A Word from our Executive Director

ElderHealth Northwest helps frail and disabled adults manage chronic illnesses while enriching their lives with socialization opportunities. For over 25 years, in neighborhoods throughout King and Snohomish Counties, ElderHealth has helped thousands of elders and their families with our array of individual and family support services.

ElderHealth is about community. We help frail adults to remain living in their own homes with their families. Our adult day centers themselves feel like small communities, where our staff members and our participants feel a genuine affection for one another.

Our adult day centers are neighborhood centers where people can access skilled nursing and rehab professionals, meals, exercise programs, fun activities and — for those individuals experiencing memory loss — specialized dementia care.

I feel honored to have been with ElderHealth since the late 1970s, and my enthusiasm remains high as we embark on a transformation of the long-term care system. We are building small, supported living homes as an alternative to skilled nursing and assisted living facilities; our residents and staff together turn a house into a home. And our adult day centers are becoming community service centers for frail elders in the surrounding neighborhoods. This is our new Integrated Neighborhood Network: a unique blend of day health services, in-home care and — when 24 hour care is needed — home-like options.

We've learned a great deal since the 1970s, and these core beliefs are evidenced in our adult day and in-home care services and new supported living homes:

• Human connectedness is vital, and we must seek to restore it when it is lost to disease, dementia and frailty.
• The rewards of caregiving are great: even the frailest person possesses tremendous warmth.
• Small environments work best, especially for persons with dementia.
• Our staff's training and experience is important, but just as essential is their warmth and heart.
• Our participants have multiple care needs. We employ skilled professionals to intervene and manage chronic illnesses, thereby preventing premature or unnecessary nursing home placement.
• Families go to extraordinary lengths to care for their loved ones; we must provide relevant support services.
• Providing services at the neighborhood level is more efficient and allows our staff and our participants to truly "know" one another.

We are continually revisiting the question, "What's next in long-term care?" We know we can be part of a better alternative.