Mission

Institute on Aging works to enhance quality of life for adults as they age by enabling them to maintain their health, wellbeing, independence, and participation in the community. We serve a diverse population of older adults and adults with disabilities by providing innovative, community-based programs that enable our clients to live at home for as long as possible. We serve as an essential partner in the continuum of care by providing health services, social and emotional support, and education and advocacy.

History

In 1975, internist and cardiologist Lawrence Feigenbaum, MD, along with Barbara W. Sklar planted the seed of an idea with colleagues and friends at Mount Zion Hospital. They proposed creating a safe alternative to nursing home placement. As a result, Mount Zion opened the nation’s first adult day health center in a US community hospital, effectively launching the aging independence movement.

Over the next ten years, Mount Zion added outpatient service for aging adults and adults with disabilities to cut down on hospitalizations and opened the nation’s first in-home creative arts program for homebound individuals through the generous support of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation, Walter and Elise Haas Fund, Koret Foundation, and Ruth Ann Rosenberg.

In 1985, Mount Zion formally established Institute on Aging as a separate 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, placing all of its outpatient services under Institute on Aging umbrella. The same year, the City of San Francisco tapped Institute on Aging to coordinate its Elder Abuse Prevention Program.

Over the decades, Institute on Aging has expanded our services to include health services, social and emotional support, and education and advocacy. We have forged partnerships with SF Department of Aging and Adult Services, California Pacific Medical Center, and PACE to operate neighborhood resource centers, offer PACE centers and Alzheimer’s day treatment, and provide IOA clients with fiduciary and financial management services.

We have deep roots in the Jewish community and have successfully expanded our reach to encompass all ethnic, religious, and cultural communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.