New Mobile App to Connect Older Adults with Valuable Resources and Services

Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced the first statewide mobile app to connect older adults with valuable resources and services in their communities. The New York State Office for the Aging’s Aging Services app will provide New York's more than 3.7 million older adults with easily accessible material about benefits, programs, and services, including information regarding health and wellness, housing, and transportation options. The app is compatible with both iOS and Android platforms.

"This new app ensures that New York's growing older adult population can access resources and services to remain healthy and connected to their communities," Governor Cuomo said. "By helping older adults live with independence and dignity, this is one more way we are using technology to help build a stronger, healthier New York."

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who announced the Aging Services App at today’s Older New Yorkers’ Appreciation Day celebration, said, “Older generations have spent a lifetime building New York and serving their communities and neighbors, and they continue to contribute so much to our state and society. With this app we make sure they have the support they need to meet the challenges of aging while remaining independent and enjoying full and healthy lives.”

The Aging Services app is part of the Governor’s overall goal to make New York State the healthiest and the first age-friendly state in the nation, in accordance with the eight Age Friendly/Livable Community Domains outlined by the World Health Organization and AARP. Communities that are designed and designated as age-friendly are communities that promote healthy aging for older adults and individuals of any age.

One of the primary goals of the app is to provide basic information addressing issues older New Yorkers and their families face and connect them to live local resources that can help. Using the app’s “Near Me” feature, an older adult or caregiver anywhere in New York can immediately obtain address and contact information for local offices for the aging, senior centers, farmers’ markets, caregiver services, Alzheimer’s Association chapters, and more, within the closest proximity to their exact location.

The Aging Services app also links users with live information and assistance through NY Connects, the state’s “no wrong door” system for community-based long-term services and supports, which is designed to help older adults and those with disabilities remain healthy and independent. Additionally, the app provides timely news and updates about state and federal programs that directly impact the lives of older New Yorkers and their families.

Older adults are increasingly using technological tools to connect to news and information, health and wellness resources, and social supports. Almost 75 percent of people over age 50 and almost 45 percent of people over age 65 now own a smartphone, and those numbers continue to grow.

New York State Office for the Aging Acting Director Greg Olsen said, “I applaud Governor Cuomo for recognizing the valuable contributions older New Yorkers make to their communities, and his leadership in making New York the first age-friendly state. Citizens of all ages are inundated with information on a daily basis and sometimes getting basic help or talking to a live human being can be challenging. This first in the country mobile app puts easily understandable information into the hands of older New Yorkers, their families, and their caregivers, but more importantly, it connects people to local resources.”

New York State Chief Information Officer Robert H. Samson said, “The Office of Information Technology Services is proud to work with the NYS Office for the Aging to advance Governor Cuomo’s health and age-friendly initiatives. There has been a dramatic shift in the way 21^st century citizens look for and obtain information. Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, ITS is re-envisioning the role of technology to provide New Yorkers with instant access to a wealth of knowledge and information. The mobile Aging Services app will enable New Yorkers on-the-go to access the resources they need more conveniently, faster, and easier.”

Individuals interested in accessing the New York State Office for the Aging’s Aging Services app can do so at the links below:

For iOS Devices

For Android Devices

The Aging Services app was developed by the New York State Office for the Aging in collaboration with the New York State Office of Information Technology Services. To explore more of New York State’s official mobile apps, visit www.ny.gov/mobileapps.

The mission of the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) is to help older New Yorkers be as independent as possible for as long as possible through advocacy, development, and delivery of person-centered, consumer-oriented, and cost-effective policies, programs, and services that support and empower older adults and their families, in partnership with the network of public and private organizations that serve them. For more information, please visit NYSOFA’s Facebook page; follow @NYSAGING on Twitter; or visit www.aging.ny.gov.

Source: Press Office, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo