Council on Aging, May 1, 2014
HOLDEN COUNCIL ON AGING
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Conference Room – Senior Center
Present: Rev. Dr. Jerry Heslinga, Richard Mansfield, Faye Ellis, Maureen Locke, Marilyn Burnham, Peter Lukes, Louise Charbonneau, Maureen Buffone.
The Minutes from the April 3, 2014 meeting were approved and accepted.
F.H.C.O.A. REPORT
Faye reported the account balances as of April 7, 2014 as follows:
Commerce Bank $14,154.45
Leominster Credit Union (furnishings acct.) $4,045.38
Leominster Credit Union C.D. $23,826.26
LCU Trip Account $4,014.65
The Friends voted to once again participate in Holden Days. Last year, they had a flea market which earned enough money to make it worth repeating.
The Friends are sponsoring the buses for the Pen Pal party in June.
The Senior Dinner Dance will take place tonight at Wachusett Regional High School from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. The Friends will pay for ½ of the cost of this.
HELP AT H.O.M.E. REPORT - Jim Robinson
Jim was unable to attend this morning’s meeting, but submitted a financial report, dated March 31, 2014, showing a combined balance of $29,719.77. A number of people were helped in April, which was not reflected in this report. A group of Help at H.O.M.E. members met with Louise and Paula on April 23rd. There was a long discussion about people who come back every year for assistance and how to discourage that. This will be discussed further at their next meeting. Each case is individual. There is no formula used.
BOARD OF ELDER SERVICES REPORT - Richard Mansfield
Rick distributed a synopsis of the different departments and services that Elder Services provides.
Rick is currently on the marketing committee for Elder Services. He has served on the board for the last six (6) years and will need to step down when this year is up. He may leave for a year and go back, if he chooses to. Elder Services is trying to get more recognition. The space that they bought on Millbrook Street has been a great location, and the current lease was amended to add an additional 4,052 square feet on the second floor of the building.
Rick offered the following report based on the monthly minutes and statistics that he received from Elder Services: 201 home care referrals; 60 options counseling clients; 4,345 home care clients; an increase of 1,286 meals on wheels clients; an increase of 338 clients in the dining sites (15 towns, plus Worcester participating). The Care Transition Program was responsible for a fifty percent (50%) drop in hospital readmissions.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT - Louise Charbonneau
MAY EVENTS
Thurs., May 1 ..… Movie … “Pride of the Yankees” … 12:30
Thurs., May 8 ..… Movie … “How Do You Know” … 12:30
Thurs., May 15 … Book Discussion Group … Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick … 10:30
Movie … “The Magic of Belle Isle” … 12:30
Mon., May 19 ….. Mother’s Day Concert and Social … 1:00
Wed., May 21 ..… Legal Presentation…What Will Happen to Your Body After You Die? … 1:00
Thurs., May 22 … Movie … “Casino Royale” … 12:30
Fri., May 23 ….… Veterans’ Meeting … 10:30
Mon., May 26 ….. Senior Center Closed in Observance of Memorial Day
Wed., May 28 .…. Mass. College of Pharmacy on Dental Health … 10:00
Thurs., May 29 … Movie … “Splendor in the Grass” … 12:30
VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION
Our volunteer recognition event was a huge success. This year our special honorees were:
Nutrition Site Volunteer of the Year: Al Sculthorpe
Barbara Cushman Award (MOW Driver): Doreen Amaral
Volunteer of the Year: Faye Ellis
Unsung Hero Award: Bob Black (after over 22 years of delivering MOW)
Lifetime Achievement Awards: Valeda Schmucki and Pastor Heslinga
(Pastor Heslinga could not attend so we honored him at the HFD Luncheon.)
THANK YOU TO HFD
A big thank you goes out to the members of the Holden Professional Firefighters for sponsoring the lunch last Thursday as we began a series of presentations through the Senior SAFE grant. Lt/EMT Dave Chapin did an excellent job with his presentation entitled “Slips, Trips and Falls.” The second in this series will be held on Wednesday, June 18. The tentative topic will be the importance of Files of Life. HFD will give out Files of Life, as well as have some of our professional firefighters present to help the seniors fill them out appropriately. Lt. Chapin did distribute a paper asking for topics the elders might like for him to cover, so if enough interest is shown in a particular topic, he may change from the Files of Life. We will be offering a lunch that day as well, however, this time the seniors will have to pay.
NEW BOARD MEMBER
Pastor Heslinga is moving out of state and will be leaving the Board. His last meeting will be our September meeting. Louise asked if any of the board members know of someone who would like to serve on the Board, to please forward their name and contact information to her or have them download the “Do Something” questionnaire from the town website and check off Council on Aging. It is then forwarded to the Town Manager’s Office.
TOWN MEETING AND TOWN ELECTION
Louise reminded the board that the Town Election will be held on Monday, May 12. Precincts will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Also, the Annual Town Meeting will be held on Monday, May 19 at Wachusett Regional High School at 7:00 p.m.
NUMBERS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL
Oriol Healthcare Occupational Therapy presentation – 15
New England Story Teller – 26
Young at Heart Concert – 48
Volunteer Recognition – 72
HFD Lunch and Presentation – 120
SOME OUTREACH STATISTICS FROM THE FIRST ½ OF THE FISCAL YEAR
(7/1/2013-12/31/2013)
Home visits – 272
Office consultations – 93
Phone consultations – 343
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Marilyn Burnham commented that asking for updated emergency contact information in this month’s newsletter was a good idea.
CITIZENS ADDRESS
None.
ADJOURNMENT
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 a.m.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. at the Holden Senior Center.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Buffone