Image of male nurse pushing senior woman in a wheelchair in nursing facility

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has disclosed an award of $900,000 for the first-ever national resource center to assist gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender seniors in planning for their long-term care needs.

The resource center will be established through the organization Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE). It “will provide information, assistance and resources for both mainstream aging organizations and LGBT organizations,” Sebelius said in a statement.

SAGE will partner with a number of aging-related organizations that deal with issues such as culture change, competency and program evaluation. SAGE will also develop a comprehensive Web site, which will include social networking tools, an “Ask the Experts” service and Web-based training among other features. 

The funding will be spread out over three years, according to Sebelius. More information can be found at both www.aoa.gov and www.sageusa.org.