Optimizing both physical and mental health recognizes the balance that is essential in order to age well. Healthy individuals create healthy communities. Likewise, vibrant communities support aging well. Healthy individuals are able to give back to their community. Healthy individuals encourage a positive image of aging for the entire community. Healthy individuals use fewer and less costly services.

The community promotes healthy behaviors and fosters well-being.

Wellness services, including health, mental health, and palliative care are affordable, accessible, and readily available.

2007 Priorities:

• “Recognize and address the diversity in our community”
• First step is to “unpack” the goal statement (what do we mean by diversity, mental health, palliative care, etc) and develop definitions
• The next step is to create a plan of action with primary focus on developing an assessment tool to measure the senior friendliness of Boulder County providers of wellness services.
• Develop criterion (i.e. affordability, accessibility) and self-assessment options
• Publish a senior friendly directory of services, possibly rewarding providers who rank high on the assessment.
• Develop sensitivity training program to keep this effort ongoing

2007 Accomplishments

This work group researched and created an assessment tool to measure the "elder-friendliness" of health services. For more detailed information, please view the Report to Community.