Center for Medicare Advocacy
Ossen Community Outreach, Education and Advocacy Project: Act Locally, Think Globally
The Center for Medicare Advocacy is honored to have partnered with the Jeffery P. Ossen Family Foundation in a variety of projects to enhance the lives of older adults and people with disabilities, to increase access to care, and to build community. Most recently, funding from the Foundation has allowed the Center to create and lead a Community Outreach, Education, and Advocacy Project to advance access to Medicare and necessary home and community-based services and to build an integrated community of service providers and policy makers in the under-served area of northeastern Connecticut.
This Project’s Advisory Team, made up of community service and health providers, legislators, and faith leaders, provides education and advocacy on behalf of older and disabled individuals and their families. Importantly, the development of the Advisory Team has bonded important organizations into a cohesive group that can better serve the community because we know about each other and have built relationships that did not previously exist. Together, we are helping spread the word about Medicare coverage, especially for community-based care, beneficiary rights, and how individuals, their families and caregivers can access help available at the Center and other community service organizations.
Additionally, the beneficiary stories and challenges we learn about through the Project helps us bring the experiences of the people we serve to the attention of the Connecticut Congressional delegation, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the media, and others who can address and influence needed administrative and legislative changes at the State and National levels. We call this our “think locally, act globally” approach to advocacy. I am deeply honored and grateful to the Foundation for its generosity and commitment to helping build community, make a difference in the lives of individuals in need, and enhance advocacy for current and future generations of families.
