Baltimore County names Heng Tan director of Department of Aging

Heng Tan, who started this week as director of the Baltimore County Department of Aging, discussed her background and priorities during an interview on the agency’s Time of Your Life program.

Tan said she has about 20 years of public-health experience and that she “really got into aging about a decade ago” after work in community organizations and in government, including serving as deputy health officer overseeing an area agency on aging at the Baltimore City Health Department. “Aging has become personal and a purpose for me,” Tan said, recounting that she served as a family caregiver for her grandparents and began program work with Cambodian older adults.

The interview noted Tan’s national advocacy role: she said she is the first vice president of US Aging (formerly the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging) and has worked for about six years to preserve and secure funding under the Older Americans Act, the federal law that provides funding to area agencies on aging. “I have been involved in this national organization for six years and uplifting and elevating the needs of the local communities at the federal level,” Tan said.

Tan identified several priorities for the department, saying the mission is “to help older adults age in place, connect people to resources, to be able to assist older adults of where they are in their journey, and then also to serve as their advocates.” She added the department will seek alignments around health and wellness and look for ways to “collaborate and innovate.”

Ethel Rasmussen, host of Time of Your Life for the Baltimore County Department of Aging, said the program will also feature the department’s community resources guide and Maryland Access Point (MAP) services during the episode. Rasmussen said MAP provides services and information over the phone and online through the county program.

Rasmussen also noted practical information for residents: about 8,000 older adults subscribe to the department’s Time of Your Life Digest, with annual subscription rates stated on the program at $5 for Baltimore County residents age 60 and older and $7 for other subscribers; the program listed a contact phone number of 410-887-3050 for subscriptions.

Tan said she moved to Baltimore about nine years ago, recently to Baltimore County, and that joining the county department felt like a “natural fit” after working with county partners while in the city. She described the county staff she has met as experienced and “passionate” and said she looks forward to building on existing programs.

There were no formal actions or policy votes announced during the interview; the segment was introductory and focused on Tan’s background, the department’s mission and planned priorities.