grantees and State Units on Aging

Federal Agencies

FirstGov for Seniors
http://www.seniors.gov
Portal Site for Seniors to FirstGov -providing easy, one-stop access to all online U.S. Federal Government resources. FirstGov for seniors is especially developed to provide easy access to government resources especially for seniors.

Administration on Aging
http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov
Information about the Administration on Aging and its programs for the elderly, information about resources for practitioners who serve the aged, statistical information on the aging, and information for consumers (older persons and their families) including how to obtain services for senior citizens and electronic booklets on aging related issues. It also includes a link to AoA’s National Aging Information Center and extensive links to other aging related Web resources.

Social Security Administration
http://www.ssa.gov
The official web site of the Social Security Administration with information on retirement, disability, survivors and supplemental security income benefits.

Medicare
http://www.medicare.gov
A consumer beneficiary Website that provides access to information about Medicare, Medicare health plans, contact information and publications, as well as information about health care fraud and abuse and nursing homes.

Veterans Affairs
http://www.va.gov
The home page for the Department of Veterans Affairs provides links to veterans benefits and services, as well as information and resources for other Departmental programs and offices.

National Institute on Aging
http://www.nih.gov/nia
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) website has health information and more about the work of NIA researchers and the community of scientists engaged in aging research. For the general public, they offer consumer-oriented information on a wide range of topics important to older people and their families as well as a description of their research program.

Medicare Rights Center
www.medicarerights.org
The Medicare Rights Center is a national, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that helps ensure that older adults and people with disabilities get good affordable health care. The Medicare Rights Center provides telephone hotline services and education to the general public. It also works with policy makers to bring the consumer voice to the national debate on Medicare reform.

State Agencies

Access Iowa Government
http://www.state.ia.us

Iowa Department of Elder Affairs
http://www.state.ia.us/elderaffairs

Senior Health Insurance Information
Program for Iowa (SHIIP)

http://www.shiip.state.ia.us
The Senior Health Insurance Information Program can help you find answers to the important questions you have on Medicare, Medicare supplement insurance, long term care insurance, and other health insurance issues.

Iowa Attorney General’s
Consumer Protection Division
 http://www.state.ia.us/government/ag/consumer.html

Iowa Department of Human Services
http://www.dhs.state.ia.us
Information on public benefit programs for Iowans: Medicaid, Food Stamps, etc.

Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA)
http://www.state.ia.us/government/dia
DIA is the state agency responsible for inspection of all Chapter 135C licensed health care facilities in Iowa and various Medicare/Medicaid entities. DIA also investigates complaints of substandard care or services in the entities they inspect.

Operation Restore Trust of Iowa
http://www.stopmedicarescams.org
Learn about the Iowa effort to help protect Medicare and Medicaid from fraud waste and abuse. This project also educates seniors about protecting their identity and how to avoid being the victims of scam artists.

Elected Officials

Federal Officials
Congressman Leonard Boswell – Marshal and Poweshiek Counties
http://www.house.gov/boswell

Congressman Jim Nussle – Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Chickasaw, Grundy, Tama
http://nussle.house.gov

Congressman Tom Latham – Hardin County
http://www.house.gov/latham

Senator Charles Grassley
http://www.senate.gov/~grassley

Senator Tom Harkin
http://www.senate.gov/~harkin

Congressional Committees
Senate Select Committee on Aging
http://www.senate.gov/~aging

State Officials
Governor Thomas Vilsack
Lieutenant Governor Sally Pederson
http://www.state.ia.us/government/governor

State Legislature
http://www.legis.state.ia.us
Information on the Iowa General Assembly, legislation, and other information related to the legislative branch of the Iowa Government.

To find your Legislator: http://staffweb.legis.state.ia.us/find-leg

Questions? Call Toll Free at 1-866-468-7887 to talk with our Information and Referral Specialist.