The average lifespan in the early 1800s was 45 years. Today, a substantial number of MetroHealth patients are over the age of 90, in good health, and cared for by the largest team of geriatricians in the Midwest. In a continued committment to care for seniors, MetroHealth runs The Senior Health & Wellness Center in the Old Brooklyn community.

The center is collaborative, bringing together organizations that have decades of experience in caring for the elderly: the Visiting Nurse Association Hospice and Palliative Care Partners of Ohio, Concordia Care, and Benjamin Rose. More than $12 million in state, county, and philanthropic funding was received in 2006 to develop this innovative center as a national model to optimize the health, independence, and quality of life for seniors: a one-stop-shop resource providing preventive and wellness care, geriatric and specialty care, adult day care, skilled nursing, and hospice care.

In MetroHealth's history, there is precedent for innovation in caring for the elderly. The same site where MetroHealth currently treats skilled nursing patients was once the location for Cooley Farms, established in the early 1900s to house elderly married couples and provide them with medical care in a fresh and airy environment. There was a fireplace with engraved words above it, from the poet Robert Browning: "Grow old with me, the best is yet to be." Now, a century later, the best is being redefined in the Senior Health and Wellness Center.

In 2006, MetroHealth became part of a nationwide aging network as the local partner of OASIS, a national non-profit educational organization that provides learning and service opportunities for seniors, including programs in health and technology. OASIS programs are complementary to the MetroHealth Advantage program, which has more than 24,000 members, adults over the age of 55 who enjoy special discounts on services, health education classes and transportation services to medical appointments.

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Senior Health & Wellness Center
Long-Term Care
MetroHealth Advantage