A Nurse Practitioner Who Studies Aging Found The One Platform She Recommends To Everyone

Christal didn't find GetSetUp through a doctor's referral or a wellness program at work. She found it the way a lot of us look for what we need: by typing a question into Google. Living in upstate New York, north of New York City, and not yet retired, she hadn't connected with her local Office for the Aging because she didn’t think it applied to her. So she searched for free online courses for seniors, expecting a long list of options.

What she found instead was a much shorter list than she anticipated, and GetSetUp stood out immediately. As a certified nurse practitioner and credentialed gerontologist, Christal has spent her career thinking carefully about what helps people age well. She knows the research. She knows the risk factors. And as she explored GetSetUp's offerings, something clicked.

"I really like this program because it's holistic, offering physical and cognitive classes, cooking, and connecting socially. Classes help assure you aren't isolated. As a resource, it’s part of a good component of health."

Today, Christal accesses GetSetUp through a partnership with the New York State Office for the Aging, which means her membership is offered at no cost as part of New York's commitment to supporting the health and well-being of older adults across the state. She has since added GetSetUp to her resource cheat sheet that she shares with patients, colleagues, and anyone who asks.

The social determinants of health, on one platform

In healthcare, the social determinants of health, the non-medical factors that shape how well and how long we live, include things like social connection, economic stability, access to education, and physical activity. They're often the hardest factors to address in a clinical setting, because a clinician can prescribe a medication but can't prescribe a community. GetSetUp, Christal says, comes closer to doing that than almost anything else she's seen.

She found physical activity through Tai Chi sessions, seated exercises, and fitness classes accessible on any device. Cognitive engagement through art appreciation, language learning, and technology literacy are all areas she hopes to become more engaged in. Plus, she’s seen the social connection through the live classes with real instructors, engaged peers, and community sessions for socialization. Nutrition & daily living session skills, like cooking classes, are also available to support healthy, independent living at home. Meanwhile, the digital inclusion classes, including tech classes, reduce barriers to participation for older adults and help ensure their continued access to these resources and many more. 

"The benefits of GetSetUp improve your overall health. If you use the sessions holistically, it's a way to stay healthy and maintain a good quality of life as you age, including skills like learning tech, exercise, cognitive stretching through art and Spanish, and social connection. There is so much research on how isolation decreases with social connection, which helps reduce the risk of falls, and supports healthy aging,” said Christal.

That last point matters especially to her. Loneliness and social isolation in older adults are now recognized as serious public health concerns associated with increased risk of dementia, cardiovascular disease, depression, and premature death. For Christal, the fact that GetSetUp addresses isolation not as an afterthought but as a core platform feature is part of what makes it clinically credible.

A tai chi class that made her feel seen

Christal already exercises regularly. She wasn't looking for someone to tell her to move more, but she was looking for something new, something that would challenge her in a different way. She enrolled in a Tai Chi class and found not just a new form of movement but an instructor who changed how she thought about it.

"The GetSetUp Tai Chi Guide was just marvelous. She actually called me by my name. I felt engaged and a part of a small community. She's a good teacher, and she provides the steps and really guides you through it."

Being called by name in an online class might sound like a small thing. For Christal, it was the difference between passive consumption and genuine participation. And the class itself delivered something unexpected: a lesson in the value of slowing down.

"I really learned that you can slow down with your exercise and still get a workout. I felt a little sore the next day, and I'm used to faster exercise. It changed how I think about movement."

Art, Spanish, and the bucket list

Physical health is only one piece of what Christal is after. She's been working through Duolingo to learn Spanish and has her eye on joining a social Spanish-speaking community session. She is also keen to try GetSetUp's art appreciation sessions, a class she simply describes as on her bucket list. The combination of language learning, creative engagement, and intellectual stretch is exactly the kind of cognitive activity that research in gerontology consistently links to better brain health over time.

"I can't wait to do the art class. My background is as a gerontologist and certified nurse practitioner, and all of this applies to me personally: it's not just what I recommend to others."

That's not a throwaway line. When a clinician who specializes in aging chooses a platform for their own health, it carries weight. Christal isn't recommending GetSetUp because someone asked her to. She's recommending it because she has used it, evaluated it through her professional lens, and believes in what it offers.

The resource she passes on to everyone

Christal keeps what she calls a cheat sheet, a curated list of resources she shares with patients, families, and colleagues when people ask what they can do to age better without spending a lot of money. GetSetUp is on it.

"When people say they don't have the money to exercise or take classes, I tell them about GetSetUp. It's a piece of staying healthy as you age."

She has shared it widely with colleagues, with patients and their families, and with people she knows around the world. Her reasoning is practical and backed by evidence: the barriers to healthy aging are real, and anything that reduces them, especially at no cost to the user thanks to partnerships, is worth knowing about and sharing.

"I sent it to colleagues and families. I hope it reaches people all over, different people in different places who need it."

For New Yorkers who haven't yet connected with their local Office for the Aging, Christal's story is a reminder that those resources exist precisely for moments like this. Through the New York State Office for the Aging's partnership with GetSetUp, older adults across the state can access the platform at no cost and, as Christal did, find that healthy aging doesn't have to be expensive, complicated, or isolating.

"It's holistic. Physical, cognitive, and social, all together. That's what good health looks like as you age, and GetSetUp is a piece of that."