Age-Friendly Herkimer County
In 2019, Herkimer County Office for the Aging applied for a planning grant from the New York State Office for the Aging to get the project started. The Herkimer County Office for the Aging was awarded a $25,000 grant to start the Age Friendly work. The Herkimer County Office for the Aging worked in collaboration with Herkimer County HealthNet to launch the project. Herkimer County HealthNet and the Herkimer County Office for the Aging committed dedicated staff time and resources to the initiative. As a member of the Age Friendly Coalition, Herkimer County HealthNet shares this supervisory role with the Herkimer County Office for the Aging and the coalition.
With commitments in place, Herkimer County was now ready to enter the “Getting Started” Phase as part of the AARP Age-Friendly Communities five Phases:
- Getting Started
- Needs Assessment
- Action and Evaluation Plan
- Implementation
- Connecting
1. The Process and Program Cycle of AARP Age Friendly of Herkimer County
- Getting Started Phase
The Getting Started Phase began with the formation of the Coalition and the group discussed developing a name for the project, setting up the website and social media page, as well as creating a logo. The logo was created by a local Herkimer College student. Herkimer County Office for the Aging and Herkimer County HealthNet informed the coalition of the objectives of the Age Friendly work and outlined the phases of the work. The Age Friendly Coalition established four work groups to address the eight domains of liveability as listed in the AARP guidelines and as outlined by World Health Organization (WHO). These include: Civic Participation and Employment, Housing and Outdoor Spaces, Social Participation, Respect & Inclusion and Communication & Information, and Transportation and Health & Community Services.
The Coalition was asked to outline positives and weaknesses of the County in their assigned domain, review the score given to Herkimer County by AARP concerning each area of liveability and prepare for the next phase: Needs Assessment and Planning.
- Needs Assessment Phase
The Needs Assessment was completed in a two-part process: A Community Survey and Focus Groups. The Coalition assumed the role of developing a community survey based on the AARP Needs Assessment Survey. The survey was disseminated throughout the entire County – both rural and urban areas. Surveys were collected both on-line and via paper copies. Over 350 surveys were completed.
The Herkimer County Public Health Department provided staffing resources to analyse the data from the surveys. The Herkimer County Office for the Aging and Herkimer County HealthNet reported to the Coalition to show the progression of data collection. The Coalition was instrumental in targeting additional areas to focus on to increase the participation in the survey.
The second part of the assessment process was to host community listening sessions and focus groups throughout the County to gather additional information from residents to ensure that the assessment was complete. Three initial Community Listening Sessions were held in-person across the county. Data was presented from the Needs Assessment and input was gathered on priorities as well as engaging community members to assist in developing the action plan.
Following the listening sessions, 4 different focus groups were held at Herkimer College to begin narrowing focus on the most needed and effective project and program ideas for the workgroups to develop plans.
The community assessment was completed in 2024. Data gathered through the survey and focus group processes were summarized with the full reports in the Appendix.
- Action and Evaluation Plan Phase
The work groups were established with members of the coalition and community members that participated in the focus groups. Four work groups were established to address the eight domains of liveability as listed in the AARP guidelines and as outlined by World Health Organization (WHO). These include: Outdoor Spaces-Housing, Transportation-Health Services, Social Participation, Respect and Inclusion- Communication and Information, and Civic Engagement/Employment.
Participants from non-profit organizations, businesses and community members were invited to serve on the work groups. Each work group was given the AARP guidelines for their specific domain to begin the discussions.
The work groups began by review the data from the Needs Assessment and the focus groups. The work groups received guidance on creating an action plan. The groups identified priorities and gaps for each focus area. Three goals were set and the groups developed the team values, a mission statement, and vision statement. The groups then began to develop the action plan. Each group assessed the possible impacts of action items that were developed. Action plans were developed that each contain, goals, specific action items, community partners, date for completion, and performance indicators for evaluation purposes.
The coalition was convened in June 2025 to review the Action Plan that was developed by the work groups. The Herkimer County Office for the Aging presented the Action Plan to the Legislature for their approval and submission to AARP.
The Action Plan is available to as a document on this page.
- Implementation Phase
The Coalition will support the Work Groups during the phase of Implementation over the next two years and will continue developing the County’s Action Plan as a road map for age-friendly initiatives. Through the implementation phase, progress will be measured and any needed additions or changes will be made to the plan. This process will lead to a cycle of continuous improvement; as priority items are accomplished in each domain, new action items are identified and form the basis for additional planning and implementation.