ElderHealth Northwest
History and Evolution
ElderHealth Northwest has evolved over the years, rising out of several organizational incarnations, many name changes and quite a few moves to new and better facilities. Below is a timeline of major milestones.
1975 Ravenna Day Center opens.
1976 Ravenna Day Center becomes Northwest Day Center.
1980 Capitol Hill Day Center opens.
1987 Capitol Hill and Northwest Day Centers merge to become Seattle Day Center for Adults.
1988 South Branch site opens.
1991 First Alzheimer's Program opens. Magnolia Adult Day Center opens.
1992 Snohomish Adult Day Health opens.
1994 Agency name changes to ElderHealth Northwest. North Branch site opens.
1996 Connection site added.
1997 ElderFriends volunteer companionship program joins ElderHealth Northwest.
1998 ElderHealth's first assisted living facility/day program opens Legacy House in partnership with the Seattle Chinatown International District PDA.
2002 ElderHealth opens the "Heads Up" program serving younger adults with acquired brain injury. ElderHealth acquires the Magnolia Adult Day Center.
2003 ElderHealth acquires Snohomish Adult Day Health and DayBreak programs. ElderHealth@Home serves first home care client.
2004 ElderHealth opens two supported-living homes, Gaffney House and Buchanan Place.
2006 First GAP (Get Active Programs) for Developmentally Disabled Clients opens.
2007 ElderHealth sites Ravenna and Snohomish start.
2008 ElderHealth opens a new branch in Marysville.
2009 State legislature cuts necessitate closure of two out of six Adult Day Health sites. ElderHealth initiates lawsuit on behalf of vulnerable elders who have lost services.
- In contrast to many organizations with a clear 'before and after' implementation story, ElderHealth's culture change principles were evident from the beginning. These principles developed further under the direction of a visionary leader, Nora Gibson. As a first year MSW student, Nora placed an elderly stroke victim in an adult day health center and was struck by how many problems it solved at once. Choosing to do her second year social work placement with this agency, Nora was amazed to find so many elders actually happy to be there, to be together. She became a social worker, and then Executive Director of the organization.
- As Executive Director, Nora was convinced that the need for adult day health centers would continue to grow. With that in mind, she encouraged the organization to expand to have a broader geographical reach of services. Furthermore, she saw that people of color were vastly underrepresented in the long term care system and committed to particularly target communities of color.
- Nora notes two pivotal moments in the organization. First of all, the move to non-profit status was essential, to allow for fundraising and steady funding support. Secondly, ElderHealth's first purchase of an adult day health site allowed the organization to bypass the difficulty of constantly finding new locations when leases ran out. Furthermore, running a successful capital campaign and purchasing a permanent site developed the organization's confidence, and paved the way to take on new challenges such as starting a home care program.
- In the future, Nora hopes to build back the adult day health programs that were lost due to 2009 state budget cuts and maximize their potential. In addition, she aims to develop the residential model, having more supportive living homes which she believes is better than many other long term care options. She would also like to expand homecare. A final dream would be to establish residential options for people with brain injuries.
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