The Aging Services Division, Connecticut’s State Unit on Aging, ensures that Connecticut’s elders have access to the supportive services necessary to live with dignity, security and independence. The division is responsible for planning, developing and administering an integrated service delivery system for older people in Connecticut.

The Connecticut Department of Social Services provides a broad range of services to the elderly, people with disabilities, families and individuals who need assistance in maintaining or achieving their full potential for self-direction, self-reliance and independent living. It administers more than 90 legislatively authorized programs and one-third of the state budget. By statute it is the state agency responsible for administering a number of programs under federal legislation, including the Rehabilitation Act, the Food Stamp Act, the Older Americans Act and the Social Security Act.

ConnPACE (Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract to the Elderly and Disabled) is a service that helps eligible senior citizens and people with disabilities afford the cost of most prescription medicines.

CHOICES stands for "Connecticut’s program for Health insurance assistance, Outreach, Information and referral, Counseling, Eligibility Screening." CHOICES is a cooperative program of the Connecticut Department of Social Services, the Area Agencies on Aging, and the Center for Medicare advocacy. The program provides information to people ages 60 and older and to people with disabilities.

Freedom Disability has developed an exclusive Internet tool that links customers to local, state and national programs tailored to meet their specific needs. The tool helps provide Freedom Disability customers with financial relief while they wait for a decision on their disability claim from the Social Security Administration.

Established in 1929, the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities Inc. is the state’s largest not-for-profit member association representing profit and not-for-profit health care facilities providing long-term, rehabilitative and assisted living services to 14,000 Connecticut citizens, as well as allied health-care-related businesses and organizations.

Senior Resources Agency on Aging works at the federal, state and local levels to enhance the quality of life for older people. In addition to advocating legislatively, the group continues to work with volunteer and citizen groups to increase public awareness of senior issues. The group's mission is to provide information and services to the aging population, their families and care providers.

The Connecticut Coalition on Aging, founded in 1974, is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all elders, especially those most vulnerable. This purpose is accomplished through study, education, communication and advocacy.

CTHelpNet.org was created to help navigate through the maze of information on elder care. The group continually monitors the elder care field and updates this website as needed. CTHelpNet.org is not affiliated with any of the agencies, organizations or businesses referenced on this website and does not profit in any way from use of this site.

This organization educates consumers about health insurance, including Medicare. The organization's goal is to provide affordable health plans for the well informed.

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that advocates for people ages 50 and older. Since 1958, AARP has lobbied for senior issues, including the passage of Medicare in 1965. AARP offers support from staffed offices in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Medicare Options provides information for Connecticut seniors and those who are disabled to compare their Medicare health care plan options or choices including: Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D); Medicare Advantage Plans (Part C); Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap); and enrollment rules.

Connecticut Elder Law is a private, nonprofit, civil law firm dedicated to helping seniors obtain justice. The group helps clients use the law to improve their quality of life.

CHOICES (Connecticut’s program for Health insurance assistance, Outreach, Information and referral, Counseling, Eligibility Screening) is part of a national program called State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) in most other states. The program offers counseling and assistance to people with Medicare and to their families. Coordinators provide counseling on Medicare benefits, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D), Social Security, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. SHIP, formerly the Information, Counseling and Assistance (ICA) grants program, was created under section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. This act authorized the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make grants to states for health advisory services programs for people with Medicare.

The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program helps Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries avoid, detect and prevent health care fraud. The goal is to protect older people and to preserve the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The federal program was created in 1996 by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and amended in 2006 by Titles II and IV of the Older Americans Act.

The Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) were established under the Older Americans Act (OAA) Comprehensive Services Amendments in 1973 to respond to the needs of Americans 60 and older in every local community. The amendments added a new Title V, which authorized grants to local community agencies in every state. The AAAs provide a range of options that allow older adults to choose the home- and community-based services and living arrangements that suit them best.

The long-term care ombudsman advocates for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The office resolves complaints and educates seniors and long-term care providers about their rights and good care practices. The ombudsman also provides information to the public on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities and services, residents' rights, and legislative and policy issues. In 1978, an amendment to the federal Older Americans Act required every state to have an ombudsman program that addresses complaints and advocates for improvements in the long-term care system. The ombudsman program is administered by the Administration on Aging (AoA).

Qualidigm is the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Connecticut. QIOs are private, mostly not-for-profit organizations, staffed by doctors and other health care professionals, who are trained to review medical care, to help beneficiaries with complaints about the quality of care and to implement improvements in the quality of care available throughout the spectrum of care. QIOs are required under Sections 1152-1154 of the Social Security Act.

Christopher O’Connor, a New Haven native, is president and CEO of the Saint Raphael Healthcare Center, where he started his career as an emergency room technician before getting his bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s degree in health administration from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He returned to Saint Raphael’s after school and filled several administrative positions over the years, including administrative director of surgery and emergency medicine and vice president of clinical operations. He started Previously he was president of Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, a 340-bed institution part of a six-hospital system associated with the Archdiocese of Boston and Tufts School of Medicine. He has also served as vice president of clinical operations at the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, heading seven hospitals and more than 35 health care centers.

