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Smart Talk: Pennsylvania Department of Aging Secretary

How the DoA will assist older Pennsylvanians access vaccine and other services

In this April 21, 2020, photo, Marguerite Mouille, 94, gestures while her visiting daughter takes a photo at the Kaisesberg nursing home, eastern France. France has started to break the seals on its locked down nursing homes, allowing limited visitation rights for the families of elderly residents. The visits are proving bittersweet for some, too short and restricted to make up for weeks of isolation and loneliness. But they are shedding light on the immense emotional toll caused by locking down care homes.

 Jean-Francois Badias / AP Photo

In this April 21, 2020, photo, Marguerite Mouille, 94, gestures while her visiting daughter takes a photo at the Kaisesberg nursing home, eastern France. France has started to break the seals on its locked down nursing homes, allowing limited visitation rights for the families of elderly residents. The visits are proving bittersweet for some, too short and restricted to make up for weeks of isolation and loneliness. But they are shedding light on the immense emotional toll caused by locking down care homes.

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Airdate: Monday, February 22, 2021

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging’s role is to advocate for the interests of older Pennsylvanians and because the pandemic has put this vulnerable population in its crosshairs, that job is much more complicated and important.

Aging Pennsylvanians are facing a myriad of stressors: Higher COVID risk, difficulty accessing vaccines, and social isolation have changed their landscape and lifestyle for the foreseeable future.

What can be done to improve support for older Pennsylvanians during this critical time? The Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Robert Torres will join Smart Talk Monday to discuss this, along with community based solutions.

Contact the Pennsylvania Department of Health hotline with vaccine and COVID questions: 1-877-724-3258

– Find help from your local county aging agency. Find your local area agency on aging here or by calling: 717-783-1550

– PACE Card holders can contact: 1-800-225-7223

– PA Link  (Pennsylvania Link to Aging and Disability Resource Center): 1-800-753-8827

Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Pennsylvania

America’s dependence on fossil fuels is a complicated and hotly debated topic. PennFuture published their third in a series of reports looking into one of the lesser-known factors keeping the country tethered to non-renewable energy: fossil fuel subsidies.

It is estimated that Pennsylvania alone subsidized the fossil fuel industry $3.8 billion dollars in 2019. Emily Persico, report author and Policy Analyst for PennFuture, points out the difficulty collating the information because subsidies are, in part, “buried out of sight and difficult to disentangle.” Persico appears on Smart Talk Monday to analyze the complicated web of revenue and tax credits subsidizing the industry.

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