Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Aging (PDA) today announced the upcoming broadcast of a year-long initiative with public broadcasting stations WVIA and WITF called Aging Together in PA, aimed at presenting programming and driving discussion about resources for Pennsylvania’s rapidly growing older population. The collaborative, multi-media effort, supported by PDA and AllOne Foundation & Charities, culminated with a town hall called “Aging Together in PA Town Hall: Building the Future.”
The year-long initiative explored issues like caregiver supports, navigation of resources, reframing aging, active, accessible, aging-friendly communities and much more.
The town hall will air on Tuesday, October 7 at 8:00 PM on the following PBS stations covering every region of Pennsylvania:
- WITF – Harrisburg region
- WVIA – Scranton region
- WPSU – State College region
- WHYY – Philadelphia region
- WQED – Pittsburgh region
- WQLN – Erie region
The town hall will also air on WLVT in the Allentown region on Tuesday, October 7 at 5:00 PM. Check your local public broadcasting station’s listing for additional air dates and times.
The town hall presented two panel discussions: the first panel, Designing PA’s Future: An Age-Friendly, Accessible, and Inclusive Commonwealth, featured Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich, Secretary Akbar Hossain, Governor Shapiro’s Office of Policy and Planning; Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services; and Secretary Mike Carroll, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The second panel, Caring for the Commonwealth: Workforce, Families, and the Future, featured Elaine Dalpiaz, Vice President of Government Affairs and Policy, National Alliance for Caregiving; Carmen Bell, Senior Director, Healthy Aging at United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and leader of Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley; and Evita Cotta, caregiver for mother living with dementia.
Aging Together in PA created comprehensive program and digital content for the Pennsylvania public broadcasting stations to educate and inform local and national audiences about the challenges and opportunities impacting older adults and their care partners in the Commonwealth.
The Aging Together in PA initiative followed the May 2024 release of the Shapiro Administration’s Aging Our Way, PA – Pennsylvania’s strategic 10-year plan designed to meet the needs of the Commonwealth’s older adults and improve services for this rapidly growing population.
Currently, Pennsylvania is home to 3.4 million older adults aged 60 and over, the fifth highest older adult population in the country. The population represents 1 in 4 Pennsylvanians and in less than five years, it will represent 1 in 3 and is expected to outnumber every other age group.