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Promote Healthy Aging

As part of our goal to improve the health and quality of life for seniors and adults with disabilities, Aging & Disability Services has embarked on a number of Healthy Aging initiatives with our community partners. These efforts include improving access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity.

The U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) highlighted the health promotion efforts of ADS in the following report:

• Case Studies of Health Promotion in the Aging Network, January 2006.

Eat Well

Community Meals

Congregate meal programs help meet the dietary needs of adults 60 years and older by providing nutritionally sound meals in a group setting. Nutrition education and social and fitness activities are also provided.

• ADS funded Senior Congregate Meal Sites (includes list of home delivered meal programs)
• Materials for 2008 Senior Nutrition Program RFI - includes community input; Science to Policy research; best practices; and program trends.
• Community Based Nutrition Services: Policy to Practice Sept. 2011. Presentation by Jean Lloyd, AoA National Nutritionist. Includes relationship of nutrition to health and functionality, and demographic and health data for nutrition program participants.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

In an effort to make healthy foods more affordable for senior meal and childcare programs, the Farm to Table Partnership identified and developed sustainable purchasing models for fresh local produce. The project included an education and training component for meal program providers. Farm to Table was funded by Public Health of Seattle-King County through a federal stimulus grant, Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW), and was nationally recognized as a "Health Champion" by the CDC.

• "Getting fresh local produce to kids and seniors: Exceeding expectations with the Farm-to-Table Partnership in King County, WA," presentation by Maria Langlais, Aging and Disability Services, for the 2012 American Public Health Association Conference.
• Assessing Delivery Models for Childcare and Senior Meal Programs, October 2012. By Karen Mauden, Northwest Business Agriculture Center (NABC).
• Project Evaluation: Policy, System and Environment Changes, January 2012, by Laurie Ringaert, PHSKC
• Project Update: Final report submitted March 29, 2012.
• Mapping Our Voices, Farm to Table Digital Stories
• A Matter of Taste, by Emma Brewster, NABC
• The Policy of Obesity, by Onika Shabazz, HSD/YFE
• Farm to Table Training Video, August 2011. Filmed at the Sno-Valley Senior Center in Carnation, and produced by WA State Dept. of Agriculture Farm to Schools Program in collaboration with Senior Services.
• Washington Grown Toolkit
  • Recipe Bank
  • Seasonality Chart (18x24" poster)
  • Seasonality Chart (8x11" hand-out)
• Good Food Bag - video short on the community food hub model
• CPPW Public Health King County
• Media Coverage
  • CDC Awards "Health Champion Recognition" to Farm to Table, June 2012 issue of Agewise King County.
  • NABC/Puget Sound Food Network Blog
  • National Recognition of Health Champions, Tukwila Reporter, February 23, 2012
  • From Farm to Table: Connecting Farmers with Senior Meal and Childcare Programs, Seniors Digest, May 2011
  • Farm to Table: Bringing Healthy Food From Local Farms to Local Kids, Green Acres Radio report by Marth Baskin, April 14, 2011.

The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) enhances access to fresh fruits and vegetables for seniors and supports local sustainable agriculture. Baskets of fresh produce are delivered to homebound seniors and include newsletters with information about unfamiliar foods, recipes, & information about the farmers. Each summer, one-time Market vouchers are provided to 2,000 low-income seniors.

• SFMNP Voucher/Check Distribution Program
  The program provides checks for eligible seniors to redeem at Farmers Markets throughout King County. The application process for 2013 opens on Monday, April 15, and closes on Friday, May 31.
• SFMNP Survey Results
  Results of 2003 survey distributed to farmer's, market managers, and senior consumers.
• SFMNP Evaluation
  Detailed evaluation of market basket pilot project.
• Research articles on the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Pilot Program published in January 2004 issue of Preventing Chronic Disase, Centers for Disease Control:
  • "Increasing Fruit & Vegetable Intake in Homebound Elders"
  • "Qualitative Assessment of Participant Utilization and Satisfaction"
• WSU Nutrition Education: Farmers Market Nutrition Programs

Falls Prevention

Every year, one in three Americans aged 65+ falls. In King County, nearly 4,000 older adults fall each year. Visit our Falls Prevention webpage for tools that can make a difference in your community.

Senior Centers

Most senior centers are for anyone age 50 or older and provide opportunities for fitness, volunteerism, lifelong learning, transportation, and healthy meals.

• Seattle for a Lifetime: City Goals for Older Adults, August 2010. Response to a Seattle City Council request to: identify the City’s policy goals for older adults; the role of senior centers and other City-funded programs and initiatives in meeting these goals; and effective and sustainable approaches to implementing programs and services in support of these goals.
• Senior Centers in King County

View Senior Centers in King County in a full screen map

Stay Active

Older people who exercise regularly generally have stronger bones, lower blood pressure, better balance, better sleep, better mood, fewer aches and pains, more energy, healthier heart and lungs, and reduced risk for diabetes and some types of cancer. Older adults who maintain their abilities in balance and strength through exercise fall less often than those who are less active. Even moderate exercise and physical activity can have a dramatic positive effect on physical and mental health.

Resources:

• Encore: Seattle-King County Walking Events for People Age 50+ Get moving, stay connected, and make a difference! www.seattle.gov/walking includes links to local walks and hikes, neighborhood walking maps, and volunteer opportunities like shelter dog walking as well as a selection of 5Ks and 10Ks by month. The Encore Web portal also provides older adults with access to hundreds of resources under the Health & Fitness heading.
• Enhance Fitness A low cost evidence based exercise program that focuses on strength, balance, aerobics, and flexibility.
  • Project Enhance
  • "Replicating the Enhance Fitness Physical Activity Program in Hawaii's Multi-cultural Population, 2007-2010," A CDC Community Case Study. Preventing Chronic Disease: Volume 9, 2012.
• HomeStretch: An In-Home Falls Prevention Program for Older Adults HomeStretch is a home-based exercise program developed in partnership with the University of Washington that helps adults who struggle with chronic diseases become more active so they can better control their health. Goals include quality of life enhancement, management of chronic conditions through regular physical activity, and falls prevention. For more information, contact program specialist Lori Mina at 206-684-0278 or any ADS case manager.
  • Study: The Effects of a Home-Based Exercise Program on Physical Function in Frail Older Adults
  • HomeStretch Program Clients Improve Health Through Safe Exercise
  • HomeStretch Participant Guide
• Sound Steps A volunteer supported walking program designed to get senior adults moving and gaining the health benefits of regular exercise.
• Neighborhood Quality of Life Study for Seniors (NQLS) A research project funded by the National Institutes of Health to examine the relation between one's neighborhood, quality of life, health, and physical activity.