SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The County Health Services Agency and Senior Network Services have teamed up to create a new informative Web site for seniors and health care workers.
The site — www.santacruz.networkofcare.org — provides a directory of service providers in the county, information about diseases and daily news articles concerning aging and disabilities.
"The Web site is really for anyone who has some concern about taking care of themselves or their loved one," said Carmen Robles, long-term care integration project director. "It’s a great resource for seniors and our residents."
In conjunction with Trilogy Integrated Resources, a health care consulting and management company, Almeda and Sacramento counties developed and launched the project last year. Funded by a state grant, other counties have built a network of care sites. They aim to develop solutions allowing residents to age in their own communities.
"We applied for the grant when they were looking at different counties that were organized and interested in creating this project," Robles said. "This Web site is going to be the beginning of more long-term care services linking seniors and community services."
The Web site hopes to serve the 28,000 seniors living in the county. In addition to accessing information databases, users may explore chat rooms, message boards and create personal medical files. Any assembly bill that deals with seniors or long- term care issues is also going to be posted on the site, with links for response, Robles said.
Contact Jill Strong atjstrong@santa-cruz.com.