Area Agency on Aging

Aging services and other organizations that deal with the elderly on a regular basis need an easy way of tracking their residents’ needs and wellness. That’s where the assessment tool from COLLAGE, The Art & Science of Healthy Aging, comes in. This tool asks users pertinent questions about their own wellness and their community in order to determine trends and areas for improvement.When an organization joins the COLLAGE network, they gain access to two types of assessments: resident assessments that help produce individual wellness plans, and an organizational assessment that focuses on the housing site or service center in question. The report is conducted via a computerized tool that partners the individual with a COLLAGE-accredited staff member. Information gathered from these reports is sent to a depository at the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston, where it’s used to produce aggregate data and reports which are sent out to all COLLAGE members.The COLLAGE tool was the brainchild of the Institute for Aging Research/Hebrew SeniorLife and the not-for-profit organization Kendal Outreach, LLC. Kendal Outreach was established by the Kendal Corporation in 1989 with the goals of raising public awareness and providing opportunities to elderly people and their caregivers. Organizations may join COLLAGE after going through an intensive materials packet and drawing up a plan for how the program will be implemented. The applicant organization then networks with existing COLLAGE members before requesting a COLLAGE contract.