The Community Relations Unit provides media and public relations for the Aging Services Division, serves as a liaison to advocacy groups, offers information and assistance about programs, and provides general community education and training on aging services.

The State Council on Aging is a 31-member appointed body that serves in an advisory capacity to the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Aging Services Division on matters of importance to older Oklahomans.

The mission of the Oklahoma Pharmacy Connection Council is to improve access for citizens who have no or inadequate health insurance or no other resources for the purchase of medically necessary prescription drugs.

This Aging Services Division provides leadership on issues of concern to older Oklahomans. It helps to develop community-based systems that support independence and protect the quality of life of older people and to promote citizen involvement in planning and delivering those services.

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.

The Oklahoma Long-Term Care Partnership program enables consumers to have access to high-quality, long-term care insurance that will provide benefits should they need long-term care in the future.

Care.com provides resources for health care services, transportation services, elder law specialists, and housing options for seniors in Oklahoma.

LIFE Senior Services is a Tulsa Area United Way member agency with a mission to promote independence, quality of life, and dignity for seniors and caregivers through adult day services, case management, SeniorLine information and referral, caregiver support services, senior centers and affordable housing.

The Long-Term Care Authority is a public trust authority with the mission to design and execute innovative long-term care strategies, products and services that are diverse, convenient, accessible and valued by all Oklahomans and local, state, and national public and private organizations.

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).

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 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 Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality is the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for the state of Oklahoma. 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.

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is a national program that 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.

Bruce Lawrence is president and CEO of INTEGRIS Health, and oversees 15 hospitals in Oklahoma, including the Baptist Medical Center. He joined the health system in 2001. Previously, he was senior president and chief operating officer at Baptist Health in Montgomery, Ala., for four years, and vice president at Baptist Health System in Little Rock, Ark., for 11 years. Lawrence holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and a master’s degree in health care administration from Trinity University in San Antonio.

Jake Henry Jr. became president and CEO of Saint Francis Health System, which includes St. Francis Hospital, in August 2002. Henry holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree in health care administration from Trinity University.

Cole Eslyn was named president and CEO of OU Medical Center in April 2007 after serving as its chief operating officer for three years. Previously, Eslyn worked at the Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas as its senior executive director.

This Senate committee deals with matters pertaining to the insurance industry in Oklahoma.

This Senate committee deals with matters pertaining to the health of Oklahoma residents.

This House committee deals with matters pertaining to the health of Oklahoma residents.

This House committee deals with matters pertaining to seniors in Oklahoma.