,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fice ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #ai1 #bjbj,ms4 ,frankel 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,bilirakis1 ,mrs4 ,dingell1 and ,ms4 ,shalala7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to provide for the establishment of a ,national ,,covid-#ai ,resource ,center for ,older ,adults1 to authorize a ,healthy ,aging ,program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protecting the ,health of ,america's ,older ,adults ,during ,,covid-#ai and ,beyond ,act4 #b4 ,national ,,covid-#ai ,resource ,center for ,older ,adults 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services 7in this ,act referred to as the ,secretary7 shall establish within the ,office of the ,assistant ,secretary for ,health a ,national ,,covid-#ai ,resource ,center for ,older ,adults 7in this section referred to as the ,center7 to identify1 curate1 and disseminate1 promising and proven practices and tools for the care of older adults in their homes1 community-based care settings1 hospitals1 and nursing and acute care facilities4 7b7 ,involvement by ,federal departments and all levels of government ,the ,center shall-- 7#a7 be advised by a team of senior officials from-- 7,a7 agencies across the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services1 including the ,administration for ,community ,living 7including the ,administration on ,aging71 the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1 the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services1 the ,health ,resources and ,services ,administration1 the ,indian ,health ,service1 and the ,office of ,minority ,health in the ,office of the ,secretary2 and 7,b7 other ,federal departments1 including the ,department of ,housing and ,urban ,development and the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs2 and 7#b7 collaborate with ,state and local governments1 ,indian tribes and ,tribal organizations1 and nonprofit organizations4 7c7 ,activities ,the ,center shall perform the following activities3 7#a7 ,develop a set of best practices for older adult health and wellbeing during and beyond the period of the ,,covid-#ai pandemic1 including such best practices with respect to the following focus areas3 7,a7 ,providing specialized services to overcome the risks associated with social isolation1 such as additional resources for home-delivered meals and other nutrition programs to provide not only food but also face-to-face interactions4 7,b7 ,streamlining and improving access to screening1 testing1 and health care services and resources1 and prioritizing venues older adults can reach4 7,c7 ,expanding the use of telemedicine1 including the provision of technology to execute televisits that safely and comprehensively address older adults' health care needs4 7,d7 ,supporting family caregivers1 including those with additional responsibilities for homebound individuals4 7,e7 ,reducing disparities among underserved populations4 7,f7 ,developing cross-sector collaborative efforts4 7#b7 ,create and disseminate tools1 technical assistance1 training1 and funding to ,state1 local1 ,tribal1 and territorial governments to adopt best practices developed under subparagraphs 7,e7 and 7,f7 of paragraph 7#a74 7#c7 ,establish mechanisms for providing training and technical assistance to ,state1 local1 ,tribal1 and territorial governments to ensure that complementary cross-sector activities are replicated at the ,state1 local1 ,tribal1 and territorial levels4 7#d7 ,facilitate the development of learning networks of practitioners at the hospital1 nursing facility1 and community levels to disseminate the best practices developed under paragraph 7#a7 and ensure implementation of such best practices to reduce morbidity and mortality of older adults affected by ,,covid-#ai4 7#e7 ,identify and disseminate approaches that strengthen public health and health care system capacity to serve older ,americans with regard to health issues during and beyond the ,,covid-#ai pandemic4 #c4 ,healthy ,aging ,program 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary1 acting through the ,director of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1 shall establish a ,healthy ,aging ,program for the purpose of promoting the health and wellbeing of older adults by-- 7#a7 improving the coordination of public health interventions that promote the health and wellbeing of older adults2 7#b7 disseminating and implementing evidence-based best practices and programs with respect to promoting the health and wellbeing of older adults2 and 7#c7 coordinating multisectoral efforts to promote the health and wellbeing of older adults across governmental and nongovernmental health and related agencies4 7b7 ,activities ,for the purpose described in subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall design the ,healthy ,aging ,program to carry out the following activities3 7#a7 ,regularly assess the health-related needs of older adults and promote policies addressing those needs through evidence-based public health interventions to promote overall health and wellbeing among older adults and reduce health care costs4 7#b7 ,identify disparities in health among vulnerable populations of older adults4 7#c7 ,identify gaps in existing public health programs and policies that focus on older adults4 7#d7 ,promote public health partnerships with aging and other sector stakeholders to ensure nonduplication of efforts and increase efficiency by working collaboratively across sectors4 7#e7 ,work with multisectoral agencies to improve emergency preparedness plans and activities for vulnerable older adult populations4 7#f7 ,coordinate efforts to promote the health of older adults with the ,administration for ,community ,living1 other ,federal departments and agencies1 and nonprofit organizations4 7#g7 ,identify resources and evidence-based programs available to local and ,state health departments1 including resources and programs that could be coordinated across sectors1 to address the health and wellbeing of older adults4 7c7 ,grants to health departments ,the ,secretary1 acting through the ,director of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1 shall award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible health departments to carry out any of the following activities3 7#a7 ,improving availability of data on the older adult population1 including through data-sharing with elder affairs agencies4 7#b7 ,linking the health care sector with the community services sector 7including aging services and supports7 to coordinate and promote community-based prevention services4 7#c7 ,ensuring that ,state and local emergency preparedness plans and activities address the special needs of older adults1 particularly the most vulnerable populations4 7#d7 ,training ,state and local public health personnel to implement or adapt evidence-based and innovative health promotion and disease prevention programs and policies4 7#e7 ,improving community conditions and addressing social determinants to promote health and wellbeing and foster independence among older adults1 such as efforts to advance age-friendly communities and dementia-friendly communities4 7d7 ,technical assistance ,the ,secretary shall 7directly or through grants1 cooperative agreements1 or contracts7 provide technical assistance to eligible health departments in carrying out activities described in subsection 7c74 7e7 ,evaluations ,the ,secretary shall 7directly or through grants1 cooperative agreements1 or contracts7 provide for the evaluation of activities carried out under subsections 7a71 7b71 and 7c7 in order to determine the extent to which such activities have been effective in carrying out the purpose described in subsection 7a71 including the effects of such activities on addressing health disparities4 7f7 ,definition ,in this section1 the term eligible health department means a health department of a ,state1 the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 ,guam1 ,american ,samoa1 the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands1 a ,tribe 7as defined in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd771 or a large city 7as defined by the ,director of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention for purposes of this section74 #d4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated-- 7#a7 #aj1jjj1jjj for the period of fiscal years #bjbj through #bjbd to carry out section #b1 to remain available until ,september #cj1 #bjbd2 and 7#b7 #bj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjba through #bjbe to carry out section #c1 including for grants under section #c7;c71 to remain available until ,september #cj1 #bjbe4