Augustana Care and Learning Lab
Founded in 1896, Augustana Care is a non-profit organization that provides senior housing, health care and community-based services to older generations and others in need. The organization has strived to help residents live the lives that most inspire them, when and where they need care.
As more and more older adults stay active and live longer, the demand continues to grow for services and products that help seniors remain independent, safe and healthy in their own homes, for as long as possible.
In early 2016, the leadership team at Augustana Care recognized the need for a place where caregivers and older adults could learn about the home health technologies that are now available to help keep them safe. Subsequently, a decision was made by the organization’s Board of Directors to apply for the Live Well At Home grant through the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
The grant was awarded to Augustana Care in the spring of 2016. The build-out of the current space in the Cora McCorvey Center began that summer. Concurrently, the organization explored the technologies, building relationships with vendors and equipping the lab.
The grand opening was held on April 13, 2017.
MPHA/Neighborhood/Cora McCorvy
The Cora McCorvey Health and Wellness Center
The Learning Lab is housed in the Cora McCorvey Health and Wellness Center, which serves as a hub of activity for area senior residents. Part of a community developed by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) in 2013, the center is 69,597 square feet in size and is fully accessible for a wide variety of senior services and recreational opportunities for low-income seniors and residents in the Minneapolis community and throughout Minnesota.Formerly known as the Heritage Park Senior Services Health and Wellness center, the center was renamed in 2017 for MPHA Executive Director Cora McCorvey, who served the MPHA for 25 years. Also part of the community are the Thomas T. Feeney Manor and two other MPHA highrises: Art Love Manor and Heritage Commons at Pond’s Edge.
The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority’s primary objective is to serve participants 40 and above. This unique initiative brings together distinguished partners in one convenient space. NorthPoint Health and Wellness provides clinic services; and the YMCA of The Greater Twin Cities offers exercise classes tailored to older adults; Odom Health and Wellness provides Physical Therapy, Warm Water Aquatic Therapy, and Occupational Therapy services inside the facility; Augustana Care’s Learning Lab; Grace Home Health & Hospice; Augustana Open Circle Adult Day Services offer activities designed to support individual identity and build connections.
The Cora McCorvey Health and Wellness Center is the crown jewel in the Near North area’s revitalization effort. The first-of-its-kind community is “a shining example of how we in Minnesota have always come together to wrap our arms around the more vulnerable among us,” says Senator Amy Klobuchar. “This innovative approach to public housing can and should serve as a model for the rest of the country.”