Healthy Steps in Silicon Valley⎯a program to promote healthy aging⎯was honored with the 2012 Archstone Foundation Award for Excellence in Program Innovation. The award was presented on October 29, 2012 in San Francisco at the American Public Health Association’s annual conference.

Healthy Steps is a program to promote physical activity and reduce falls, to increase social engagement, and to improve connections to health and social services among people 50 and older. The program is based on HRA’s guidebook, Healthy Steps in Silicon Valley: Resources for Health & Fitness After 50. HRA created the Healthy Steps model for Pennsylvania; it was the first statewide fall prevention and healthy aging program.

HRA developed the Healthy Steps in Silicon Valley guidebook in partnership with the Health Trust, a foundation in San Jose, CA. The guidebook is based on HRA’s award-winning guide model, which has reached millions at a very low per-person cost, with demonstrated effectiveness. HRA’s guides are developed using a participatory approach that leverages the capacities of local partners and incorporates the experiences of end-users.

The Healthy Steps program reached more than 25,000 older adults in Silicon Valley. The Health Trust and the Council on Aging Silicon Valley developed an extensive outreach network to distribute the guidebook. The program recruited and trained many volunteers and engaged a wide range of community partners.

In a randomized sample of 1,000 older adults reached through a follow-up phone survey, 68.5% reported learning about new community resources, 61.8% became engaged in more physical activity, 65.7% learned new exercises to practice at home, and many others learned about fall prevention, chronic disease self management, volunteer opportunities, overcoming obstacles, and the benefits of staying active.