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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAging Advisory Board Minutes 051215ORANGE COUNTY ADVISORY BOARD ON AGING Minutes May 12, 2015 PRESENT: Mary Altpeter, Alex Castro, Teri Driscoll, Ed Flowers, Winston Liao, Dick White EXCUSED: Virginia Brown, Lorenzo Mejia, Donna Prather, Heather Altman STAFF: Mary Fraser, Julia Hill, Kathie Kearns, Yvette Missri, Janice Tyler The meeting was called to order at the Central Orange Senior Center by Vice Chair Alex Castro. The minutes of the April 14 meeting were approved as distributed following the motion made by Ed Flowers and seconded by Winston Liao. Janice Tyler began her Director’s Report by stating that May is Older Americans Month and the Board of County Commissioners approved the Proclamation for Orange County on May 5. The honorees from the Direct Care Workers Awards will be recognized by the Commissioners at their May 19 meeting. Ms. Tyler commended Beverly Shuford for her work on the Department’s website redesign as part of the Orange County upgrade. Alex Castro expressed his concern that OPT routes are not included in the trip planner application on the Go Triangle website and volunteered to work with Eileen Nilsen to develop a resolution recommendation. Ms. Tyler summarized the efforts to secure digital signage for each Senior Center and announced that the signs will be installed soon. She concluded her report by stating that a White House Conference on Aging Listening Session was held prior to the NC Association on Aging Conference held in Wilmington at the end of April. The national conference will be held in July. The agenda was modified to place Yvette Missri’s update on Project EngAGE as the next item. She reported that 28 senior leaders have completed the training course and the next class convenes in September. Both Teri Driscoll and Ed Flowers expressed interest in participating. Ms. Missri distributed a chart summarizing the schedules and activities of the PE Resource Teams. She also distributed an overview of the Project and the commitment for both the graduates and the Department on Aging. Alex Castro added his support based upon his participation in the second class and its value for Aging Board members as advisors to the Board of County Commissioners. He suggested that current Advisory Board members receive notice of the next class. Discussion followed on some of the current Resource Team activities. Mr. Castro commended Ms. Missri on her work with Project EngAGE. Mary Fraser announced that the next PE Advisory Board meeting scheduled for May 19. Janice Tyler informed the Advisory Board that Family Caregiver Support Program funding for Orange County in FY16 will be $10,000 less than the current allocation of $51,600. The reduction is the result of redistribution among Region J counties and a loss of State carryover funds used in previous years. Staff is recommending that the Caregiver Day Out program no longer be funded from this source. Discussion followed on the funding cut and the history of expansion efforts to other community locations. Ms. Tyler also announced that the proposal to increase the Chinese Social Worker to a full-time position from its current .8FTE has the support of the County Manager in her proposed FY16 budget. On the subject of Committee Progress Reports Dick White requested that a reminder notice be sent one week prior to the meeting to facilitate written reports being distributed with the agenda. Mary Fraser began her Master Aging Plan update by announcing that 15 individuals participated in the May 5 Latino Outreach event at the Seymour Center. A project completed by a UNC Occupational Therapy senior class outlined a plan to outreach to the Latino community. Mary Altpeter offered to share connections developed by UNC’s Clinic Without Walls. Janice Tyler noted a recent visit by a group of UNC Chinese scholars, organized by Maria Palmer. Dick White spoke of the interest on the part of one northern Orange clergy to host a monthly gathering to discuss issues of older adults. Alex Castro expressed his concern about the lack of publicity for the upcoming rural public transit routes. Ms. Fraser announced that a Shared Housing workshop will be held on June 4. Summer intern Julia Hill will be one of the students on the Department on Aging’s Capstone Team for academic year 2015-16. The subject of this year’s project is Aging Preparedness planning. Ms. Fraser concluded her report by stating that the current Master Aging Plan year is concluding and suggested that Advisory Board members attend the July MAP Steering Committee meeting. Ms. Tyler announced that the OC Planning Department is hosting a gathering of those interested in the ‘tiny houses’ concept to review the ordinance changes needed to accommodate this alternate housing option. She also stated that Habitat for Humanity is proposing an affordable senior housing project in Hillsborough’s new Waterstone development. The land is owned by the Community Home Trust. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned with the next meeting scheduled for June 9 at the Seymour Center. Respectfully submitted, Janice Tyler, Secretary NURSING HOME COMMITTEE The OCNHCAC had a meeting on May 5, 2015. It was basically a reorganizational meeting. All of our meetings will be held at the Seymour Center. After a brief discussion, the members of the committee decided to add another meeting date to the schedule as they did not meet in the summer. It was decided to have a July meeting which will be on July 7 2015. We talked about having a speaker come to one of our meetings and we contacted Lisa Levine of the Alzheimer’s North Carolina and she will be coming to speak at our July meeting. She will be speaking from 6-7 pm and her topic will be Engaging Residents with Dementia during our Facility Visits. We will also be inviting the Orange County Adult Home Care CAC. Lisa is an excellent speaker and has been a guest at many of the Triangle J meetings. The Carol Woods site visit was completed on Mar. 20th and reviewed at the meeting. Another good site visit. Respectfully submitted, Teri Driscoll May 12 2015 Committees Progress Reports submitted by Alex Castro Jr. Chapel Hill Carrboro Meals on Wheels A total of 3237 meals delivered in April 2015 versus 3002 in 2014. The facilities committee continues to pursue possible sites for a home for the organization. There are few options in Chapel hill or Carrboro and a commercial real estate broker is being hired to line up choices. The Project Engage Senior Hunger SRT continues to pursue with OCIM the expansion of meal deliveries into the northern parts of the county. Orange County Unified Transportation Board Orange Public Transit (OPT) is about to formally launch service under its Americans with Disability Act (ADA) Implementation Plan. Included in this plan is a greatly expanded OPT service involving the Hillsborough circulator route revamp and the initiation in June/July 2015 of service into the northern parts of the county and out to Efland. The Efland service will complement the new Go Triangle (formerly Triangle Transit) ODX route by providing service between Hillsborough and Efland during the 10 AM to 2 PM timeframe. New Route schedules have been developed, two new buses acquired and bus stop signage ordered. In the May 20 meeting the Outboard will review a Rural Bicycling Safety Plan drafted by a committee of Outboard and community members. This plan will be forwarded to the BOCC for their consideration at the June 17th meeting.