COUNCIL ON AGING ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2004

To the Board of Selectmen:East Longmeadow’s Council on Aging’s 6 town employees (with lots of help) served 1196 of the town’s 3245 elders in the following areas:  We furnished INFO & REFERRAL: 13,700 calls or visits.

RECREATION (8,957 class attendance, up 39) includes Art, Bridge, Bridge Lesson, Informal Bridge, Chorus, Chess, French, Jewelry, Movie, Pool, Pinochle, Quilting, Scrabble, Trips, Trivia, Computer, Dominos & 4 cultural events & parties.  Discontinued: Genealogy, Magic, & Rubber Stamp. New: Book Club, Obit Workshop and Scrapbooking. Club Attendance: Friendship Club: 2,942(up 31), Deaf Seniors: 664, Veteran’s: 34.

FITNESS/WELLNESS (10,866, up 1,219): Programs include Ballroom, Line, Jazz & Tap Dancing, Tai Chi, Easy Exercise, Exercise, Walking, & 36 participant entries in Massachusetts Senior Games (Racewalk, Track & Field, Bowling, Candlepin, Tennis, Swim, Shuffleboard, Golf, Ice Hockey, Softball,  & Volleyball).

SOCIAL SERVICES (1,878 appointments) includes the following breakdown of units of services: Outreach: 453, Case management: 915, Client Support: 167, Health Insurance Counseling (SHINE): 131, Referrals: 212

FINANCIAL ADVOCACY (increased as need increased): includes 134 individuals (71 families) for Fuel Assistance Intake; 570 for Commodity Distribution; 381 Individual Advocacy; and 81 families who received Holiday Baskets & Gift Certificates, courtesy of the following:  Village Green, Inward Commons, Brownstone and Quarry Hill Tenants, Morning Glory Walkers, Senior Friendship Club, students and faculty of Mountainview, Meadowbrook (Kindergartens) and Busy Bee Pre-School, St. Paul Lutheran Church, First Congregational Church, Eastern Star Corona Chapter #205, Hampden Office of Monson Savings Bank, Brownie Troops, a Christmas donation on behalf of COA Staff toward the fuel fund, and several local families for a total of $4118.75.

HEALTH SERVICES (1661): Flu Shots (956 for age 50+), Blood Pressure, Health Screen, Hearing Tests, Foot Care & (174) Health Equipment Loans. We continued to fundraise for one half year of our HEALTH PROGRAM. We assumed responsibility for the Town Employee,employee funded in advance Flu Clinic,(217).  New: Defibrillator training.

NUTRITION:  We served 13,575 (up 240) Meals on Wheels and 7,208 (down 458) Congregate “In House” Meals: We offer WEEKEND HOME DELIVERED MEALS to 16 frailest residents in cooperation with Chestnut Hill Nursing Home and our weekend volunteer drivers. Our Nutrition Staff are trained to meet the “safe serve” laws.

PVTA contracts with Hulmes for door-to-door Van TRANSPORTATION 5 days a week. We responded to the rate increase to $2. by purchasing and selling “discount booklets”, $40 worth of tickets for $30.  We tried to encourage elders to “ride the big bus” when possible, organizing a free “sample” ride and special route including 3 housing stops. After a disappointing turnout, the special route was discontinued.

In addition to the Town’s Appropriation of $164,266 to cover 6 staff plus expenses, Director wrote the following grants: State $ 16,002 +$1623.  Federal Title III-C Nutrition $20,000 for the meals program, & two 20 hour Senior Aides ($14,040). Town picked up 2 Elder Service Corps stipends: ($3120) when state program ended.     Meal Donations were $34,557 (down $4,776). Friendship Club paid $1245 for Thursday Programs; Arts Lottery granted $700.

MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS of $1,064 were received from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2004 in memory of:  Arthur Bennett, Ernie Bergeron, Margaret (Peg) Bliss, Mary Carlson, Mickey Ciaschini, Janice Cunningham, Stella Gaheen, Ralph Gardner, Doris Goodlatte, Alexandria Gralenski, Malcolm Hanson, Myrtle Hawley, Richard Hawley, Helane Holden, Fraser Johnson, Ralph Johnson, Phyllis Juzba, Edna Kellegrew, Iola Klein, Eleanor Lacedonia, Yvette Lindberg, Mary Luchevich, Thomas McCabe, Virginia Messer, Mollie Pawlowicz, Connie Moriarty, Eleanor Morisi, Henry Pawlowicz, Eugene Perault, Ruth Evelyn Rice, Joseph Rugani, Ruth Steele, Joyce Thodal, Lila Whitaker, Estelle Winan.  Funds were used ($82) for our annual movie license. Health Clinic donations, including United Way, totaled $5,429.  Our Trust Fund received $4,778 and a most generous $14,224.32 from the estate of Grace Cousineau.

