The Queensbridge Health Maintenance Service for the Elderly, 1961-1965: Interim Report

Abstract

nance Service for the Elderly, now in its fourth year, is an attempt to solve the manifold problems that accompany a rapidly growing community of older citizens.This program in- corporates some unique and precedent-setting features, which could have application and use- fulness in health and medical programs designed not only for elderly groups but for other groups of persons of varying composition and char¬ acter.A joint undertaking of official and nonofficial agencies, under the leadership of the New York City Department of Health, the program was established in 1961 in Queensbridge Houses, one of the oldest and largest federally aided public housing projects.Its purposes are: (a) to help the older persons live independently and as active members of their community, (b) to identify the health and medical needs of an elderly population, (c) to develop an acceptable system of meeting their needs as quickly and as comprehensively as possible through the coordinated efforts of cooperating agencies, and (d) to integrate the system where possible into the programs of voluntary and official agencies.