American Health Association - Fostering a new approach to aging

The American Health Foundation offers a wide array of programs in mental health, healthcare education, and holistic health aimed at preventing lifestyle-based illnesses, diseases, and the frailties of aging.

Overview | Background | Founder

OVERVIEW

OUR MISSION: The American Health Foundation is a new concept in defensive medicine. It is a unique organization with a unique mission: "To change the way we age, emphasizing preventative health care and preemptive aging, combining the best of East/West alternative and complementary therapies in a self-health, stay healthier health model.

OUR RATIONALE: As a culture, we collapse into aging by default, often with negative consequences through years of neglect, misinformation, failed-aging education and usurpation of the aging process by greed and youth hyperification by Hollywood, Madison Avenue and a mass media that vilifies aging as a near death experience.

OUR VISION: Our vision is to move the aging continuum both qualitatively and quantitatively forward minimizing the risk of negative, premature and "regressive aging," and moving it towards a newer, more positive, progressive, "preventative and preparative" new age model. In other words, let's stay healthier longer, actualizing positive, healthy lifestyle changes, marshalling a "take charge" approach to our health protocol. It's obvious that leaving our health to a failed health medical model (i.e. HMOs) and the greed of pharmaceutical companies cries out for a healthier aging model and protocol. We're getting to the point where we just can't afford to get sick or die anymore. It's too expensive!

PREVENTION MODEL: While you can't stop aging, you can slow-down the chromosomal DNA markers that to some extent are the predictors and dictators of aging. You can either age positively or negatively, depending how you either proact or react to your internal aging phenomena. At the Foundation, we believe in a preventative and preparative approach. We help you take charge of your health and teach you about the variables that create aging. A modicum of health and disease prevention are all within the realm of possibilities if we make the right choices. The focus of the Foundation is help you make the right choices instead of passively allowing a plethora of unintended consequences, like obesity, diabetes, stress, strokes, heart attacks, and premature death. The projects at the American Health Foundation work together to create a philosophy of choice: aging with purpose, aging with passion, and aging with productivity in partnership with your community.

BACKGROUND

The American Health Foundation was created in 2002 by J. Robert Gordon, and its activities have been expanding ever since. The American Health Foundation consists of many intertwining projects designed to help older Americans live healthier, happier, more productive lives, including:

Read more about these projects by visiting our Foundation Projects page. There are currently more than 350 local men and women, over age 50, who are involved in the activities of the American Health Foundation. Youngsters 18 and under participate in the American Junior Volunteer Corps and work closely with senior members. Over 100 "master peer counselors" are now trained in the healingtand helping disciplines. Expanding operations include a growing number of seminars on senior issues and adult education classes on healthy aging.

The American Health Foundation has plans to expand nationally in order to bring positive aging to all Americans. We invite you to join our organization today.

FOUNDER

J. Robert Gordon is the founder and executive director of the American Health Foundation. A psychotherapist in private practice, Rob specializes in trauma and geriatric mental health care. He earned a degree in psychology from Long Island University, a master's degree in psychology from Antioch College, and is working toward his doctorate in adult education from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. He is also a graduate of the eight-week volunteer training program conducted by the Leadership Institute for Active Aging, sponsored by the West Palm Beach-based Area Agency on Aging.

In 2003, Rob Gordon received the "Public Citizen of the Year" award from the National Association of Social Workers, the "Citizen of the Year" from th Palm Beach Unit of NASW, and a local "Men with Caring Hearts" volunteeer award.

In the past, he assisted survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center disaster and their families via the American Red Cross in New York. He has chaired emergency services for the Palm Beach County Chapter of the American Red Cross, and is now affiliated with the Martin County chapter.

In addition to devoting many hours to the American Health Foundation, Rob is currently a disaster trainer with United Way of Palm Beach County's "Operation Step Up," and is prepared to assist in catastrophes, natural or otherwise, in Palm Beach County. He gives "homeland security" workshops for the United Way and Mental Health Foundation of the Palm Beaches.

Rob is also a self-described "recovering quadriplegic." At the age of 23, he was afflicted with Gillian-Barre Syndrome which left him paralyzed. For nearly a year, he was hospitalized and had to relearn everything as he slowly regained mobility. His experience is a testament to the will to survive and conquer the odds.