This content was made possible with support from Archstone Foundation, a Civitas 2025 Annual Conference sponsor and partner.
Ensuring that older adults receive coordinated, equitable care across medical and social service settings has never been more important. Archstone Foundation, a private grantmaking organization dedicated to improving the lives of all of us in California as we get older, is at the forefront of these efforts, championing systems that make health and social care more connected, person-centered, and accessible.
Archstone Foundation recognizes that while California’s Data Exchange Framework (DxF) – a keynote panel discussion topic at the Civitas 2025 Annual Conference – represents a major step toward securely connecting health and social services data statewide, its impact will not be fully realized unless aging services organizations are supported and engaged as active participants. As we get older, many of us must often navigate a web of providers, social support, and care transitions. Seamless data exchange across these settings is essential to improving care coordination, reducing duplication of services, and ensuring that care addresses the full scope of an individual’s needs.
Why Health and Social Data Interoperability Matters for Older Adults
Older adults frequently receive care through a combination of medical providers, community-based programs, and social service agencies. Without interoperability between these systems, essential information can fall through the cracks, impacting quality, safety, and outcomes.
By connecting health and social care data, California can make it easier for all of us to navigate complex systems, prevent gaps in service, and strengthen collaboration among aging service providers, health systems, and community-based organizations. The DxF offers a powerful opportunity to build this integration at scale.
Archstone Foundation’s Ongoing Commitment to Data Exchange and Care Coordination
For more than a decade, Archstone Foundation has invested in projects that connect systems of care and improve outcomes for all of us as we get older. This includes:
- 2020: Archstone Foundation awarded a grant from the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) Office of Health Information Integrity (CalOHII) $71,466 over 15 months to support the integration of social needs care services into health care delivery for the benefit of older adults and others, through an augmentation to the State Health Information Guidance (SHIG)
- 2022: Supported Coalition for Compassionate Care of California in the POLST Registry Bridge project, to help develop and plan statewide electronic POLST Registry
- 2023: Funded report from Mannatt Health on California Health Information Technology and Exchange: Opportunities and Priorities for Older Adults
- 2024: Worked with Civitas Networks for Health® to identify additional opportunities to support care coordination improvements
Supporting DxF Implementation: A Grant to Connecting for Better Health
Archstone Foundation’s current grant to Connecting for Better Health (C4BH), awarded in 2025, focuses on providing technical assistance and education for aging services organizations. Through a series of DxF Bootcamps, the program equips these organizations with tools and knowledge to strengthen their participation in health and social service data exchange.
Early participation has included representatives from aging services organizations in two DxF 101 Bootcamps, as well as a Design Studio developing an aging-focused use case—demonstrating growing engagement from a sector historically left out of digital transformation efforts.
The Role of Philanthropy in Equitable Data Exchange
Philanthropic partners like Archstone Foundation play a crucial role in ensuring that community-based and aging service organizations are not left behind as California advances toward universal data exchange. These investments help:
- Build technical capacity for smaller organizations.
- Enable participation in state policy conversations around the DxF.
- Provide the infrastructure, training, and support needed for equitable data sharing.
By empowering organizations that directly serve older adults, philanthropy helps ensure that interoperability efforts reflect the realities of those who deliver care at the community level.
Centering the Voices of Aging and Community-Based Providers
This work also helps to center perspectives often excluded from statewide technology initiatives—including rural and non-clinical providers, community-based organizations, caregivers, and aging service networks. By listening to these voices, California can build data exchange systems that are inclusive, human-centered, and grounded in lived experience.
Looking Ahead to the Future for Archstone Foundation
As California continues implementing the Data Exchange Framework, Archstone Foundation remains committed to advancing equitable, coordinated care for all of us as we age. Through continued collaboration with state partners, philanthropy, and community organizations, the state can ensure that older people in California—and those who care for them—benefit fully from the promise of health and social data integration.
Learn more about Archstone Foundation’s ongoing work to improve health and well-being for older adults in California.