Salem Council on Aging
Minutes of the Annual and Regular meetings on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 6:36 p.m., at the Senior Center, 5 Broad St., Salem, Massachusetts.
Board of Directors
Present: Pat Donahue (PD, Chair), Elaine Heredeen (EH, Vice Chair), Donna Clifford (DC, Secretary), Dolores Nangle (DN, Treasurer), Julie Carver (JC), Loretta Carroll (LC), Alice Williams (AW)
Absent: Jerry Ryan (JR, New, City Council Liaison), Pamela Greaves (PG)
Also Present: Doug Bollen (DB), Bill Woolley (BW), Sharon Kearney (Secretary), Visiting Representatives of the North Shore Elder Services Patty Scanlon, Kay Walsh, and Erica Blumberg.
1. Minutes of Previous Meeting – Vote taken to waive the reading of and accept the Minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
PD: Makes a motion to waive reading and accept the minutes of the previous meeting of Wednesday, February 15, 2012.
EH & DC: Seconds motion.
VOTE: Unanimously approved.
2. Comments/Recommendations of the Chairperson
PD: Welcomes new member to the board, Loretta Carroll. Welcome to the Representatives from the North Shore Elder Services, Kay Walsh, Patty Scanlon, and Erica Blumberg. Thank you for coming. We’ll let you begin your presentation
3. Guest Visitors Kay Walsh, Patty Scanlon, and Erica Blumberg from the North Shore Elder Services.
KW: I have a Masters as a Nurse Practitioner in Gerontology. - had an office practice in elder care for 15 years. My goal is we are going to live longer, better and be active in the community. Patty Scanlon is the new representative of Salem. There are five catchments at North Shore Elder Services Salem, Peabody, Danvers, Marblehead and Middleton in ASAPs areas. All fall under the executive office in Boston Elder Affairs. Most of the cities and towns will have representatives that are both members of the Boards of Council of Aging as well as North Shore Elder Boards. North Shore Elder Boards has seventeen/eighteen members of those members two are representatives from each of the five areas and then there are seven that are At Large. At Large, member’s people who may or may not live in your
community, mostly they are professionals in banking, law, and entrepreneurs. There has to be a majority of elders sitting and the majority has to be over sixty five.
KW: As a Salem representative I asked Doug to let us come. People do not know what North Shore Elders Services does. They have been in existence for thirty years.
Some of the major client services are:
Case Managing – Social services and nursing professionals which offer individual assessments of elders in the community - someone goes to the home to make evaluations and plans with the family and the elder. (Nurses and Social workers have these roles).
Home Care Services – Housekeeping, Home delivered meals, grocery shopping, personal care home health services, adult day health programming, etc.
Family Caregiver Support – Support Groups - that help the caregivers meet with others that are struggling with being the caregiver.
Elder Care Advice – Offers families with at home meeting and elder care specialist that can discuss options you can take to help guide you to what your needs are and get you the services you need.
Personal Emergency Response Systems –
Help Me Up –
Health Benefit Information – Will help people with the changes in the health systems and the paper work.
Money Management – Help with checks, banking and taxes. Individuals volunteer with this program.
Home Delivered Meals – COA is part of this and is overseen by North Shore Elders. The money is allocated by grants.
Senior Dining Locations –
Nursing Home and Community Care – They have ombudsmen that will visit the nursing homes once a month. They talk and listen to everyone and if there are any complaints or issues they will bring it forward and handle the issues. Issues or complaints may go as far as the State Department of Public Heath.
Elders Field Crisis Programs – Protective service people help with problems in the community for elders.
The Goal is always to maintain the elders in their homes if they can.
Housing Options in Salem - Supportive Living for example The Charter.
Congregate Living and other programs done thru the Housing Authority
Programs React – program developed and driven by the community, i.e. police
Advocates at Your Side - Volunteers that serves as advocates to help decide what is needed for you.
New - Transition of Care Program out of GLSS
KW: I’ll let Patty Scanlon explain how she became involved in the Elders.
PS: Thank you. I hope during the term I’m on North Shore Elder Services I become involved and partner with you all on COA. I believe in the goals and the advocacy for the elderly. Thank you for have us here tonight. I’m very grateful my life path has lead me here.
My husband and I were the only caregivers for the past ten years, from the family, for both of my aging parents in their eighties. They lived on the south shore. We traveled back and forth to Salem to get our mail a couple of times a week. In 2003 we moved in with them. Our goal was - my parents wanted to stay in their own home and we wanted to abide by their wishes…. Give them quality of life together in their own home…..
