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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdvisory Board on Aging Minutes 02 13 2024 Orange County Department on Aging Advisory Board on Aging Meeting MINUTES Tuesday, February 12, 2024; 1 — 3 pm Passmore Center Hybrid In Attendance: Rachel Bearman, Ann Bradford, Jeff Charles, Jerry Gregory,Jackie Podger, Vibeke Talley, Sandy Walker, Dick White and guest, Shelia Evans, representing the Friends of Seymour; Staff: Brandi Beeker, Robert Bradford, Leiha Edmonds, Marilyn Hohl, Beverly Shuford, Dawn Smith, and Janice Tyler. Absent with Notice: James Harris, Colin Austin 1. Welcome a. Ann, filling in for Colin, welcomed everyone. 2. Introductions and Announcements a. Ann led everyone in roundtable introductions. Janice announced that Board applicant, Shahnaz Gigi Rashdi, was invited to join the meeting today but did not make it. Janice will reach out by phone to invite her again and see if she is still interested. 3. Approval of Minutes— December 8, 2023 a. Thank you to Anshu for taking the minutes in Beverly's absence. The minutes were approved with the following correction: Jerry Gregory was "Absent with Notice." We did not have a January meeting. Director's Report 4. Staff updates a. Rachel Whitney- Seymour Center Programs and Operations Manager i. Rachel replaced Cydnee Sims as the Seymour Center Programs and Operations Manager when Cyd moved to the Senior Centers Administrator. Rachel started yesterday; please be sure to welcome her when you see her. Rachel came from PharAssist in Durham where, in addition to other duties, she was very involved with the Seniors Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP). b. Kristin Tinnen—Seymour Center temp part-time evening staff person i. Kristin will be on board in a couple of weeks. c. Laura Prinzhorn - Part-time VC55+ program assistant—VITA Coordinator i. Laura replaced Jeanne Chamberlin as the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Coordinator. She started three weeks ago and has been very busy with VITA. She was a VITA volunteer and very familiar with the program. Laura will also be coordinating special projects with VC55+ including Handy Helpers. ii. Jeanne will be coming back to the SHIIP position on February 19. 5. All Ages All Stages— Multi-sector Aging Plan for NC a. Janice is co-leading the "Strengthening Communities for a Lifetime" workgroup of Governor Cooper's All Ages, All Stages NC:A Roadmap for Aging and Living Well. The workgroup is tasked with, "creating inclusive and age-friendly communities by identifying strategies and initiatives that address housing, transportation, social engagement, healthcare access, and community services." Janice stated that it had been an "intense process" as she, co-lead, Dr. Deryl Fulmer, and workgroup members are working though objectives to send to the steering committee at the State. 6. New Endless Possibilities publication a. The new Endless Possibilities Spring 2024 edition is due out on Monday 19tn 7. Early Voting a. Early voting will be starting on February 15.The Seymour Center is an early voting site. The Board of Elections will begin setting up equipment today. Both senior centers are polling sites. 2022-27 Master Aging Plan (divided workgroups between this meeting and next month's meetingl 8. Second Quarter Year 2 Reports a. Social Participation — Dawn Smith i. 4.1.1b. Develop neurodivergent programming (e.g., people with learning differences) with assistance from partner organizations. ii. 5.1.1b. Staff and front desk volunteers are prepared to welcome, interact with, and help people with different abilities and assist community members with diverse language backgrounds. 1. Connected with Autism Society to discuss training similar to the library for Senior Center staff and volunteers. 2. Dec 71"— Held training for all staff and volunteers with Autism Society a. Next Steps: Schedule site visits for both Centers to identify "quiet" spaces, for example, for someone who is overwhelmed. iii. 5.1.3a. Programs are created or expanded to facilitate connections among Senior Center participants. 1. Oct 4—Coffee Gathering at Passmore (9 total) 2. Oct 13— Passmore Picnic at Blackwood Farm 3. Nov 17—Thanksgiving Luncheon 4. Jan 3—Speed Friendship event at Passmore (14 total) iv. 5.1.3b. Community groups are surveyed every 2 years with an emphasis on racial and cultural equity to determine any barriers that may prevent participation at the Senior Centers. 1. Survey wording updated and printed onto a one-page sheet. 2. Made survey available at early voting at Seymour. 3. Feedback from early voting led to additional re-wording updates. b. Communications and Information — Beverly Shuford i. Orange County Community Relations (OCCR) invested in a new e-newsletter and text marketing platform, called My Emma. The new platform, which will be used by county departments is easier for people to read on both a desktop computer and a mobile phone. The platform is also capable of delivering information via text, which studies show are 35 times more likely to be read. The texting option will be rolled out in 2024. The contact lists for all participating departments will be available in one central location. 