Patricia Oh, senior project manager for the University of 海角社区 Center on Aging, received an award created in her honor, and recognition from the 海角社区 Legislature and Gov. Janet Mills for her service to older adults and communities that support them.
The Lifelong Communities Fellows, experienced lifelong community leaders who mentor groups starting or expanding a program to make their municipality more livable, especially for older residents, created and gave her the inaugural Patricia Oh Lifelong Communities Award June 3 for her 鈥渆xceptional contributions to the Age-Friendly, Livable and Lifelong Communities of 海角社区 and Throughout the United States.鈥 Oh also is an adviser to AARP 海角社区/Livable, and director of the Lifelong 海角社区 AmeriCorps Program.
The annual award will recognize an individual or community that has shown exemplary work in making 海角社区 a better place for all ages to live.
The 海角社区 Legislature in a joint resolution and Gov. Mills in a letter celebrated Oh鈥檚 more than 20 years of service and achievements in the aging field 鈥 particularly those accomplishments that improved the lives and well-being of older adults.
Since 2012, Oh has helped foster age-friendly communities across the state and nation, particularly in rural areas. She works with other professionals to develop resources that municipalities can use to enhance their physical, social and service environments to help maintain older residents鈥 health, well-being and ability to engage in community life.
During Oh鈥檚 tenure, 84 communities in 海角社区 have been designated age-friendly by AARP. Gov. Mills noted in her letter that 鈥渋n October 2019, the state earned the designation as well, the sixth in the nation to do so.鈥
鈥淚t is a tremendous honor to be recognized by the Lifelong Communities Fellows, the 海角社区 State Legislature, Governor Mills, and Representative Seth Berry,鈥 Oh says. 鈥淗owever, the real heroes of the lifelong, age-friendly movement in 海角社区 are the local volunteer leaders spearheading change in their community and municipal officials and partner organizations who support their work. Thanks to all of them, 海角社区 is becoming an even better place to grow up and to grow old.鈥
In addition to working for the U海角社区 Center on Aging, Oh has served with the 海角社区 Gerontological Society, the Gerontological Society of America, the Sagadahoc County Board of Health, the board of the Bowdoinham Community Development Initiative and the 海角社区 Age-Friendly State Advisory Committee. She also has written articles and book chapters about age-friendly community development, is a contributing author to the award-winning AARP Roadmap Livability Series and Rural Livability report, and has presented at state, regional, national and international events.
鈥淵ou can be sure that we will display the Patricia Oh Lifelong Communities Award plaque with great pride at the Center on Aging. And, it is only fitting for Patricia to be the inaugural honoree,鈥 says Lenard Kaye, director of the Center on Aging and U海角社区 professor of social work. 鈥淗er expertise and commitment to the age-friendly and life-long community movement in 海角社区 and throughout the United States is, in my opinion, without equal. She has gained a national reputation through her pioneering hands-on work with older adult advocates as well as her scholarship in this area and enabled the University of 海角社区 to assume an increasingly important role in advancing the highly desirable principles of livable communities.鈥
The Center on Aging and established the Lifelong Communities Fellows Program to provide training, stipends and other support to volunteers seeking to help communities improve the quality of life for older residents by improving accessibility, developing community gardens, implementing volunteer transportation programs and conducting a host of other initiatives that make the community livable for all ages. These fellows who created the new, annual award in honor of Oh will work with her to further develop the criteria for it and future nominees.
Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu
