Inspiring Innovation through Connected Communities: Perham Health’s Elevate

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Gina DiMaggio

What does it look like for a community to prepare for the future to support older adults as they age? That is the question Perham Health has been trying to answer for the last four years.

An $800,000 Connected Communities grant from the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation has provided seed funding to develop the improved coordination of resources anticipated to improve their community's health and life outcomes.

About Elevate, Perham Health's Connected Community project

The Connected Communities grant project, a collaborative effort with the community, involves creating local coalitions to radically shift how local people age by improving their physical, mental, and social health. Perham’s project, Elevate, has created a model to help improve the coordination of services and the health and well-being of seniors through four main pillars:

1. Health coach and resources: This is a gateway to comprehensive support with health matters, assistance with daily living, or access to essential services.
2. Events: Community-facing events spark curiosity and discussions about essential topics. Events have ranged from purely social to blood pressure clinics to healthy cooking classes. These events offer a blend of fun and valuable knowledge, ensuring opportunities for connection and learning for seniors.
3. Volunteerism: A user-friendly volunteer platform helps alleviate workforce shortages by connecting people with diverse opportunities tailored to their schedules and interests. Helping people discover fulfilling ways to contribute to their community improves well-being for all. Over 500 registered volunteers have created an economic impact exceeding $115,000.
4. Flex work: Flexible work opportunities are great for retirees seeking re-entry into the workforce, for those pursuing additional income or benefits, or simply craving social connections. This also helps alleviate workforce shortages.

After years of coordinating, planning, and building, Elevate is starting to see some promising preliminary results. Since July of 2023, the Health Coach has supported community members more than 400 times, resulting in more than 1,600 interventions, ranging from medication reconciliation to updating a primary care provider to doing a social determinants of health assessment to chart review and more. From May 2022 to July 2023, a cohort of participants saw a 55% reduction in emergency department visits and a 40% improvement in high blood pressure. These positive outcomes are a testament to the effectiveness of our approach. An additional grant for phase 2 will help continue and build on this work into the future.

Elevate’s model at work

In 2022, an 82-year-old Perham area resident was struggling to help her husband live at home again after a health crisis caused by congestive heart and kidney failure and found that it was significantly more challenging than she anticipated. Here’s some of what she shared with us. “I am an RN by training, but I was totally overwhelmed by having to manage my husband’s meds, dealing with his limited mobility, find incontinence products that fit, and so many other daily things. I’m telling everyone I know about the Elevate program. Thankfully, my husband and I have settled into a new normal. And, for the first time in more than two years, we were able to enjoy a pontoon ride on the lake again. We’re going on 59 ½ years of marriage, and we feel like we’ve gotten over a bridge, with Jean’s help, to our next chapter."

Interested in bringing a Connected Communities project to your community?

In early April, a new Connected Communities grant opportunity will be available to LeadingAge Minnesota members outside of the seven-county Twin Cities metro area. Grants will be awarded up to $600,000. To learn more, contact Gina DiMaggio, LeadingAge Minnesota’s Foundation Director.