Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital (ALMH) has been recognized as a partner of Aging Well to improve access of health care and community resources for the elderly. Aging Well is a Greater Lyons Township-based group dedicated to working with communities to create an environment in which people can age well. The partnership consists of hundreds of older adults and at least 130 community-based organizations and businesses.

“We’re working with the local fire departments and other community health resources to identify the issues affecting the elderly and seeking solutions to those problems,” said Susan Siorek, EMS coordinator for ALMH. Sometimes it could mean small things, like training firefighters to look at the outside of the refrigerator to see if the patient has a Vial of Life, a packet containing a health history and medication list.

Working with the hospital’s Foundation, the group will approach larger issues as well. “We do have a large elderly population,” Siorek said, “and they have health care needs as well as other needs like transportation—how they will get a ride to the doctor’s office. Sometimes, they just call 911, which obviously is not a good use of resources.

Our work with Aging Well will help the hospital determine if we can assist by increasing training, or by offering new services to better serve this population.” Aging Well is an integral part of Community Partnerships For Older Adults, a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Aging Well is supported locally by Community Memorial Foundation and the Township of Lyons.

Julie Busch, public relations specialist for Adventist Midwest Health