Council on Aging, May 10, 2018
Town Of Holden
MASSACHUSETTS
____________
COUNCIL ON AGING
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Conference Room – Senior Center
Present: Susan Sullivan, Faye Ellis, Maureen Locke, Wayne Howard, Eric Johansen,
Richard Mansfield, Stephanie Bacon, Louise Charbonneau, Maureen Buffone.
Non-Members: Brian Bullock from the Help @ H.O.M.E. Committee.
The Meeting was called to order by Sue Sullivan at 8:00 a.m.
The Minutes from the April 5, 2018 meeting were approved and accepted.
F.H.C.O.A. REPORT
The Friends Faye reported the account balances as follows:
Commerce Bank $18,626.90
Leominster Credit Union (furnishings acct.) $2,853.52
Leominster Credit Union C.D. $24,206.46
LCU Trip Account $7,332.75
Faye reported that 90 seniors attended the annual senior dinner dance at Wachusett High School. A bill has not been received yet, but Cindy Stark will contact the other towns to pay their share of the bill.
The Fair committee will be meeting again on June 11, 2018.
Wayne Howard gave an update of the Friends website that is being launched on May 13th. The website is set up in the dining room for anyone that would like to take a look at it after this meeting. Suzanne Kasparson has agreed to help out for at least six months. The Friends are looking for a website administrator, as well as someone to oversee the cart.
HELP AT H.O.M.E. REPORT ~ Jim Robinson
Jim Robinson was not in attendance at today’s meeting. The Help at H.O.M.E. committee will be here this morning to meet with Paula Earley and Cindy Smith at the end of today’s meeting.
BOARD OF ELDER SERVICES REPORT ~ Richard Mansfield
Rck offered his report from the Elder Services of Worcester’s meeting held on May 10, 2018, which included the following: Executive Office of Elder Affairs Designation Review, Finance Committee Report, Mass Home Care Retreat, Preliminary Results of Staff Survey, Commonwealth Care Alliance-North County and Budget Update from Maureen Siergie.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT ~ Louise Charbonneau
MAY EVENTS
Wednesday, May 2 …1:00 p.m. … Chocolate and Tea … “A multisensory experience to delight your eyes, mind and taste buds.” Kim Larkin is a commercial chocolatier. Her talk featured the health benefits of chocolate and tea along with the history, art and poetry of each.
Senior Center · 1130 Main Street · Holden, MA 01520 · Phone 508.210.5570 · Fax 508.829.0214
Wednesday, May 16 … 1:00 p.m. … Who Was Bunny Mellon? … Bunny Mellon was an American style legend and wife of financier Paul Mellon. She was famous in her own right as horticulturalist, philanthropist and art collector. She designed and planted a number of gardens, including the White House Rose Garden; a most interesting lady. Learn about her real life from her niece, Kathy Fleming, also a designer, teacher, gourmet cook and author. Reservations required - call 508-210-5570. We thank the Friends of HCOA for sponsoring this program.
Thursday, May 17 … 10:00 a.m. … Book Discussion Group … The book discussion group will be reading The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
Monday, May 21 … 10:30-12:30 … Free Legal Clinic … Attorney Arthur Bergeron from the firm Mirick O’Connell will be here on Monday, May 21 from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. He will offer free 15 minute appointments to answer your legal questions. Appointments are required. No walk-ins. To schedule your appointment, please call 508-210-5570.
Monday, May 21 … 1:00-3:00 p.m. … Shingles Vaccine Clinic … The Holden Senior Center in partnership with Walgreens will offer the first of two (2) shingles vaccine clinics on Monday, May 21 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Healthy adults 50 years and older should get two doses of Shingrix (the new shingles vaccine), separated by 2 to 6 months. You should get Shingrix even if in the past you have had, shingles; received the previous shingles vaccine (Zostavax) or are not certain if you have had chickenpox. There is no maximum age for receiving the Shingrix vaccine. Because this vaccine requires two shots be administered, we will hold a second clinic on Monday, July 23. Details for that clinic will appear in the July newsletter.
