GREENFIELD — With the help of $40,749 from a Colorado-based foundation supporting older adults and their caregivers, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments will begin to implement two of its regional priorities in its Age- and Dementia-Friendly Action Plan.

The funding from Next50, a Denver-based private foundation supporting older adults around the country, will allow FRCOG to support Franklin County’s 26 municipalities in integrating the needs of seniors and people with disabilities into emergency planning, as well as implementing LifePath’s Medical Advocacy Program. The program matches isolated older adults with volunteer advocates who can help support them with medical appointments and managing medical care.

Phoebe Walker, FRCOG’s director of community health, said the agency found Next50 through a national network of rural funding opportunities

“Finding connections to other rural areas is something we’ve been working hard on this year,” Walker said. “It’s very difficult to do this age- and dementia-friendly work in isolated, low-population density areas. … I’m excited that they’re interested in us.”

“It’s expensive to age in this country,” Peter Kaldes, president and CEO of Next50, said in a statement. “That’s why we seek partners like FRCOG and LifePath who will change the status quo and help create a world that values aging.”

Both initiatives come from FRCOG’s Age- and Dementia-Friendly Action Plan for the region, which was released in early 2024. The plan outlines the needs of older adults, potential action steps and time frames for each goal. The report was crafted in partnership with LifePath and followed a 2022 survey.

The first priority FRCOG will address is working with local municipalities to integrate the needs of older adults and people with disabilities into the region’s emergency planning. While there are several potential models — and some towns have already adopted a model of their own, like Hawley — FRCOG will explore a few different routes.

“Local-level evaluations of the 26 municipal emergency plans in Franklin County revealed a need for enhanced awareness of our aging population and/or those with access and functional needs, especially in the more outlying rural communities,” FRCOG Emergency Preparedness Program Manager Dan Nietsche said in a statement. “This initiative will address this need by developing a voluntary, municipal-level system in which individuals can self-identify their needs, ensuring they are known to public safety teams for timely support in emergencies.”

An example of this planning, Walker said, is having folks provide information about themselves to their community’s emergency management team, such as if they use a wheelchair or require oxygen, which will help first responders know who to check on first in an emergency and how to prepare. Any program, she added, would require opting in, rather than opting out.

“Our interest is how do you scale that up for the larger towns in Franklin County?” Walker noted. “People with disabilities and children often benefit from the same thing that make a community age-friendly. … It will be something multiple people will benefit from.”

The second project will see FRCOG work alongside LifePath to implement the organization’s Medical Advocacy Program, which connects isolated older adults with volunteers who can attend medical appointments and support folks in managing their care, referrals and health concerns.

Walker said a program like this could be an effective tool for older adults in Franklin County, where the 2022 survey identified that approximately one-fifth of older adults don’t have or don’t think they have someone they could call in the middle of the night during an emergency.

“There’s definitely demand for this work,” Walker said. “This is funding to take it to the next level.”

FRCOG’s Age- and Dementia-Friendly Action Plan can be found at bit.ly/41VObS7.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.