The Council on Aging sent $2160 to the Town’s General Fund for evening usage of Pleasant View from photography, deaf & hard of hearing groups, Stavros, Homebuyers, Dance Recital, Friends of Heritage Park, Chess Tournament, and square dance groups: Redstone, Swingles and Quabbin Valley. No charge for town elections, historical, health and sports groups.

Highlights of our accomplishments during the past year include 7 stations in our Senior Computer Lab where elders can netsurf, send email and e-file their taxes.  Our Town Clerk implemented the Elder Tax Work-Off Program for 10 elders to save approximately $500 off their property taxes.  Our Assessors made a flyer for elders to have basic information on various Tax Exemptions.  Many volunteers came out for our first ever Fall Clean Up Day.  We are relieved to have a Building Facilities Manager to help us with the challenges with our 1918 building and grand-fathered plumbing. The Senior Center Study Committee requested Town Meeting to fund $8,000 for a feasibility study of Heritage Park land (to take advantage of town owned land); the lowest bid was double the price, so we went back to further study.  We set up a Building Fund which received $1,980.87 from Morning Glory Walkers, Baystate Deaf, Bridge Club, Muriel Andwood ( memory: JessiePeloquin), Betty Bruce, John De Sousa, Anonymous, Richard Clark & Ginny Herzog, and Dolores Quattropani’s “Holiday Spirit”.

We thank the following organizations for donations of time, support and money: Friendship Club (our 501-C-3 & hall decorations), Chorus (entertainers), Baystate Deaf, Bridge, Morning Glory Walkers (flu clinic/scoopers), Exercise Class, Trivia Team (program), Quilters, East Longmeadow Cultural Council, UNICO (2 dinners& donation), Stop’n’Shop and Panera Bread (baked goods), Big Y, Baypath College (theatre), Burgess & Co., PC (tax filings), East Longmeadow Skilled Nursing Home (Christmas Dinner & Valentine Cheesecake), Redstone Rehab (Fall Clean Day & special desserts), St. Vincent De Paul Society (sponsor meals on wheels), St. Mark’s (Holy Thursday), individuals who designate the COA to receive their United Fund donations, all Churches, Flu & Clinic donations, Health Professionals: DOCTOR Michael Lemanski,  AUDIOLOGIST Sue Bankoski Chunyk, and NURSES: Peg Reilly, Joan Weisse, Edith Buckley, Jacqueline Chapdelaine, Bev Donovan,  Ann Griswold, Ann Haskell, Anna Haskins, Marilyn Richards, and Rena Tarnowski, and Barbara Garde of AMR Ambulance and Springfield College interns. Our 253 VOLUNTEERS donated a record 10,428 hours. Thank you all! Our Senior Volunteer of the year is June Cleary with 328 hours.

We are grateful to our fellow departments: DPW for loan of men and trucks for the commodities, CLERK-records lists, REC-joint programs, POLICE-keeping emergency phone numbers and TRIAD program, SCHOOLS & SCOUTS  -decorations and projects, COLLABORATIVE STUDENTS for weekly set up and cleaning, SELECTMEN, ACCOUNTING & new BUILDING Facilities Manager for their support of our programs, PLANNING-help with Building Study, our IT DEPARTMENT for our Web Page and Senior Computer Lab. THANKS to the TOWNSPEOPLE whose support of our programs serve elders from  the frailer population with MEALS ON WHEELS to the more vigorous group with SENIOR OLYMPICS and VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES. Special thanks to the BUSINESSES who support our “Old Quarry Town Elder” monthly Newsletter and our Annual Program Book.

Respectfully submitted:  Council on Aging Board Members:

Ex-Officio: Selectman Chair: Gary DeLisle (Leon Gaumond, Exec. Sec) & COA Exec. Director Rosalind R. Clark