You must register to receive your vaccination. Please call the Senior Center at 508-210-5570. Registrations need to be received by the end of business (4:00 p.m.) on Monday, May 14. Over the next week, you will be contacted by a representative from Walgreen’s to confirm insurance information, etc. Please call the Senior Center for registration purposes only, as the staff is not knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the vaccine. You can, however, call Walgreen’s with any concerns or you can ask questions when the Walgreen’s representative contacts you.
Wednesday, May 23 … 1:00 p.m. … Two Old Friends Concert … Back by popular demand, performers Emery Hutchins and Jim Prendergast bring us a rousing concert of Celtic and American country music, Irish tunes, vintage ballads, jigs and reels, with a few stories mixed in. These talented musicians use a wide variety of instruments including guitar, drums, concertina, mandolin and banjo, to name just a few. Please call 508-210-5570 to reserve a seat. Free and open to all.
ELDER SERVICES NEW REFERRAL SYSTEM
We now have another mode of making referrals to Elder Services. They now have an electronic referral form which can be accessed through their website. This enables us to make referrals at times other than their normal business hours. The system is brand new. Time will tell how well it is received.
SMALL AND RURAL CONFERENCE
Last month Louise and Maureen attended the MCOA Small and Rural Conference which was held in Sturbridge. It was a day-long event and offered workshops that were geared to smaller towns as compared to cities. It was worth the trip – both of us felt we walked away having learned something – all in all a successful day.
MCOA ANNUAL MEETING
MCOA is holding its Annual Meeting at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester next week. In the past, they held their annual meeting within their annual conference. A few years ago, they decided to hold it separately from the conference. It has been held mostly somewhere north of Boston so Louise didn’t take the time away from the Center to go. With it being so close, Maureen and Louise will be attending.
JUST A REMINDER
Louise reminded the board that next Monday, May 14 is the annual town election. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. The following Monday, May 21 is our annual town meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the high school.
After the close of our meeting today, please make your way to the dining room. Wayne’s daughter will be there to give you an overview of the Friends new website (www.fhcoa.org) which will launch this Sunday.
NUMBERS FROM APRIL
New England Banjo Orchestra - 40
Lucky Strike – 18
Volunteer Recognition – 58
Bring a Grandchild to Lunch – 44
OLD BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
Pam Harding contacted this board to ask for a volunteer to serve on the Updated Master Plan Committee. They will be meeting next Tuesday and will meet once a month for 8 months. Rick Mansfield agreed to serve on this committee.
Rick thanked Louise for the use of the senior center over the last 15 years to host their bereavement programs. Rick will be presenting a mini workshop and presentation on May 21st at 2:00 p.m. in Sterling.
At this time the COA Board was joined by members of the Help at H.O.M.E. Committee (Brian Bullock, Susan Marsh, Joe Sullivan, new member Marcia Sherbourne, and the COA Board’s representative Faye Ellis) and Outreach Workers, Paula Earley and Cindy Smith. Chairman Sullivan asked Paula and Cindy to describe the process applicants go through in order to obtain assistance from Help at H.O.M.E. They explained the procedure and also explained that when each case is brought to the sub-committee that a scenario is given and no names are used for the sake of privacy. A discussion ensued relative to how many applications are given out and how many complete the process and receive help as compared to how many ask for an application, don’t complete it and the reasons why. Also part of the discussion was the necessity of asking for bank statements. It was reported that the Help at H.O.M.E. Committee had received feedback that the application process was too daunting and what could or should we do to make it less so. Additionally the conversation included ways to publicize the fund and find the people who could use the assistance. Sue Sullivan will call the Superintendent of WRSD about talking to the principals of the local schools to inform them and their nursing staff about the fund.
CITIZENS ADDRESS
None.
ADJOURNMENT
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 a.m.
Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, June 7, 2018 at 8:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,