While services such as senior centers, home-delivered meals or affordable senior housing with services are non-medical by definition, their impact has a uniquely positive effect on the overall health of a senior and a reduction in costs that would otherwise be imposed to our healthcare system. For example, data has shown that the majority of the seniors that go to a senior center receive more than half of their daily nutritional intake from meals they eat at the center.
The work of community based service providers also has significant health impacts from lowering rates of depression, to preventing isolation, to even reducing hospitalization rates for older adults, and more. For example, given that studies now show that loneliness surpasses obesity as an early predictor of morbidity, the ability for senior centers to provide socialization opportunities is key to combating this risk-factor.
