This year marks the 50th anniversary of Elderbridge Area Agency on Aging. Elderbridge has experienced many changes throughout the last 50 years, but one thing has remained the same and that is its mission to advocate for and empower older adults, caregivers, and those with disabilities to pursue independent healthy lives. Elderbridge is proud of where it came from and even more excited and proud of what’s to come.
Established in 1973, under the Older Americans Act, Elderbridge covered a 14-county region and was part of NIACC (North Iowa Community College) in cooperation with ICCC (Iowa Central Community College) campuses. The first director of Elderbridge was Charles Andrews.
In 1976, the Carroll area joined and merged to form a 20-county service area. Fast forward to 2013, Northwest Aging Association merged with Elderbridge, which brought about the expansion of services into 29 counties. Shelly Sindt became the CEO of Elderbridge in 2017, after sharing the role with Donell Doering for three years. Sindt remains the CEO of Elderbridge, and the agency has 35 staff currently within four office locations.
The services and programs offered within Elderbridge have continued to expand and the staff provides excellent coordination of information and services. Elderbridge staff is proud of the work they do and the consumers with whom they are privileged to work.
