Community Development for/and by the Elderly

BRIGHT MIND
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Our Elderly Community

Aging With GRACE: Improving Health Care For Older Adults
GRACE, short for Geriatric Resources for Assessment and Care of Elders, is geriatrics care specifically targeting medically vulnerable individuals. The key to GRACE is two teams. The support team, consisting of a nurse practitioner and a social worker, meet with each patient at home to conduct an initial comprehensive geriatric assessment from the medicine cabinet to the kitchen cabinet. Based on the support team's findings, a larger interdisciplinary team (including a geriatrician, pharmacist, physical therapist, mental health social worker, and community-based services liaison) develops an individualized care plan………….. Rather than concentrating on individual diseases, they focus on the many issues faced by aging low-income adults -- access to needed services, medications, mobility,depression, transportation, diet, as well as other health issues of aging,"……. Read on…..

The Elder Friendly Communities Program works to increase the well-being and quality of life for older adults living in these Calgary neighborhoods. This focus on neighborhood life means that the seniors involved in the program have a commitment to improving life for each other and for their communities……… The program engages older adults to define and lead community development initiatives in their neighborhoods. Like all community development efforts, the Elder Friendly Communities Program is based on the belief that the seniors have many untapped skills, gifts and capacities. This potential can be tapped to enrich the life of the community as a whole………read more….