Montclair Gateway To Aging In Place Celebrates 5 Years Of Service

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of Montclair Gateway to Aging in Place. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

As Montclair Gateway to Aging in Place (mGAP) celebrates its fifth year, the nonprofit has elected a new board and advanced an innovative smart watch program to address the digital divide.

New Board

The newly elected board includes Ellie Bagli as president, Ann Lippel as executive vice president, Frank Millspaugh as vice president for development, Susan Craig as secretary, Colleen Dougherty as treasurer. Members at large include Carol Schlein, Marilyn Graham, Gail Abramowitz, Jean Jimenez, Annette Weis, Katherine Nicholas, and Karen DeChino.

Ms. Bagli is one of the founding members of mGAP and served as executive vice president and public relations director. She is retired from a 40-plus year career in public relations working with top toy companies including Mattel and Fisher-Price, as well as major consumer products companies. She worked with Sesame Workshop and spearheaded the campaign that established Tickle Me Elmo as a cultural icon.

She brings a history of social justice work and community organizing from her post-graduate years and has been a strong voice in the community advocating for the services and programs modern agers need to age in place. She served as a member of the Senior Citizens’ Advisory Committee. With the establishment of mGAP, she helped execute the Campaign to Vaccination in 2020, registering more than 100 senior residents of Montclair. She also helped establish the SmartSenior SmartTech program featuring peer-to-peer coaching in digital competency.

“I am proud to have grown up in Montclair and to have the honor to serve my community of modern agers,” says Ms. Bagli. “We bring our experience, our histories and our commitment to keeping our social network strong as we face the challenges, opportunities and excitement to reach our goal to age in place.”

Smartwatch Program

The smartwatch program was developed to focus on empowering modern agers to use smartwatches effectively for emergency communication. With support from the AARP Community Challenge Grant and Partners for Health, members of mGAP’s SmartSenior SmartTech (SSST) team coordinated a hands-on program featuring the use of smartwatches to deliver clear and timely messaging through email, text and voicemail. The Township of Montclair and Montclair Ambulance Unit were cooperating partners in developing the project.

More than 50 participants, representing a broad demographic, ranging in age from their 60s to 80s, took part in two 4-week programs designed to teach them the essential functionalities of smartwatches. Most importantly, they helped assess the delivery and clarity of emergency messaging when it matters most.

“We focused on consumer devices that are most likely to be accessible during emergencies. Smartwatches were chosen because they can be worn continuously, both day and night,” says George Frole, mGAP tech coordinator. Eric“Users aged 50 and older who routinely wear smart watches are more likely to receive critical messages promptly.”

He notes that, as the medical community continues to advocate for digital health monitoring through apps, it’s anticipated that these digital devices will become increasingly widespread in the future.

With a focus on the human-centered learning process of peer-to-peer engagement, mGAP recruited a team of volunteers from within the target age group to become digital navigators (coaches). The teams conducted weekly, in-person meetings between navigator coaches and participants to explore an array of functionality including response to personal as well as environmental emergencies.

"As a navigator in the MGAP smartwatch program, I saw how empowering it was for seniors to gain confidence in using this technology, says navigator Karen DeChino. “Many participants were initially hesitant, but by the end of the program, they could send texts and make test emergency calls with ease. What impressed me most was their excitement when they learned about the SOS feature—it gave them a sense of security and independence."

Ultimately, the program substantially boosted skills and confidence across all age groups. Although older participants began with lower comfort levels, they demonstrated significant growth by the end. Many praised the training’s value and particularly appreciated features like SOS and Fall Detection, which enhanced their sense of safety and independence.

According to one program participant: “Having a device that gave me feedback on my wrist was eye opening. Smartwatch feedback got my immediate attention. This increased its value to me. Actual feedback from an App on the smartwatch alerted me to a personal balance problem and I sought professional help afterwards. This program also helped me be aware of how communicating climate/environmental issues in a digital message could benefit me when the emergencies were real, especially if I needed to call for help.”

Addressing Cost and Accessibility

“Although the program has proven highly effective, its long-term sustainability hinges on overcoming several challenges—primarily the cost of connectivity and the devices themselves,” says Ms. Bagli. “Having made the case for the impact of smartwatches, we strongly urge organizations like AARP and the medical community to advocate for the inclusion of smartwatches under Medicare and Medicaid coverage.”

She notes that by continuing to invest in and refine these efforts, the program can help close the digital gap for modern agers, promoting greater independence and safety as technology becomes ever more integral to daily life. By positioning smartwatches as essential health-monitoring tools rather than optional consumer gadgets, older adults aging in place may gain easier access to these critical resources.

Montclair Gateway to Aging in Place

Founded by a dedicated group of modern agers in 2020, Montclair Gateway to Aging in Place is an advocacy and service organization dedicated to empowering older adults who wish to remain in their communities as they age. We serve as an agent for change with a focus on filling the gaps between existing services and the actual needs of our community. By identifying issues essential to aging in place including housing and the crucial digital divide, we have successfully advocated for the Township’s Accessory Dwelling Units ordinance and provided essential digital skills training through our SmartSeniors SmartTech program.

For more information and/or to volunteer, see www.MontclairGateway.org or contact support@montclairgateway.com or call 973-518-3867.

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