Secretary of Elder Affairs Holds Listening Tour at Sharon Adult Center
October 22, 2009
By Norma Simons Fitzgerald, MSW, LICSW
Executive Director, Sharon Council on Aging
Members of the Sharon community welcomed Ann Hartstein, Governor Patrick’s recently appointed Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, on October 22nd, as part of the Secretary’s “Listening Tour” around the Commonwealth.
The Executive Office of Elder Affairs works to promote the independence and well-being of Massachusetts’ elders and to maintain a continuum of services responsive to the needs of elders, their families, and caregivers. Almost fourteen percent of the population is age sixty-five or older today. In twenty years, they will increase to twenty-one percent! We will need to be ready for this change, and Ann Hartstein is surely a person who can provide that leadership.
Secretary Hartstein is perfect for her new position. She served as Executive Director of the Needham Council on Aging for eleven years, Assistant Secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) for six years, and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of Older Americans for five years before becoming the Governor’s choice for EOEA.
I have had the pleasure of collaborating with the Secretary for many years and the folks who got to meet her and speak with her during her stop at the Adult Center were equally pleased. As someone “coming from within the ranks,” Ms. Hartstein truly understands the issues that seniors, their families and our communities are facing today and we can be assured that she will be an ardent advocate for them.