1. All three OCDOA e-newsletter editors attended training sessions, and plan to launch e-newsletters using Emma in the next quarter. ii. OCCR planned the Orange County Roadshow, which will take place three times a year at both a northern and southern location of the county. The Roadshow will bring county staff, resources, and programs to the community where they live. The attending community members will be provided with a hot meal and the ability to learn more about county services in their preferred language. First Roadshows planned for Jan. 31, and Feb. 1, 2024. Potential locations: Cedar Grove Community Center and the Seymour Center. iii. AWT Radio show podcasts are now archived on a dedicated webpage (www.orangecountync.gov/AWT-Show) and available for sharing with a broader audience. AWT Radio Show Listening Hour held at Seymour Center. iv. Completed 10 months of weekly Chinese E Life OCDOA Chinese elder resources and information column.The OCDOA Chinese Community Liaison & Program Coordinator is leaving the position but prepared enough articles to continue the column through April 2024. v. The Redesign of the OCDoA website was completed, meeting the goal to make the website more user friendly with consistent formatting, finding information with ease and improved navigation. c. Employment— Robert Bradford i. Continued outreach efforts for 55+ employment seekers in three key areas: community centers, faith-based communities (bulletins) and healthcare (bulletin boards, other methods, primary clinics). ii. Focused on increasing diversity and number of employment queries, incremental, goal diversity. iii. Worked with clients who ranged in age from mid-50s to mid-70s, who lived throughout Orange County, and who sought jobs in different job sectors, from companion care to retail to transportation to nonprofits. Success story: Client hired as a bus driver with Chapel Hill Transit. d. Transportation — Brandi Beeker i. Volunteer Driver Program (VDP) 1. 8 new riders enrolled in Q2, and 75 registered to request rides 2. 104 rides provided; volunteers provided 17 rides (8 roundtrips and 1 one-way) 3. Remaining 87 rides were paid using 5310 funds 4. No new drivers added, 3 volunteer drivers receiving requests in Q2 ii. Transportation Call Center: 1. 250 incoming calls tracked in Q2 2. 175 unique callers 3. 841 minutes logged from all calls iii. Outreach Events: 1. Transportation Information Table a. at Seymour Center— 10/12, 11/09, 12/14 b. at Passmore Center— 10/10, 11/14, 12/12 2. Senior Driver Safety Week— Dec 4-8 3. Make the Connection: Bus Riding 101 (Virtual), 12/1 4. What's Appening (Virtual), 11/8; 12/13 5. CarFit and Winter Check Event; Seymour Center, 12/5 6. Fixed Route Field Trip by Bus to Ackland Art Museum; 12/15 New Business 9. 8. Input needed for 2024-28 Area Agency on Aging (AAA) Plan a. The AAA is required to do a plan for aging and adult services every 4 years. This is similar to our Master Aging Plan but for our 7-county region. They are getting community input via a survey. Janice will send the survey link to the Board or go directly to www.centralpinesnc.gov and then to the survey. Janice asked that everyone please take the survey. 10. FY 24-25 Budget a. The budget is due a week from Friday. It is a flat budget, no increases or decreases. If we want positions we have to come with revenue. We are going to ask for money for publishing the Endless Possibilities the cost has increased each quarter. Working with McClatchy to get a contract and estimate. b. Asset Management Capital Improvement Plan —we are requesting that the outdoor furniture be replaced; new curtains in the theatre; and renovation of the Passmore front desk area. These items would be taken care of through Asset Management Services. The cost will be put back on the department to pay for and we are trying to prioritize. c. The County Climate Action Plan has money designated for OCDOA. Janice will update the board when she meets with them about the details. Getting data together and how we are accomplishing our goals. d. Outside Agency Applications Review i. We only have one application to review, Charles House. Meals on Wheels will now be in a "Food" group which is led by Cooperative Extension. ii. Soltys Adult Day Health does not have to reapply for funding, they will be under the Department of Social Services' budget. iii. Volunteers to review one application: Ann, Dick, Jeff, and Vibeke. 11. CIP project—Outdoor Fitness Area —Seymour Center a. We put in a request for an outdoor fitness area for Seymour. If approved, the project would be completed sometime in FY 24-25. 