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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAging Board minutes 011210-2 1 ORANGE COUNTY ADVISORY BOARD ON AGING Minutes January 12, 2010 PRESENT: Leo Allison, Heather Altman, Peggy Cohn, Steve Lackey, Haryo Marsosudiro, Thelma Perkins, Fred Schroeder, Jan Wassel, Jan Wells, Steve Yuhasz GUESTS: Alvonia Baldwin, Mary Fraser, Mike Symons STAFF: Kathie Kearns, Jerry Passmore The meeting was called to order at the Central Orange Senior Center by Chair Steve Lackey. He noted that former Chair Jack Chestnut had recently retired from Carol Woods Retirement Community. Jan Wassel summarized the December tour of Orange County senior centers and Carol Woods by a delegation from Korea. Ms. Wassel described the senior center she visited during her visit to Korea. Thelma Perkins noted that a delegation from Carol Woods visited Korea several years ago. The minutes of the November 10 meeting were approved as mailed upon the motion by Heather Altman and the second by Peggy Cohn. Thelma Perkins deferred to Mike Symons to give an update on the activities of the Friends of the Seymour Center. He reported that the Town Treasures for 2009 were inducted at a reception the previous day and those photographs are now on display at the Seymour Center Theater. Haryo Marsosudiro reported that participants at the Central Orange Senior Center are generally more satisfied with the meals being served by the new caterer. The Friends of Central Orange are purchasing an ice tea maker to use with the lunch program. Plans are being made to install a milk dispenser in the near future. The Friends will also purchase the additional glasses and dishwasher rack needed to accomplish this. Leo Allison added that the Friends will hold its next Las Vegas Night fundraiser on February 20. Alvonia Baldwin announced that the adult day health program currently has 27 enrollees, of which 17 are full-time participants. The program is approaching its first anniversary in the new location. The required kitchen renovations have been completed. In Jack Chestnut’s absence, Jerry Passmore reported that efforts are being made to use the lake on the Sportsplex grounds for fishing. A committee will meet this Friday to review this issue. Mr. Chestnut will report back at the February Board meeting. 2 Heather Altman did not have a report from the Triangle J Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council. Jan Wells has agreed to also represent Orange County on the regional Council. Jerry Passmore announced that an Orange County Resource Fair will be held on May 1 in conjunction with the Department on Aging’s 30th anniversary celebration with the theme being “30 Years of Partnering with Community Agencies.”. Steve Yuhasz reported that the County Commissioners began a review of Commissioner- appointed boards and committees in December. Therefore, no new Board appointments have been made recently. A final decision should be made when the Board of County Commissioners meets again in late January. Jan Wassel noted that the Advisory Board on Aging plays a vital role in the Orange County community. Jerry Passmore stated that the County Manager has called a meeting to explore the future role of the Human Services Advisory Commission. Peggy Cohn added that the Adult Care Home Committee is mandated to conduct certain activities and need new members appointed to complete these tasks. Heather Altman reported that the Chatham-Orange Community Resource Connections (CRC) has been selected by the NC Division of Aging for a Person-Centered Hospital Discharge Planning grant. A formal announcement of the award will be made in late January. She also stated that the Duke Endowment Community Connections grant awarded to Carol Woods has funded tele-health monitoring devices for individual homes. Now the service is being expanded to the Central Orange Senior Center and other community locations. Jan Wells asked if the target population is Medicaid patients. Ms. Altman replied that, in this area, the target population is Piedmont Health Service paitents. Jerry Passmore stated that the tele-health monitor for community use is currently being installed at Central Orange. He added that plans are underway to have email ‘encrypted’ in order to make information sharing among agencies easier. The next item on the agenda was consideration of the recommendation to name the Central Orange Adult Day Health Program in honor of Florence Soltys. The Chair noted that a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners on this matter was approved by the Advisory Board on Aging in March, 2008. No action was taken at that time because the Commissioners were in the process of establishing a policy for naming County facilities. Discussion followed on the distinction between naming a program and a facility. Peggy Cohn made a motion and Leo Allison provided the second that a letter and draft resolution be submitted to the County Commissioners for consideration of the Program’s name change. Heather Altman asked for assurance that the Senior Care Board has approved this action. Discussion continued about whether that section of the building would continue to be named for Ms Soltys if the adult day health program was relocated. Peggy Cohn offered a revision to her motion to substitute the word ‘Center’ for ‘Program’. Commissioner Yuhasz noted that the questions raised during this discussion points to the need for further clarification of the new naming policy. Fred Schroeder suggested deferring this issue to next month’s meeting and asking the Commissioners to have informal discussion about the appropriate terms to be used. Leo Allison made a motion to table action on the motion and Thelma Perkins provided a second. Motion carried. 3 Jerry Passmore distributed copies of the Master Aging Plan, Section IV: Goals, Objectives, and Strategies. He stated that staff is completing program summaries of accomplishments and new goals for the next year. That information will be available for the next Advisory Board meeting. He emphasized that some objectives have yet to be implemented and there might be a need to reprioritize. In his director’s report, Mr. Passmore stated that a new Senior Center Facility Use Policy being developed should be available for review at the next Advisory Board meeting. In looking ahead to Fiscal Year 2011 all departments will likely experience cuts and would need to identify new revenues if they plan to expand existing program or initiate new ones. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Jerry M. Passmore Secretary