MNRAAA’s Veteran Directed Care Coalition Selected for Network Operations Learning Collaborative

The Aging and Disability Business Institute (led by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging) has announced that the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging (MNRAAA) was selected with eight other organizations from across the country to take part in the Network Operations Learning Collaborative. MNRAAA, in partnership with the Southwest Center for Independent Living (SWCIL), Managed Resource Connections, Inc. (MRCI), Consumer Directions and the Sioux Falls Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC); features a program in southwest Minnesota called Veteran Directed Care (VDC). The program, which started in 2008, provides services to veterans that allow them to remain in their home or home of a loved one.

“We are excited for this opportunity to strengthen our collaboration in providing effective consumer directive care to our veterans, to enlarge our area of services and to find ways to market our services better,” stated Jason W. Swanson, Executive Director for MNRAAA. Over the next six months, the selected organizations will participate in a curriculum that will help them build and strengthen the operations and sustainability of their networks to deliver home and community-based services through contracts with health care entities.

Supported by technical assistance, a peer learning network and a platform for shared learnings, participants will come away with increased knowledge of the business requirements needed to operate a network or serve as a network lead entity; a deeper understanding of legal structures, requirements and risks for network members; and an operations action plan that can be used to move their networks forward.

For more information on the Veteran Directed Care program or to see if you qualify, please contact MNRAAA at 507-387-1256 or kwolle@mnraaa.org. 

About the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging As the designated area agency on aging for 27 counties in southwest Minnesota, the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging is a catalyst in building communities where older adults live with dignity, mutual respect and shared responsibilities across generations and cultures. To learn more about MNRAAA, visit www.mnraaa.org.