Released May 12, 2008
NEW YORK —- The United Hospital Fund has launched a website, www.norcblueprint.org, to provide human services professionals, community leaders, public and private funders, and older adults with information to help transform naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) into good places to grow old. Focused on the development of effective health and social service programs, the NORC Blueprint defines guiding principles, identifies elements of successful NORC programs, presents practical program development and management tools, and takes a broad look at program financing. The website is free of charge, and no registration is required.
By bringing together the diversity of national program experience and capturing the collective expertise and knowledge, the website is expected to help inform the range of stakeholders—including planners, managers, funders, and policymakers—on the development of the most effective and highest quality NORC programs.
“NORC” refers to a housing development, neighborhood, or geographic area not originally built for seniors that over time becomes home to a large concentration of seniors. In 1986, Fredda Vladeck, currently director of the Fund's Aging in Place Initiative, and the residents of Manhattan's Penn South Houses worked together to create the first NORC program; since then, the number of such programs across the country has grown to more than 80. These programs have proven to be invaluable in helping seniors stay in the homes and communities where they have long resided, which, not surprisingly, they prefer.
In addition to providing tools and guiding principles, the NORC Blueprint features detailed and illustrative stories from the field. Stories currently available focus on NORC programs in Queens and Manhattan in New York and in Denver. Additional stories will be added regularly to continually illustrate the latest and best practices, as well as to share lessons learned.
The United Hospital Fund organized a working group of NORC program and other community leaders from across the country whose experiences with NORC programs reflect the entire spectrum to inform the development of the website.
“The Blueprint will save local efforts both time and money as they design supportive service programs by drawing upon the experiences of others who have already tackled similar challenges,” said Vladeck. “At the same time, it will offer opportunities for adaptation to accommodate particular local needs. It will guide action for a better tomorrow for our nation's seniors and their communities—in short, changing the dialogue from long-term care to long-term living.”
“The creation of the NORC Blueprint is an important component of the Fund's work to rethink how best to provide health care services to those with chronic health problems,” said Jim Tallon, president of the United Hospital Fund. “As our population continues to age and as our health care system redirects more of its care appropriately to community settings, we expect that this website will meet many new and future needs, not just in New York, but around the country.”
United Hospital Fund was uniquely positioned to design and lead the creation of the NORC Blueprint because of its extensive experience shaping the development of NORC programs since 1999. Recent NORC-related projects at the Fund include the NORC Health Care Linkage Project, focused on testing systematic ways to develop and strengthen effective linkages between NORC programs and their local health care providers; and the Health Indicators in NORC Programs Initiative, a three-step process to identify health risks of older adults, implement targeted interventions, and measure their effectiveness.
About the United Hospital Fund: The United Hospital Fund is a health services research and philanthropic organization whose mission is to shape positive change in health care for the people of New York.
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http://www.uhfnyc.org/press_release3159/press_release_show.htm?doc_id=685034
Contact: Bob de Luna, (212) 494-0733
