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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAging Advisory Board Minutes 101315 ORANGE COUNTY ADVISORY BOARD ON AGING Minutes October 13, 2015 PRESENT: Mary Altpeter, Alex Castro, Teri Driscoll, Ed Flowers, Katherine Leith, Winston Liao, Lorenzo Mejia, Yvonne Mendenhall, Dick White, EXCUSED: Peggy Cohn, Donna Prather STAFF: Mary Fraser, Bonnie Hammersley, Kathie Kearns, Yvette Missri, Janice Tyler The meeting was called to order by Chair Alex Castro at the Central Orange Senior Center. Following introductions Mary Fraser asked that the Board consider nominating someone for the Triangle J Area Agency On Aging Advisory Council vacancy being created by Mario Battigelli’s retirement. She also suggested that Mr. Battigelli be recognized for his twenty years of service. Discussion followed on the role of the Orange County representative to this Council. Mary Altpeter volunteered to serve. The minutes of the September Advisory Board on Aging meeting were approved following the motion by Ed Flowers and the second by Dick White. Janice Tyler began her Director’s Report by announcing the digital schedule monitors have been installed in each Senior Center. Orange County staff continues to meet for the space study workgroup. A record retention training will be held in late October. Triangle J Area Agency on Aging Director Joan Pellettier will retire at the end of November. Memory screenings will be conducted by Aging Transitions staff and volunteers on November 4 and 5. County Manager Bonnie Hammersley informed the Advisory Board about the Functional Leadership Teams initiative that forms Orange County’s 26 Department Directors into five workgroups around common issues in an effort to foster collaborative solutions. Ms. Hammersley provided an update on the recent Board of County Commissioners actions regarding the proposed $125 million bond. Although none of that money was designated for senior center expansion there is still opportunity to address Senior Center improvements through the Capital Improvements Project. Ms. Hammersley also stated that no decision has been made on the use of the $5 million of the bond funding designated for housing. An Orange County Affordable Housing Plan is currently being completed. The Chair announced that the Department on Aging was awarded one of eleven Administration for Community Living grants for the Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative nationwide. Mary Fraser summarized the activities proposed for this three-year funding. Work has already begun with the dementia-friendly business training that is part of the Master Aging Plan with Lorenzo Mejia providing the leadership by securing funds from the East Chapel Hill Rotary Club to produce the training video. This campaign should be officially launched in the next ten days and ten businesses have already enrolled. The new grant services will begin in early 2016. Ms. Fraser invited Aging Board members to serve on the grant advisory council. Discussion followed on marketing, sustaining and evaluating these initiatives. Mary Fraser provided her quarterly update of Master Aging Plan activities which included: • Latino Outreach weekly Spanish social club meeting at Seymour to build core group • Habitat building a senior low-income housing at the new Waterstone development • September Aging In Community presentation on Reimagining Your Neighborhood by Bolton Anthony • New Mobility Manager Lisa Berley was hired in mid-September; new OPT buses have arrived to be utilized on the expanded general public and Senior Center routes • Partnership with S.A.L.T. (Seniors And Law enforcement together) has identified needs for home modifications and $1,000 has been raised to address these needs. Alex Castro suggested Habitat for Humanity apprenticeship program as resource. Other suggestions included private businesses, the realtors association, Carolina Villages and Samaritan Purse. • The current Capstone Team will utilize the November election as an opportunity to conduct a survey for the aging preparedness campaign. • Senior Health Advocacy and Resource Partners of Orange County (SHARP) committee will continue its work for long term care improvements for a third year. Yvette Missri updated the Advisory Board on the recent activities of Project EngAGE and the graduates’ Senior Issues Teams: • Class 3 began on September 10 with 13 enrollees. • Community Building team has established two subgroups to support the development of new “villages”. • End Of Life team is sponsoring workshops on the Five Wishes For End Of Life Choices on October 21 and 29. • Faith-Based team is holding two Senior Hunger Symposiums in November. • Falls Prevention team co-sponsored a successful outreach event at the Hillsborough Wal-Mart in September with 25 persons participating in the screening. • Five Project EngAGE graduates have completed the Healthy Ideas training. Ms. Missri also distributed the new Volunteer Connect 55+ Handbook which includes the registration form that will be used for all Department on Aging volunteer placement. In conclusion she announced that Department on Aging staff has been invited to give a presentation on Orange County’s Project EngAGE at the Amiercan Society on Aging Conference in March 2016. Mary Fraser announced that the Long Term Care Learning Collaborative will focus on palliative care for its 2016 campaign. A seminar on this subject will held on October 28 for facility owners and administrators. Strategies are being developed for recognizing residents and staff of care facilities with small gifts and other tokens of appreciation. Discussion followed on successful activities in the community. Committee Progress Reports • Music In My Mind User Group continues to meet and the social work interns want to be involved in the training. • Dick White reported that the Senior Tar Heel Legislature was instrumental in lobbying for the restoration of the Home and Community Care Block Grant funds cut during the previous fiscal year. • Teri Driscoll summarized her written report for the Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee which included the September 30 Triangle J training session. • The Orange Unified Transportation Board has not met since the last Advisory Board meeting. Lisa Berley reported that OPT is identifying the bus stops for its new rural public transit routes. • Friends of Central Orange are sponsoring fundraising cruise to New England and Canada. • Friends of Seymour fundraiser will be a dinner, dance and fashion show on November 13. Janice Tyler announced that she has been contacted by several residents concerned that the Chapel Hill YMCA has discontinued its participation in the Silver Sneakers wellness project. She is following up on this concern to see if the Department on Aging can assist in any way with this transition. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Janice Tyler, Secretary Report of: Orange County Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee Date: October 6, 2015 Two officers from our Nursing Home CAC (Teri Driscoll and Sandy Nash) attended the Leadership Training at the Triangle J office on September 30th. In the morning we had a discussion about the “Person-Centered Approach to Residents’ Well-Being” led by the Ombudsman from Durham County. There was a discussion from all of the counties on what their challenges are and how they recruit and retain members as well as their relationships with their Board of County Commissioners. Two Orange County Board Members (Teri Driscoll) from the Nursing Home CAC and (Jack Vogt) from the AHC CAC led a sharing discussion on what the officers thought were their best practices. The Orange County members shared with everyone how we have implemented our Learning Collaborative Awards that we have each year and Project EngAGE. Our next meeting will be on November 3, 2015 at 5:30 pm at the Seymour Center. Respectfully submitted, Teri Driscoll