NH Celebrates Over 10 Years of Real Choice Long Term Care Grants

October 20, 2011

DURHAM, N.H. – New Hampshire celebrated over ten years of Real Choice long term care grants at a luncheon on Friday, September 23, 2011 at the Common Man restaurant in Concord. The event welcomed representatives from the NH Department of Health and Human Services, community organizations, self-advocates, and other key stakeholders to reflect on past accomplishments and look toward the future of community-based long term care.

“We have changed the face of long term care in New Hampshire,” said Mary Maggioncalda, Administrator of Community Programs and Long Term Care at the New Hampshire Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services. “These initiatives have had the ability to bring people together, develop consensus, and get people on board with systems change.”

Real Choice is known for its success in infusing a person-centered approach across multiple human service systems including mental health and aging services, its success in transitioning numerous individuals from institutional facilities to home and community-based services, and its annual conferences to disseminate best-practice information about community-based long term care services in New Hampshire. Real Choice was also involved in the development and enhancement of ServiceLink, a local network of 13 free information and referral resource centers where individuals can ask questions and be connected to the appropriate services for healthy and independent living.

Sue Fox, director of several Real Choice grants at the Institute on Disability, thanked the many people who contributed to the successes over the years and presented them with certificates of appreciation. “While much has been accomplished over these past ten years, we still have much to do and many challenges facing us over the next several years,” she said. “The aging of New Hampshire’s population will present new challenges for the state in supporting all residents to live and age in the communities of their choice.”

In June 2001, President Bush launched the New Freedom Initiative outlining his clear intent “to help ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to live close to their families and friends, to live more independently, to engage in productive employment, and to participate in community life.” The NH Real Choice grants, authorized as part of this initiative, were designed to identify barriers to community living and to develop improved ways of providing community supports and services to enable older adults and individuals with disabilities to live and participate fully in their communities. 

For more information on Real Choice, visit www.realchoicenh.org.

The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. Its mission is to strengthen communities to ensure full access, equal opportunities, and participation for all persons.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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