Healthy Aging

Our island is getting older. As shown in the time-series below, the Island’s population has grown over time, especially among the older age categories. As these individuals get older, they also require more specialized healthcare, assistance at home, and connection to support services. Over the next decades, our health system will be challenged to meet this need, a challenge that is further complicated by our changing weather and climate & social stresses like a lack of affordable housing on the island for health care workers.

The Boards of Health assist our aging community through the Public Health Nursing Program. The aging community on Martha’s Vineyard has access to several meal services and community suppers – including frozen meal deliveries from public health nurses to homebound seniors. The PHNs also provide wellness checks and can connect seniors to our island-wide produce prescription program.

The Boards of Health also collaborate on an Island-wide flu clinic every fall. While the clinic is available for a wide variety of ages from childhood through adulthood, seniors are a population especially vulnerable to annual flu variants.  

To learn more about our Public Health Nursing Program and Calendar, click here. To learn more about this year’s flu clinic, click here.

Councils on Aging To disseminate public health information to seniors and to provide ongoing community education about public health issues, the Boards of Health also partner with the town libraries and Councils on Aging to engage the community. To see our PHN events coming up at local libraries and councils on aging, click here. To find your local Council on Aging, check out the links below.

Find your Council on Aging:

Edgartown Oak Bluffs Up-Island ( Aquinnah, Chilmark, West Tisbury) Tisbury (Vineyard Haven)

Other Resources: