Health & Wellbeing

Low nursing home staff and resident vaccination rates have experts concerned about another wave of infections

Though COVID-19 vaccines are now widely available, AARP Florida is still providing critical information and helping anyone who has not been vaccinated but wants to be.

On behalf of AARP Florida’s 2.8 million members and all older Floridians, we encourage AHCA to find creative ways to enhance, expand, or strengthen home- and community-based care under Florida’s Medicaid program. With so many families in need of help with care, now is the time to take advantage of these new federal resources, which can supplement existing state efforts around home- and community-based services.

The latest release of AARP's Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard shows that Florida is trending higher than the national average for new reported cases of COVID-19.

For Floridians with annual incomes of from $17,420 up to $26,130 for a family of two – or anyone who’s received unemployment compensation in 2020 or 2021, the ARPA benefits could even cut monthly health-care premiums to zero for a Silver-level ACA plan through 2022.

If you’re homebound and would like to register for a vaccine, there are ways to receive it where you live.

The latest release of AARP's Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard shows that both cases and deaths in Florida nursing homes declined substantially in the four weeks ending March 21, falling to their lowest levels since AARP began releasing this information in June 2020.

Tell your State Senator and State House of Representative member to protect nursing home residents by voting ‘No’ on SB 1132/HB 485.

Living an active lifestyle is important at any time but especially with so many people feeling isolated amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why AARP in Tampa Bay is sponsoring a free Zoom health and wellness series to help people stay connected safely.

Advocating for improved conditions at long-term care facilities is AARP Florida’s top priority for the Legislature’s next regular session, which begins March 2.