Sarasota County Health Department First In Nation To Earn ‘Age-Friendly’ Designation

SARASOTA, FL — The Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County (DOH-Sarasota) is the first local health department in the nation to receive recognition as an Age-Friendly Public Health System by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH).

The agency earned this honor after completing 10 action steps as part of TFAH’s Age-Friendly Public Health Systems Recognition Program, according to a news release from the DOH-Sarasota.

“Recognition as an Age-Friendly Public Health System validates our efforts to be intentional in addressing the public health needs of older adults. I am proud of our entire team and their work to earn this recognition,” Sarasota County Health Officer Chuck Henry said.

The AFPHS Recognition Program is designed to encourage and support state and local health departments to embrace their role in improving and supporting older adult health. Action steps taken to achieve this goal include data collection, listening directly to older adults to learn what matters to them and collaboration across sectors, DOH-Sarasota said.

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To achieve AFPHS recognition, DOH-Sarasota conducted several assessments, including a citizens’ opinion survey, developed a county wide multi-agency program to provide food to residents during the pandemic, developed a multi-year Community Health Improvement Plan and recently completed its fifth-year cycle as a member of AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.

TFAH worked directly with two-thirds of Florida’s county health departments to pilot the framework for creating AFPHS, through which the department staff explored and expanded their roles in healthy aging, DOH-Sarasota said.

This effort included creating and supporting collaborations between the public health and aging sectors, collecting data about the state’s older adult population, and ensuring planning and programming is done through the lens of aging members of the community.

“Sarasota County, Florida is on the vanguard of communities that are recognizing the importance of creating an age-friendly ecosystem across sectors to meet the unique needs of older adults,” said Terry Fulmer, president of the John A. Hartford Foundation. “Becoming the first local health department recognized as an Age-Friendly Public Health System shows a deep commitment to supporting healthy aging, which will benefit all of the county’s residents.”

TFAH and the John A. Hartford Foundation are partnering with state and local health departments to help them implement a public health framework within their department activities to support the health and well-being of their older adult residents.