Today marks an exciting moment for intergenerational connection in the state of Nebraska. Panhandle Public Health District (PPHD) in Hemingford has secured funding to launch its first Tellegacy Program, and the entire Tellegacy community is celebrating this achievement.

PPHD is preparing to begin in January 2026, laying the groundwork for a program designed to strengthen social connection, support older adults, and enrich the learning experience of healthcare students across the region. Their staff is already coordinating with local universities and long-term care facilities because they understand something powerful: connection influences health more deeply than most people realize.

Why This Matters

When an organization invests in social connection, it shifts the trajectory of entire communities. PPHD is stepping forward at a time when loneliness has threatened communities across the country, older adults continue to feel unseen, and students entering healthcare want more meaningful ways to understand the people they will serve.

A Tellegacy Program gives older adults a place to feel valued.
A Tellegacy Program gives students a chance to grow their communication skills through real human stories.
A Tellegacy Program strengthens health systems through empathy, understanding, and purpose.

Nebraska’s Panhandle is now officially part of a growing movement that sees social connection as a form of health equity.

What Tellegacy Brings to Communities

For organizations that are curious about how PPHD is doing this, here is the heart of it:

Tellegacy provides a structured intergenerational model that amplifies connection, improves well-being, and builds community strength from the inside out.
Our framework helps organizations:

  • create weekly meaningful conversations between older adults and healthcare students
  • support staff through easy-to-follow training modules
  • encourage teams to measure outcomes through simple pre- and post-surveys
  • develop legacy books that honor the stories of older adults
  • run a connection program that feels inspiring instead of overwhelming

This is the kind of infrastructure that many communities want but haven’t had the capacity to build on their own. Tellegacy gives them a ready-made path.

The Impact We Keep Seeing

When a Tellegacy Program launches, something shifts:

Older adults report fewer feelings of loneliness.
Students walk away with communication skills they rarely learn in classrooms.
Communities gain a sense of shared humanity.
Organizations experience new energy around purpose-driven work.

These changes create momentum—momentum that grows from household to neighborhood to entire regions. PPHD is stepping into that momentum now.

How Other Organizations Can Join This Movement

If your university, senior organization, healthcare association, or public health team wants to bring a Tellegacy Program to your area, we would be honored to help you create a program that advances well-being in measurable and meaningful ways.

You can reach us directly at:
social@tellegacy.com
Or visit: www.tellegacy.org/contact

Our team will walk through your goals, identify your best starting point, and set you up with the training and tools that make the program easy to begin and even easier to sustain.

Nebraska is taking a powerful step toward reducing depression, easing loneliness, and building deeper satisfaction in the lives of older adults and the students who learn from them. Your community can take that step too.

Congratulations again to Panhandle Public Health District—your commitment to connection will bring lasting change to the people you serve.

And to every organization reading this:
Your community is ready for something like this. Let Tellegacy help you bring it to life.