BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — The George Bush Senior Center in Old Bridge is the fifth in the state — and the first in Middlesex County — to become accredited by the National Institute of Senior Centers.
“We are so proud of our senior center, the quality of life and extended life that it provides our seniors,” Mayor Owen Henry said at a Township Council meeting on Feb. 22.
Henry presented a large plaque to Diane Amabile, who has been overseeing the center as manager of the Office on Aging for 11 years.
“This is something me and my staff have worked on,” she said. “It’s been a year-long process.”
Amabile said the process was a learning experience.
“We had to make sure everything that we were doing for our seniors was the right way,” she said. “We made a tremendous amount of changes in some of our programming and some of our evaluations.”
Amabile said a variety of surveys went out to the public, and some of the feedback revealed that some people did not even know that there was a senior center in Old Bridge.
“We had to meet certain standards. … It was a little bit difficult as a municipality,” she said. “There are certain standards that we had to kind of build together because we are governed by certain ordinances and different policies [but] we were able to do that.”
The process included a two-day on-site visit from a peer reviewer in October 2015.
“She came out to view some of our programming and some of the things that we did,” said Amabile. “It was a little overwhelming, but it was good.”
On Dec. 3, the National Institute of Senior Centers board unanimously voted for the accreditation for the senior center in Old Bridge, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year.
Amabile said the accreditation status opens up different funding opportunities for the senior center.
“There are specific grants we can apply for, and we certainly can use our accreditation logo that we received, and it’s a very high honor for us in Old Bridge,” she said, adding that they couldn’t do it without the support of the mayor and the council. “We’re ready to write some grants.”
Township seniors enjoy socialization, daily activities, exercise classes, a choral group, a Wii bowling team, events, outings and so much more at the center.
Amabile said the average age of residents who come to the center is between 75 and 85.
She said the center has a fleet of buses that take the seniors on various trips from shopping to the Monmouth Park racetrack. She also said the center has a great relationship with doctors, nurses and staff at area hospitals.
Sen. Sam Thompson (R-Middlesex) was also on hand and presented the township with a proclamation for the senior center’s accreditation accomplishment.