Online Resources
Avenidas Senior Center, Palo Alto: www.avenidas.org
This website provides an overview of the services and opportunities available from the Center. The Center’s
mission is defined as: “to design and deliver innovative services to enrich and improve the lives of older
adults and their families, and advocate for their independence and well-being.” Volunteers find a list of
opportunities to serve. The Senior Care service, which supports families in maintaining the independence of older
family members, is highlighted as one of many services offered by the agency. The information is easy to access
and provides contact information.
Baycrest Centre, Toronto, Ontario: www.baycrest.org
A wealth of health information for older persons as well as information specific to the Centre is provided on
this website. Programs, research, volunteer and career opportunities, and details about the various types of
residential and health care offered are described here. The site makes clear the Centre’s commitment to
personal development for the staff as well as for the residents.
Center for Health Design: www.healthdesign.org
The Center for Health Design is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating optimal health facility
design. It contains information, links, and resources for finding out about evidence-based design, outcomes,
and sources for state of the art materials. There are lists of exemplary facilities of various types, including
acute care, residential care, and hospice. The Center offers, among other resources, a guide to conducting
successful facility site visits with detailed information designed to maximize the cost-effectiveness of these
visits. The site is well organized and easy to navigate. It is a “must visit” in planning any
design project related to health care.
Center on Aging, West Virginia University Rural Caregivers: www.hsc.wvu.edu/coa/ruralcare
This website serves as a source of information for state residents looking for services and residential facilities
as well as providing linkages to other sources of information about aging. Educational and research programs
are described.
Chicago Botanic Garden Buehler Enabling Garden:
www.chicagobotanic.org
This is the website of the Chicago Botanic Garden Buehler Enabling Garden for those with limited abilities and
older people. The site contains information not only about the gardens themselves, but also about publications,
other resources, and therapeutic gardening programs. The garden staff offer therapeutic gardening sessions and
comprehensive programs at the garden or at other local agencies or residential sites, including planning and
building the garden if necessary.
Eden Alternative: www.edenalt.com
This website contains some introductory information about the Eden Alternative, one approach to improving
residential facilities for older people by supporting individuality and connections with nature and other people.
Family Reunion 9, 2000: www.familyreunion.org
Vice-President Gore’s annual meeting on national family policy issues in 2000 was on the topic of Families
and Seniors Across Generations. The issues, strengths, and needs of older people and their family members were
explored in depth. Family Reunion 9 highlighted programs, policy issues, and research to help communities, states,
and the federal government respond effectively to these ideas.
Griffin Hospital, Derby, Connecticut: www.griffinhealth.org
Although this is not specifically a geriatric site, it offers a good example of a website for a community
hospital striving to deliver patient- and family-centered care. Of interest here is a comprehensive list of topics
for which information related to health, therapy, and illness are provided. Unusual alternative care services offered
at the hospital are also listed and described. Griffin Hospital is now the flagship center for the Planetree model
of care across the generations.
Last Acts: www.lastacts.org
Last Acts is a call-to-action campaign to improve care at the end of life. Its goals are to bring death related issues
out in the open and help individuals and organizations pursue better ways to care for the dying. The Last Acts
Family Committee, a working group serving the Last Acts Campaign, recently compiled a resources compendium designed
for family caregivers. The materials listed in this compendium were created by numerous organizations interested
in assisting families and caregivers of those facing the end of life. The compendium is a shorter version of a
complete resources list compiled by the Family Committee.
Mt. Sinai School of Medicine Caregivers and Professional Partnership Caregiver Resource
Center: www.mssm.edu/capp
While narrowly focused on the Caregivers and Professional Partnerships and the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, this
website offers useful links to caregiver information sources.
National Citizen’s Coalition for Nursing Home Reform:www.nccnhr.org
This organization is a good example of collaboration among advocates and nursing home residents and families with
the common goal of improving nursing home care. Their website is a rich source of information about advocacy issues
and ways to become effectively involved in consumer advocacy. It also offers a wealth of information and resources
to families who are experiencing nursing home care.
National Family Caregiver Association: www.nfcacares.org
The National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) is a grass roots organization created to educate, support, empower,
and speak for the millions of Americans who care for chronically ill, aged, or disabled loved ones. NFCA reaches
across the boundaries of different diagnoses, different relationships, and different life stages to address the common
needs and concerns of all family caregivers. The NFCA strives to minimize the disparity between a caregiver’s
quality of life and that of mainstream Americans by providing multiple services: information and education;
support and validation; and public awareness and advocacy. Explore their website and find out more about caregiving,
what NFCA has to offer, about projects and programs underway and those that are planned for the future.
Pioneer Network: www.pioneernetwork.net
The Pioneer Network is a recently organized nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in
nursing homes by serving as a resource center. This site includes information about the values and mission of the
organization (defined in January 2001), available speakers and trainers, a chat room, and plans for future areas of involvement.
Plane Tree Health Library, San Jose: www.planetreesanjose.org
This website not only describes the delightful physical space and service this library provides, but it also offers
links to other health libraries and sources of information for the consumer. An inspiring example of a highly
developed health information resource center that serves the entire community and makes a special effort to reach
out to seniors who might not yet be comfortable accessing the Internet.
The Planetree Organization: www.planetree.org
This website provides an entry for health professionals and also one for consumers or individuals. It offers
comprehensive information about the Planetree philosophy, which embraces many of the principles of patient- and
family-centered care, and the ways it has been implemented in various settings. Included is a list of affiliated
health care centers.
Providence-Mount St. Vincent: http://www.providence.org/Long_Term_Care/Mount_St_Vincent/default.htm
Providence-Mount St. Vincent nursing home in Seattle, Washington has developed a culture of “resident-directed
care” that has won great praise and demonstrated the benefits of patient- and family-centered approaches. The
history and philosophy behind this innovation, details about its implementation, and outcomes are described on this
well-organized site. The physical renovations that have been carried out to accommodate the new practice paradigm
are described, but the site makes it clear that much of the change in care and culture has been attitudinal and could
be achieved in a less than optimal physical facility.
Symposium on Healthcare Design: www.hcaredesign.com
The symposium on Healthcare Design, sponsored jointly by Imark and the Center for Health Design, is held annually to
facilitiate best practices in health care facility design and serve as a way for those involved in the planning process
to come together, share ideas, and learn from each other. Information about upcoming symposiums, as well as registration
materials, can be found on this site.