Our Mission

To educate and improve the health of older adults in our five counties with the emphasis on rural population.

What We Do

The ACTION Health Aging and Wellness Task Force is currently comprised of 22 members from various Health and Human Services agencies in our service area. Members act as volunteers at programs as well as attend monthly meetings to develop unique evidence-informed programming specific to our area’s health needs.  

Since 2005, the Task Force has provided a variety of community health outreach programs for the public. Focus areas have included dementia, arthritis, memory, blood pressure, elder law, osteoporosis, depression, grand parenting, Alzheimer’s, hypertension, nutrition, and sleep apnea.

The Task Force was also instrumental in the implementation and completion of the Pennsylvania Study of Intergenerational Vitality and Exposure conducted by the Penn State College of Medicine.

Volunteers Make Our Communities Healthier

Our volunteers are integral to the Aging and Wellness Task Force’s mission. They provide the vision, support, and legwork necessary to provide community health outreach. Many of the members of the Task Force are affiliated with local agencies that provide services to older adults. A large number of continuing care communities, Area Agencies on Aging, and national foundations are represented on the Task Force.

“The volunteers help ACTION Health to link populations with unmet health needs to services and programs that can address them,” says Allison Clark, Executive Director. “They know the challenges their clients or friends are facing. They are the experts. We rely on them for advice on programming—from scheduling the perfect venue for an event, to developing timely curriculum to address a pressing need.”

In their service to the community, Aging and Wellness Task Force members have assisted attendees to programs on arthritis and diabetes, conceived innovative ways to help grandparents adjust to being a grandparent, and provided practical advice on better nutrition. In addition to promoting ACTION Health programs and initiatives to potential participants, they have helped to promote the general importance of health and wellness to the community.

Planning for the Future

The Aging and Wellness Task Force hopes to offer a completed, comprehensive curriculum on Grandparenting. For many new grandparents are facing a compltely different set of challenges today than they did when they raised their own children.

The Task Force sees a number of different community health issues that need to be addressed in the near future. 

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One other ongoing area of interest is vaccination awareness for older adults. The Task Force sees a need to consider opportunities to provide education on vaccinations and vaccination clinics. Representatives from the area State Health Centers have been seeing an underutilization of their vaccination resources, even as the need for more vaccinations among older adults has increased substantially.

Indeed, to accomplish such ambitious goals, the Task Force also seeks to expand its volunteer membership. The topics the group wishes to address are significant to the community, and anyone who has a passion for serving the community is welcome to join the Task Force. There is also a desire to reach out to other area partners who identify closely with the Task Force’s mission and can provide resources and support to Task Force iniatives.

Current Projects

Grandparenting 101 – to educate grandparents who are raising or watching young children. 

Growing Stronger (in partnership with SUNCOM)

Recent programming

Dementia
Arthritis Walk
Memory Event
Blood Pressure Basics
Elder Law
Strong Women Training (Osteoporosis)
Depression
Grandparenting 101
Alzheimer’s program
Hypertension event
Health Fairs
Healthy Eating (Diabetes)
Assisting in PennSIVE Study (Vitamin D)
Respiratory program (Sleep Apnea)
Nifty after Fifty