Congratulations to Council on Aging (COA) Vice President of Program Operations Ken Wilson, who was named Ohio Association of Gerontology and Education’s (OAGE) 2021 Practitioner of the Year.
The award recognizes individuals and organizations that either have improved services to older adults through research and evaluation or have developed noteworthy partnerships with institutions of higher learning for the betterment of Ohio’s elders.
The programs that Wilson oversees at COA help maintain the independence of more than 15,000 older adults. They prevent unnecessary nursing home placement and help families who are struggling to manage caregiving responsibilities.
Wilson has been a driver in involving COA and Ohio’s aging network in many health-related and quality initiatives, such as Care Transitions and MyCare Ohio. He also is one of the first practitioners in Ohio to use research and/or evaluation to improve the effectiveness of programs in order to elevate Ohio’s aging network.
Recently, Wilson has been instrumental in working on the pandemic-related response to the needs of vulnerable older adults in COA’s region. This includes working on food supply chain and delivery issues to ensure older adults received meals, representing COA in regional health-related pandemic workgroups, organizing COVID vaccination clinics and working with local health departments to implement a program to vaccinate homebound individuals.
OAGE is an association of educators, researchers, professionals, and students in Ohio dedicated to gerontological education, research and practice. The organization promotes gerontological education, supports Ohio’s aging network as a resource for research and practice, and provides professional development for students, faculty and professionals.