Diane Miller, president of Taylor Hospital and Crozer-Keystone Health System (CKHS) Senior Health Services, presents Louis G. Colbert, director of the Delaware County Office of Services for the Aging, with the 2008 CKHS Senior Service Excellence Award.
SPRINGFIELD, Pa. — Louis G. Colbert, director of the Delaware County Office of Services for the Aging (COSA), has been selected as the 2008 Crozer-Keystone Health System (CKHS) Senior Service Excellence Award winner.
Since 2001, Colbert has been responsible for Delaware County’s Area Agency on Aging, which provides direct and contracted home and community-based services to more than 15,000 elderly residents. COSA offers a variety of programs and services to improve the social, recreational, nutritional, educational, emotional and health needs of seniors. Prior to his directorship, Colbert was the Deputy Director of the agency for 10 years.
“Over the past five years we have received many nominations for this award and we believe all of our awardees were most deserving of this honor,” says Diane Miller, president of Taylor Hospital and CKHS Senior Health Services. “This year, to commemorate our fifth anniversary, we chose to acknowledge the individual who is often seen as the face of aging in Delaware County and that, of course, is Louis Colbert.”
“Louis was chosen for this honor for his tireless commitment to the seniors of Delaware County for more than 30 years. He has remained dedicated to working with numerous organizations throughout the county and state, and to promoting health and wellness among all seniors,” says Miller. Colbert champions the cause of the frail, isolated elderly and has developed services to reach a diverse population.
Colbert is the co-founder of the Center on Ethnic and Minority Aging (CEMA), a non-profit organization formed in 1995. CEMA’s mission is to improve health and social service outcomes, which benefit ethnic and minority individuals, families and communities as they grow older. CEMA was the first recipient of the Pennsylvania Department on Aging Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Cultural Diversity, in 1999.
Colbert is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. and Temple University’s School of Social Administration. He is a graduate of the American Society on Aging’s New Ventures in Leadership program and currently chairs the Pennsylvania Department of Aging’s Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee. Colbert is a member of the American Society on Aging’s national Board of Directors and he is on the board of the Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging as well as the Center to Advance Hospice Care.
Colbert is a native of Delaware County and currently lives in Garnet Valley, Pa. He is an active member of the Pinn Memorial Baptist Church in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia, where he chairs the Family Life and Older Adult Ministries and is involved in the Men’s Fellowship.
As a longtime resident, Colbert is considered a loyal and dedicated son of Delaware County. “His mission is to provide quality service at all times, which is consistent with the high standards we set for ourselves at Crozer-Keystone. Many of us have had the opportunity to work with Louis and have witnessed firsthand his ability to positively impact the lives of others,” says Miller.
In 2003, the Crozer-Keystone Senior Service Excellence Award was created to recognize an individual who has had an impact on the aging community in Delaware County. This individual is recognized for his or her contributions to the health and welfare of the senior population of Delaware County and embodies the philosophy of Crozer-Keystone Health System Senior Health Services, which is “to meet the needs of the senior community with respect and dignity and to enhance their quality of life.”
The Senior Service Excellence Award is given on a yearly basis. Nominees should reside or work in the Delaware County community, provide services to the elderly population in the area and consistently contribute to the health and welfare of the growing aging population.
Crozer-Keystone Health System’s Senior Health Services Department is a team of professionals dedicated to assisting seniors, their physicians, family and caregivers in accessing the quality programs and services offered throughout the health system and the community. Crozer-Keystone Health System is the largest provider of health care services in Delaware County.