Pictured (from left): Bay Aging President and CEO Kathy Vesley, Senior Counselor to the President Bobby Vassar, and Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia Toni Blue. 

Bay Aging welcomed Toni Blue, Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia, for an August 21 visit focused on the organization’s growing role in connecting health care, human services, and community-based solutions across rural Virginia. Deputy Secretary Blue met with Bay Aging President and CEO Kathy Vesley and Senior Counselor to the President Bobby Vassar for an introduction to Bay Aging’s services, partnerships, and impact as both a safety-net provider and a catalyst for regional economic vitality. 

As a Virginia Area Agency on Aging serving the Middle Peninsula, Northern Neck, and beyond, Bay Aging delivers and coordinates essential services that help older adults, people with disabilities, veterans, caregivers, families, and rural residents remain healthy, housed, mobile, connected, and independent. Through transportation, nutrition, housing, care coordination, benefits assistance, caregiver support, and community-based services, Bay Aging helps residents overcome barriers that can otherwise lead to higher health care costs, lost wages, housing instability, and reduced quality of life. 

“We were honored to welcome Deputy Secretary Blue and share how Bay Aging’s work improves lives while strengthening the communities we serve,” said Kathy Vesley, President and CEO of Bay Aging. “Our programs do more than connect people to services — they help keep residents in their homes, support caregivers and working families, reduce avoidable costs, and bring resources into the region that sustain jobs, mobility, housing, health, and independence.” 

During the visit, Bay Aging leaders highlighted the organization’s evolution from a regional provider of aging services into a statewide and nationally recognized connector of health and human services. Through VAAACares®, Bay Aging is an advanced community care hub model that brings together health plans, health systems, public agencies, and community-based organizations to address social determinants of health, coordinate health-related social needs services, and improve outcomes for Virginians. 

The discussion also underscored Bay Aging’s importance as an economic driver. The organization employs local residents, contracts with local partners across Virginia and beyond, supports essential transportation and housing infrastructure, attracts public and private investment, and helps people stay connected to work, medical care, food, benefits, and community life. By addressing barriers such as transportation gaps, housing insecurity, food access, caregiver strain, and care coordination challenges, Bay Aging helps reduce avoidable institutional and emergency costs while strengthening the region’s workforce, housing stability, and long-term economic resilience. 

“Bay Aging is proof that community-based organizations are essential infrastructure,” Vesley said. “When people can get to medical appointments, access healthy food, remain safely housed, and receive the right supports at the right time, the benefits extend well beyond the individual. Families are more stable, employers benefit from a stronger workforce, health systems see better coordination, and communities retain the people, services, and economic activity that make rural Virginia stronger.” 

Bobby Vassar, Senior Counselor to the President, also met Deputy Secretary Blue.  They share a meaningful connection given that Vassar previously served as Deputy Secretary and Acting Secretary of Virginia’s Health and Human Resources Secretariat.  That shared history and commitment added a sense of partnership of state and local operations around a common vision: advancing innovative, community-based solutions that drive meaningful change for Virginians. 

“Deputy Secretary Blue and I share a deep appreciation for the power of community-based solutions to improve lives and strengthen systems,” Vassar said. “Bay Aging’s work reflects the kind of innovation Virginia needs — practical partnerships that respond to real community needs, address the factors that shape health and well-being, and create lasting change for people and the places they call home.” 

Bay Aging looks forward to continued engagement with state and community partners to expand innovative approaches that address social determinants of health, improve access to services, strengthen rural systems of care, and support the health, independence, and economic vitality of communities throughout the Commonwealth.