12. Annual Board Report and update to BOCC— February 15 a. On Thursday, Colin will represent the Aging Board and deliver the report to the BOCC along with Janice. Jackie will be there representing the Nursing Home and Adult Care Home Joint Community Advisory Committee. Committee Progress Reports if needed: 13. Senior Tar Heel Legislature— Dick White/Vibeke Talley a. The meeting is scheduled for Wed, Mar. 6—Thu, Mar. 7 at the Doubletree-Hilton in downtown Raleigh. They do not have the details yet. Each county has two delegates to the STHL. Participation is increasing, currently attendance is in the 90's. 14. Nursing Home and Adult Care Home Joint Community Advisory Committee—Jackie Podger a. The Joint CAC just had their 2"d merged meeting. Jackie reported that it is going well and that people are doing well with the visits. The committee is a group of 8 with 14 allotted positions. They are recruiting for 4 now and have 2 in the pipeline, including Alicia Reid. They are visiting all facilities in Orange County. A member of the committee mentioned doing a service project, they will discuss this at the next meeting. Examples of service projects are: taking gifts to facilities at Christmas, taking puzzles, working with activity directors, gardening, maybe ways to improve the courtyards areas at various facilities. b. Janice announced that Sheryl Zimmerman, PhD, will present on "Green House Nursing Homes: More Than a Promising Innovation" on Thu, May 23, 2024, at 3pm CST. Sheryl is a professor of Social Work and Public Health and Co-Director of the Program on Aging, Chronic Illness, and Long-Term Care at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Executive Director of the national Center for Excellence in Assisted Living. Janice shared that Sheryl used to be engaged with our department. She was on the Aging Board for many years and a CAC member. Register for the lecture at https://umn.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN wd5-LKP1TmKMbOZulaYpMw#/registration. Please save May 23rd on your calendar and share with others that might be interested. c. Autumn Cox, Orange County Adult Care Home and Nursing Home Ombudsman, and Jackie were invited to be on the Aging Well Together show last year. It was very informative. Jackie shared that they had so much fun and appreciated being able to share information. Robert Bradford's band was on the show, listen to all podcasts at www.orangecountync.gov/AWT-show d. Heather Altman and Beverly will be presenting during a "Round Table Discussion" at the NCAOA Conference on Thu, Mar 14. Participants move from table to table during a round table discussion session "speed dating style" to exchange information with colleagues with similar interests and varying perspectives. 15. Friends of the Passmore Center— Dawn Smith a. The Holiday Market was successful. Based on feedback they will go back to holding the event in November. b. Mahjong Tournament was an opportunity to learn and have fun. c. Save the date and register for the Feb 24, Barn Art Quilt workshop. There is still space. d. The MLK program had good participation and a wonderful speaker. 16. Friends of the Seymour Center—Shelia Evans a. The Friends sent out 365 Holiday Cards to people in the county that have been helpful and/or gave donations. b. They are planning to compile a Friends cookbook as soon as recipe forms are ready they will pass those out to collect recipes. c. The Friends just had a very nice retreat to get to know each other better. The retreat is held yearly. The Friends Board is changing with new people coming in and getting to know each other. d. Shelia is new to the board and that her motivation is that she is there nearly every day for programs and volunteering. She said that "She gets so much that she wanted to give back. This is her way to give back." Additional comments i. Shelia said that she was very involved in starting a Solo Ager group at Seymour with Cherie Rosemond. They meet the 4t" Wednesday of every month at Seymour from 4- 6pm. They particularly want to reach the rural, single people in the community to offer a time to come together for socialization; they need these connections. Please share the information. Signing up in advance is appreciated, but you won't be turned away if you don't register. ii. Janice shared that if you know of folks that need services, we do not have a wait list now. Our call volume isp on the Aging Helpline, but there is currently no one waiting, and we have some funding left to help. There are qualifications. Call the Aging Helpline. We have some ARPA funds available for services. The funds will run out in September. iii. We are discontinuing takeaway meals when ARPA funds run out. Takeaway meals are also being funded by the county for now. iv. The volume of Durable Medical Equipment that we have out in the community is unbelievable. We are receiving a lot of donations. Adjournment Next meeting: March 12, 2024; *10 am — 12 noon; Seymour Center &Virtual. *Pease note time change due to the NCAOA Conference.