In 2008, during Thanksgiving week I called North Shore Elder Services and I got a live person answering the phone …. From day one the people at NSES treated me like a treasurer and my mother like gold. They were so helpful. They were eager to help with the transition of moving my mother into my house. By Christmas we had a meeting with the social worker. They engaged my mother in her care treated her with dignity and respect ...Gave me hope. It was the most wonderful, positive, outstanding experience I have had ….. as far a care and concern by a public agency charged with the mission of helping elders and supporting the families with elders in the home. ……
North Shore Elders have a wealth of resources…for every service of home care service to accommodate …they helped us all live together as a family.
I’m honored to be a member of the board of directors of North Shore Elders. I want to help advocate for Salem seniors……..
PD: It is wonderful to hear a personal story. Until you are responsible for an elderly person you have no idea what it entails. It’s illuminating, instructive and gives me hope if I want to live alone …..That I have a place that can give me the help I need. That’s a great story. Thank you
PD: Erica?
DC: How do people know about these services?
KW: Doctors offices, brochures, COA is a referral source, referrals come from the nursing homes they are discharged from, referrals come from individuals in a community. There is a website. I’ll leave these handouts with email addresses.
There is brochure about our fundraiser:
North Shore Elder Services Presents
Loretta LaRoche
Sunday, May 6, 2012 at 2:00pm
Tickets on Sale $100.00 rows A&B (includes post show VIP reception in the Broadway Club)
$ 50.00 rows C-J
$ 40.00 rows K-P
At the North Shore Music Theatre 978-232-7200 on line NSMT.ORG
Box Office 62 Dunham Rd. Beverly, MA
EB: – Nutrition Program Manager. Thank you to Patty, Kate, and Doug, for inviting me. Thank you to all of you for giving me the opportunity to have me speaks. Thank you to Bill, Amy and Sandy which with out them we would not have a program. They work hard and they make it FUN….
Last year they served over 33,000 meals both congregate and home delivered. This year they already delivered 15,630 that is the direct work they do. The other part is the huge amount of reports required by the state done on a monthly base. Takes a huge amount of time to get everything correct and accurate and it is only with this reporting the NSE get their funding. I just want to give you some other ideas.
Hand outs I passed out in them as an overview:
We’re funded by six different ways: Massachusetts Home Care Program
Massachusetts Elderly Lunch Program
Private Charities and Local Government
Nutrition Services Incentive Program
Title III-C of the Older Americans Act of 1965
Donated Income from Participants
State wide client feed back from people that received meals. There are 25 agencies that provide meals.
Nutrition Program 2011 Accomplishments
Information about a new way of thinking about a senior center – instead of thinking it as a senior center because the demographics are changing – people who are 60 now are still working and very active – how do you get them on board?
PD: Could you describe it?
EB: It’s a street front location that welcomes you in. It has the presents of a restaurant and it is open to the public. It accommodates the Title IIIC clientele. There was a gym, computer room, a little theater. It’s fund much as it is now but you have the revenue of the people coming off the street. It encourages multi-generations to participate.
DC: Would this be a membership?
EB: They offered memberships that would provide discounts for services. Some people opt to buy into it. Others just come in off the street to buy a sandwich.
PD: We need more public relations about the community center.
KW: Suggests should do a forum for North Shore Elder Services.
PD: Thank you for all the information and positive things. There is help out there.
4. Report of the Executive Director/ Assistant Director
New Community Life Center – update on status
DB: The last I heard it was going to council to try and bond the money.
Activities – Update on Programs and Special events coming up
DB: Today was Mayor for Meals sponsored by North Shore Elders. Had all the Mayors come and serve food or go on a meal on wheels trip. Kim Driscoll came and served meals.
New Van update
DB: Good news. We have the grant from the federal government they actually came and we went over the specifications. We expect to have the new van within three months..
Policy on COA services provided by private groups and Attendance Report – Transportation, Social Services & Nutrition Attendance
DB: We will go over the next meeting
Service Incentive grant-
DB: Bill did get the Service Incentive grant from state elderly affairs and has purchased the interpretation system and it has arrived already.
4. Treasure’s Report Update on budget and accounts
DB: The budget will be reviewed at the next meeting
5. & 6. Committee and New Business
EH: Would like to change the time of the meeting to an earlier time 5:30 or 6:00?
PD: Makes a motion to vote for an earlier meeting time of 6:00pm.
EH, JC, & LC: Second the motion
VOTE: Unanimously approved & accepted.
7. Visitor Comments
TC- I just came to learn.
Kay Walsh Psychotherapists new to the area and would like to volunteer.
DN: We have a volunteer office you can speak with Sandy George.
PD: The Explorers is another group affiliated with Elder Hostile and Salem State.
8. Next Board Meeting
PD: Next board meeting will be on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at NEW TIME 6:00pm
9. Vote to Adjournment
PD: Makes a motion to adjourn the meeting.
AW, DN & JC: Seconds motion
VOTE: Unanimously approved.
Regular meeting adjourns at 7:40 p.m.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Sharon Kearney
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