Clara Maass Medical Center’s WAVE – Wellness Assessment Van for Elders – was launched on Thursday, January 7th at a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Nutley Department of Health & Public Affairs. Nutley’s Mayor, Alphonse Petracco, and its Commissioner of Health & Public Affairs, Steven L. Rogers, spoke at the ceremony and praised both the project and the relationship between the town of Nutley and the hospital. Dr. Mary Ellen Clyne, PhD, CEO of Clara Maass, spoke of the hospital’s efforts to reach out into the communities it serves to foster wellness and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations. She thanked The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey for its years of support for these efforts.
The WAVE Project, funded by HFNJ, will bring medical assessments and follow up care to seniors at their homes, places of worship, community centers, and the like in the Essex County communities surrounding Clara Maass, helping to provide the supports that seniors need to age in place and retain their independence as long as possible.
The importance of this project is underscored by the fact that the area’s senior population – including the number of frail, older seniors – is growing. By 2050 all of the Baby Boomers still living will be 85 years of age or older.
