Case Study: Hames Center

Share a brief summary of the interview you conducted. Include the nonprofit agency’s name and a brief description of the agency’s services.

When assessing and completing, “The Readiness for Physical Activity”, I found that for the PAR-Q questions I answered “No” to all seven questions. Similarly, when it came to the Physical Readiness for Sports or Vigorous Training, I once again answered “No” on all five of the questions. Therefore, based on these results there are a couple of conclusions and implications for me to acknowledge. For instance, since I answered “No” to all of the Par-Q questions, it’s safe to say that I can start becoming much more physically active without needing to talk to my doctor before doing so. In addition to that, I now understand that I should take part in a fitness appraisal so I can determine my basic fitness and thus plan out the best way to incorporate

The Minnesota Department of Health defines healthy aging as the development and maintenance of optimal mental, social and physical well-being and function in older adults. States all around the country are becoming more involved in developing policies to keep the aging population healthy as legislators recognize that more than two-thirds of current health care costs are for treating chronic illnesses among older Americans. In Florida, one such initiative is The Health and Wellness Promotion Program that has been implemented by the Department of Elder Affairs to provide health education to the elderly as well as provide preventative screening programs. Through SAGE I had the opportunity to visit my mentor with my team and discuss her ideology on health aging and how that has evolved for her through her experiences with health care, social programs and her wider community. This discourse has allowed me to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the aging process and the different aspects of life that come together to foster healthy aging.

I have identified the aging population (greater than 55 years of age) in Chatham/Kent, Ontario (in a community I am familiar and work within); a population on the rise and with minimal government and Ministry of Health support that enables seniors to maintain quality of life,

In the fiscal year 2010, (O’Shaughnessy, 2012) only about 5.1%, or 3 million people, out of the 57.8 million people age sixty and over, received services funded by the Act. These services included home delivered meals, home care, personal care, or case management services on a regular or intensive basis. About 14%, 8 million people, received other services, such as transportation, congregate meals, or information and assistance on a not so regular basis. A report was made by the Government Accountability Office stating that their findings were that many older people are in need of meals and other supportive services to help remain independent in their own communities, but a large portion of them are not getting the help they are in need of. Some barriers causing this lack of help are lack of funding and lack of knowledge among the older Americans that they may be eligible for benefits and services can be available for them.

Residing in Alexandria VA we have a median age of 36 years old (data USA). This statistic postulate that there are not many aging or elderly adults residing in Alexandria VA. According to Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman “The age of 65 has usually been cited as the dividing between middle age and old age” (p., 657). Despite the median age being 36 I was surprised to learn that Alexandria offers a number of programs for individuals in later adulthood. We have Meal on Wheels which is a life-sustaining program that allows seniors who are unable to leave their homes to shop, or have difficulty preparing a meal, to have two healthy meals a day delivered to their homes. We have Senior Law day which informs the Alexandria community about legal

As a future social worker, I would like to implement program development to make life better for aging Americans. The On Lok group of non-profit organizations, founded by dentist Dr. William Gee and social worker Marie-Louise Ansak, demonstrates it is possible to support and provide affordable services to elderly. Some of the services provided by On Lok are as follows; a comprehensive health plan for long-term care, senior center, housing for seniors, and health care for at home seniors (On Lok, 2015). On Lok receives funding and support from Medicaid and Medicare for these senior services.

As envisioned by the Department’s Executive Management in 2016, at initiation of six-year community plan cycle, the outreach process was to involve a, “more continuous feedback loop of public input”, from previous Community Plan Update outreach efforts and toward achieving

Recap your service-learning project. What do you do? When or for how long? Where? With what issue did your service-learning project connect? Did you work with others in any way? How? In other words, give full, specific details about your amazing work!

unless renovated do not facilitate access by someone using a wheelchair. Yet, what is interesting but not acceptable is that there is another entrance for people with disabilities “via a nondescript side entrance in order not to scare off the younger people the center hoped to attract” (Aronson 2). “Scare off” sounds very discriminative and unpleasant. For older people or people with disabilities, t is probably more welcoming and preferable if these buildings do not have any access at all but to learn the fact that the entrance is from the behind not to frighten

Focus on providing services centered around the individual in his or her home and community.

During my practicum and work experience there has been a population that has stood out to me and has become the area in which I would like to focus my attention on. This is the ever growing population of older adults in our country. First, I will define why I am so interested in this area of practice: the strengths older adults posses as well as some general issues experienced by older adults. After that, I will discuss the strengths perspective and how it relates to in home service provision of older adults. Finally, I will discuss state and national advocacy that is taking place to keep older adults living in the community.

Admittedly, the older adults witnessed in the videos is yet captivating. The healthy take charge, life is not over yet attitude is not often seen or even advertised. The images seen were visions of strength, endurance, and resilience. It was obvious they did not adopt myths regarding aging as they rebelled against it. It was as if their images of aging were re-wired making new connections with their environment and all that was in it. The display of happiness through engagement, pleasure, and meaning was achieved as we saw a mixture of satisfaction. Truly they made aging a positive experience. Initiatives were introduced to give the older adults more choices, the community support was strong and holistic alternatives were made available centered on the current

This evaluation will serve to distinguish and assess the findings of information obtained by way of surveying stakeholders, interviewing stakeholders (formally/informally) and personal interactions with stakeholders to determine agency strengths and weaknesses and assist with the development , if necessary, of more efficient and cost effective methods of facilitating services to clientele (Stockdale, S. 2010). During the evaluation, the following will be achieved:

increase number of elders being seen by healthcare professionals it is important to know what