AgeWell Pittsburgh featured on WQED

Earlier this month, WQED’s “OnQ” news magazine program aired a weeklong, special series called “Age Well, Age Wise,” which focused on area resources that help Pittsburgh seniors live longer, healthier lives.
AgeWell Pittsburgh was featured as one of those resources. AgeWell Pittsburgh offers a one-stop resource that links older adults, their family members, friends and caregivers to solutions for issues related to aging, from in-home caregivers and comprehensive care coordination, to recreation and wellness programs, to medical referrals and rehabilitation and more. The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh is a founding partner in AgeWell Pittsburgh, along with Jewish Family and Children’s Service, and the Jewish Association on Aging.

The segment shows several components of AgeWell’s services for seniors at the JCC including senior fitness and wellness and the SilverSneakers® program. The JCC is a Senior Center of the Area Agency on Aging, serving kosher lunches to seniors every weekday. AgeWell’s CheckMates telephone reassurance program, in which senior volunteers make friendly “check up” calls to an estimated 220 homebound seniors every week, is run from the JCC in Squirrel Hill and the JCC-South Hills. AgeWell’s ElderExpress is a neighborhood transportation option for seniors offering a convenient schedule that enables seniors to get to activities and appointments independently.

Information and Referral is a vital service of AgeWell Pittsburgh. In the segment, “OnQ” host and producer Tonia Caruso also interviews Maxine Horn, the information and referral specialist for AgeWell Pittsburgh. Maxine is “the voice on the other end of the phone” when people call AgeWell Pittsburgh for help.

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Sometimes the caller is an older adult, with a specific request for services like local transportation to the grocery store and doctors appointments. Often, out-of-town adult children call because they’re concerned that their Pittsburgh parent(s) might need a little help at home, and they just don’t know where to start. Whatever the situation, Maxine provides the initial information and referral needed to connect aging adults to the services that can help maintain their safety and independence at home and in the community.
Watch the AgeWell segment at http://www.wqed.org/ondemand/onq.php?cat=&id=537&search=agewell. For more information about AgeWell Pittsburgh and other programs for older adults, call (412) 422-0400. Even if you’re unsure whether you or your aging loved one needs help, they can let you know about the resources that exist for when you are ready.