HESSCO Area Plan 2026-2029
Since 1977, Health and Social Services Consortium, Inc (HESSCO) has served twelve communities in South Norfolk County by delivering a comprehensive system of services and supports that empower older adults and their caregivers. On a daily basis, older adults access care and support through HESSCO to maintain independence and age with dignity in their homes and communities, in the setting of their choosing.
HESSCO Area Plan 2026-2029
The HESSCO Program Service Area (PSA) includes the following twelve towns: Canton, Dedham, Foxborough, Medfield, Millis, Norfolk, Norwood, Plainville, Sharon, Walpole, Westwood, and Wrentham. According to 2020 U.S. Census data, over 55,000 individuals over the age of 60 reside within the HESSCO PSA.
In 1965, the Older Americans Act (OAA) enacted by Congress authorized many of the programs and services that continue to provide critical support to older adults, especially those socially and economically isolated. This Act, most recently reauthorized in 2020, provides the foundation for the network of over 600 Area Agencies on Aging across the United States and territories. HESSCO is one of 20 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) in Massachusetts. HESSCO also serves as one of 24 Aging Services Access Points (ASAP) within Massachusetts. As both the AAA and ASAP, HESSCO serves its PSA with a multitude of programs and services through these two designations. HESSCO also participates as a lead agency within the Aging and Disability Resource Consortium (ADRC), providing a no-wrong door approach to services and supports across the lifespan.
In its role as the Area Agency on Aging, HESSCO is a leader in planning and development of new approaches to aging well and works collaboratively with community partners to design and deliver innovative programs that respond to the needs of its communities. HESSCO leverages its expertise and resources to identify community needs, advocates for public policies and regulations that support positive aging, develops new programs to address emerging needs, builds coalitions, and engages stakeholders around the needs of older adults in its PSA.
To develop this Area Plan, HESSCO actively sought information on the needs of local older adults, researched trends and available data, and accessed state and federal guidance to ensure that this plan will guide HESSCO in its mission to support and empower older adults, their families and caregivers to live with dignity and in the manner and place of their choosing. This process included a local needs assessment that engaged 273 older adults across the PSA through surveys and focus groups, allowing HESSCO to hear directly from older adults about their needs, preferences, and concerns for aging in their community.