Bristol Township Senior Center

Accreditation

Message from the Director

Welcome Fall!!! This summer, Bristol Township Senior Center has officially begun a process to seek National Accreditation. Seeking National Accreditation is a task that will challenge us in every area of center operations. To be successful, the process requires your input and involvement and the involvement of community leaders and of mature adults of all ages. As you will see, we have already begun and throughout this process, will continue to create additional short term and long term goals for our center.

Accreditation is the official recognition that a senior center is meeting its mission in a nationally accepted professional fashion. It is based on compliance with nine standards of senior center operations developed by National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC). These Standard are related to our 1) Purpose 2) Community 3) Governance 4) Administration and Human Resources 5) Program Planning 6) Evaluation 7) Fiscal Management 8) Records and Reports and 10) Facility. Nationally…
  • 144 Senior Centers have been accredited throughout the United States.
  • 128 Current Senior Centers are currently accredited throughout the United States.
  • 30 states have at least one accredited Senior Center.
  • 12 states have just one accredited Senior Center.
  • 3 states have 15 or more accredited Senior Centers--Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
  • 13 states have four or more accredited Senior Centers.
  • 32 Senior Centers have been re-accredited.

    We started considering undertaking this process about two years ago. We incorporated it into our strategic plan, purchased and reviewed the National Accreditation Manual and decided we needed to begin with the facility and complete the self evaluations on the standards a bit out of order. First, we chose to make some changes to our facility. Since facility renovations would be the most time consuming part of the process, we decided to apply for grants to cover the cost of the renovations and to cover Accreditation costs as well. We held meetings with the Township and officers of the Oxford Valley Seniors. We decided on the renovation and equipm ent needs of the building. We prioritized the order to completed the renovations and chose to work on safety and security issues first. Grants were researched, applied for and received. We replaced our two older HVAC units, exterior doors, and all locks that were problematic. Listening to requests we received during activities and for new activities, we installed a new water fountain; completely renovated our bathrooms, including the installation of new ceramic tiling, automatic flush toilets and urinals; we replaced floor tiling throughout the main hall, installed new lighting in our main parking and handicap parking areas for safety and security during night activities; and we purchased new tables, chairs and table/chair carts for moving everything in a more efficient way. We just finished many of the renovations from March through July and utilized both State Department of Aging and Federal Community Development funds to complete the work.

    Accreditation has substantial value for a senior center and is endorsed by the National Council On Aging, which has more than 50 years of nonprofit experience with advocacy for seniors. Dr. A. Eugene Smiley, past-chair of the National Institute of Senior Centers, describes accreditation as the official mark of excellence. "It portrays the senior center in a positive light in terms of being a viable, fundable, and qualified provider of services within the community," he says. "It says we do everything we can to go the extra mile for our clients."

    The Accreditation process also heightens awareness of Senior Center activities to funders, community persons, participants, and families; Provides a written strategic plan; Improves and enhances overall Senior Center operation; Results in national recognition as an accredited Senior Center; Highlights best practices and Assists in determining outcome measurements, (or measuring our effectiveness in helping those we serve).

    This page of our website is the official “Bristol Township Senior Center Accreditation process – Follow our Progress”. Links to the minutes from the first meetings about our purpose are here:

  • Accreditation - Purpose - Mtg #1 Minutes
  • Accreditation - Purpose - Mtg #2 Minutes

    • and we will continue to post meeting notices, minutes and a special Calendar of Accreditation events. To learn more, go to this link: NCOA - National Accreditation.

    We invite you to get involved. Already, many of our members and leaders from the community have given us so many new ideas. The meetings have been filled with excitement, as people tell us what they believe our Center could grow to be. The ideas are helping us create a new direction and you will see that direction taking shape in this newsletter. Many of the planned events and new offerings listed are a direct result of these meetings and the ideas that were discussed. Other ideas are being worked on, and they will soon bring an even greater level of activity and entertainment to the center. You wanted more night and weekend activities – it’s in here. You wanted even more events promoting physical activity and health education – it’s in here. So read the Calendar of events very carefully. Come out and enjoy the fun. Don’t forget to let us know what you think we should consider doing at the Center – we very well may just try it!!!

    - Bonnie Worth, Director