William M. Jennings, president and CEO of Bridgeport Hospital and executive vice president of Yale New Haven Health System, most recently served as president and CEO of SSM St. Mary’s Health Center, a 592-bed hospital in St. Louis, Mo., and president of the SSM St. Louis Heart Institute. Before joining St. Mary’s, fFrom 1999 to 2006, Jennings was administrator, chief operating officer and corporate vice president of Morton Plant North Bay Hospital in New Port Richey, Fla. He also has administrative experience at Cookeville Regional Medical Center in Cookeville, Tenn., and Norton Health System in Louisville, Ky.

Gerald Kozai, trained as clinical pharmacist, started at St. Francis Medical Center in 1989 as director of pharmacy services. He worked his way up to become president and CEO, taking many roles along the way, including division director of clinical support services, vice president/professional services and administrator/chief operating officer. In 1998 he was named president. Before coming to St. Francis, he was part of pharmacy and clinical support at St. Joseph Medical Center, Burbank from 1981 to 1989.

Susan L. Davis is president and CEO of St. Vincent’s Medical Center and St. Vincent’s Health Services, as well as the market leader of the New York and Connecticut region of Ascension Health. She strategizes and operates the leadership for Ascension hospitals in New York in Troy, Buffalo, Binghamton, Amsterdam and Lewiston. Before St. Vincent’s, she spent 18 years at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where one of her projects was designing and implementing a new regional heart center for upstate New York residents. Davis has been acknowledged for her work with United Way, Hospice and the American Cancer Society in New York State and Connecticut.

Serving briefly as interim, Chad W. Wable was named president and CEO of Saint Mary’s Health System in 2008, becoming the second secular president in the hospital’s nearly 100-year history. Wable started his career in the health industry with Monongalia Health System, a not-for-profit health care system based in Morgantown, W. Va. He held many roles, including: executive vice president of strategy development and system operations; vice president of ambulatory care and business development; vice president of marketing and business development; and executive director of strategic planning and business development. Wable spent four consecutive years as a Big East Conference Scholar-Athlete while a member of the West Virginia University varsity football team, where he earned dual master’s degrees in business administration and community health education.

Jeffrey A. Flaks is president and CEO of Hartford Hospital, where he started in 2007 as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Prior to coming to Hartford Hospital, he was executive vice president and chief operating officer of MidState Medical Center. He also served as vice president for support services and strategic initiatives at Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers in New York, and in a leadership positions at Continuum Health Partners in New York City and at Detroit Medical Center in southeastern Michigan. In 2001, Flaks was included in Crain’s New York Business “New York’s Rising Stars: 40 Under 40” and labeled an “Up & Comer” by Modern Healthcare.

Marna P. Borgstrom started at Yale-New Haven Hospital since 1979, after receiving a master’s degree in public health at Yale School of Medicine. She assumed the position of president and CEO in 2005. Borgstrom is chair of the Connecticut Hospital Association Board of Trustees, a member of the board of the University HealthSystem Consortium and chair of The Country School, a private day school is Madison, Conn.

Darlene Stromstad has been president and CEO of Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut since 2011. Before joining the hospital, she was: president and CEO of Goodall Hospital in Sanford, Maine, from 2005 to 2011; senior vice president and chief strategy officer of Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H., from 1999 to 2004; and senior vice president of the managed care/network development unit of Olympus Healthcare Group Inc. in Waltham, Mass. From 1981 to 1987, Stromstad sat on the board of directors of the Maine Hospital Association and served on its quality council. She serves on the board of governors of the American College of Healthcare Executives, an international professional society of more than 35,000 health care executives who lead hospitals, health care systems and other health care organizations.

Vincent G. Capece, Jr., is president and CEO of Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, Conn. Capece started at Middlesex in 1998, holding many positions over the years, including senior vice president and chief operating officer, senior vice president of finance and operations and vice president of finance and chief financial officer. Prior to arriving at Middlesex, he was the director of accounting at Bridgeport Hospital and audit manager at Arthur Anderson LLP. Capece is a board member of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce. He received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Connecticut.

Mike H. Summerer, an experienced interventional cardiologist, is the CEO of University of Connecticut Health Center’s John Dempsey Hospital. He is a fellow with the American College of Physicians, the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Physician Executives. Before joining John Dempsey Hospital, he held an array of administrative positions in hospital systems across the Midwest and New England.

John M. Murphy, the first physician to serve as president and CEO of Danbury Hospital, has been with Danbury Hospital, a 371-bed regional medical center, for more than 20 years. He worked on the hospital staff for two decades, spent three years as president of the medical staff, 15 years on the board of directors and four years as chairman of the board.

The Connecticut Commission on Aging is a nonpartisan state agency of the Connecticut General Assembly. The commission is devoted to preparing for the burgeoning aging population while promoting policies that enhance the lives of the present and future generations of older adults in Connecticut.

The Joint Committee on Human Services deals with matters relating to: the Department of Social Services and the Department of Children and Families, including institutions under their jurisdiction; the Office of Child Day Care; the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities; the Commission on the Deaf and the Hearing Impaired; and the Board of Education and Services for the Blind.

The Joint Committee on Aging deals with matters relating to senior citizens.