Health Action Team

Access to health-related services is key to aging well. However, older adults in Sonoma County find it challenging to access the services they need due to limited offerings and capacity. Demand far exceeds availability, most pronounced with mental and behavioral health services. In other instances, accessibility is most limited by a lack of coordination across services, such as healthcare and community-based services. The strategies prioritized within this goal area focus on how these challenges can be best addressed through existing and new tactics.

Health Goal: Assist older adults and people with disabilities in accessing the health services and supports they need to maintain and improve their health and well-being. (This should be in line with the heading “Goal Area: Health”

Strategies: 

• Foster collaboration between healthcare entities and community organizations to provide coordinated care that addresses health and social service needs.
• Develop and expand mental and behavioral health services including through formal services and peer support groups.
• Advocate for funding to expand the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) program in the county by adding more centers.
• Facilitate coordination of and involvement in multi-lingual outreach to consumers on health topics for older adults and people with disabilities, such as dementia awareness, COVID-19, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), and mental and behavioral health.

The Health Action Team convened for the first time in February 2024