Polly Campion
BY POLLY CAMPION AND LAURIE HARDING
Recently, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to zero out the budget of the New Hampshire Commission on Aging.
Established in 2019, this 26-member, volunteer-driven agency advises the governor and General Court on critical policies and planning for our rapidly aging population.
New Hampshire is the second-oldest state in the nation, and our median age is rising — by 2030, older adults will outnumber children in the state. The commission is proactively tackling the permanent demographic shift underway in New Hampshire.
Both of us have served in the state Legislature; we understand that difficult choices must be made to craft a state budget. Our backgrounds as nurses means we understand the need to reform systems of care, address workforce shortages, and expand housing and transportation options for older adults.
With the guidance of an executive director, the commission is comprised of experienced leaders from across New Hampshire appointed by the governor who proactively develop well-researched policy recommendations at little cost to the state. Eight state agencies actively participate in the commission’s work, fostering improved efficiency and communication around services, breaking down bureaucratic silos.
A couple of examples of the commission’s current and future work:
Laurie Harding
- Coordinating the efforts of several state agencies — the departments of Transportation, Health and Human Services, Military Affairs, Veteran Services and the Governor’s Commission on Disability — to work with a federally funded consultant to study the unmet transit needs of older adults and develop strategies to utilize transportation funding coming from a significant number of sources.
- Examining ways to better coordinate care, recognizing that many older adults currently occupy expensive acute-care hospital beds and could be appropriately discharged with the right community-based or long-term care resources in place.
Provider groups are looking to the commission for impartial solutions.
The work of the Commission on Aging is not just about addressing the current needs of our aging population; it is a crucial investment in New Hampshire’s future fiscal stability. As a short-term measure, sacrificing this resource impairs our ability to shape that future.
Polly Campion and Laurie Harding both have advanced nursing degrees and served in the NH House of Representatives. Campion is a former chair of the New Hampshire Commission on Aging and worked on clinical improvement, patient safety and regulatory matters at Dartmouth Health, and, in retirement, consulted with the Foundation for Healthy Communities and the Home Care Association of New Hampshire.
