From flu shots to counseling 

By working closely with her eleven-member Board of Directors -- a board comprised of business people, religious leaders, and gerontology and other health professionals -- and networking with community resources, Ms. Hertzberg has assembled a laudable menu of offerings.  There are blood pressure and dental screenings, flu shots, home safety assessments, lectures on health topics and safety issues such as falls prevention, and exercise classes provided by graduate level occupational therapy students.  All these are in addition to the cornerstone, critical service of case assistance: linking clients with appropriate services and other resources, including entitlement counseling, advocacy, assistance navigating service systems, and supportive contact. 

A need beyond 

There remains, however, one important need Ms. Hertzberg has long wanted to fill: a program or activity that could help to allay the anxieties of elderly members, which she discovered are most often their expression of depression.  It so happens that wellness guru and pioneer of integrative medicine, Dr. Andrew Weil, has also taken note of that need and thinks turning the focus on one's legacy can be helpful.  In fact, he thinks it so important to “think about your legacy” that he made it one of the 12 points in his plan for healthy aging. “It can provide an immediate sense of worthiness, completion, and accomplishment,” he says.

Well being? Why not!

-- providing social acknowledgement in the setting of the senior center,

-- raising self esteem,
-- preventing depression, and

-- creating gateways for new areas of intimacy to arise when in the  company of family members.