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Minutes 09-09-02 MINUTES OF THE SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD AT THE SENIOR CENTERv 1021 SOUTH FEDERAL HIGHWAY~ BOYNTON BEACH~ FLORIDA~ ON MONDAY~ SEPTEMBER 9, 2002 AT 3:00 P.M. Present Jeanne Hasty, Chair Olive Field, Vice Chair Denise Chamberlain Elizabeth Jenkins Barbara McGee, Alternate Sharon Golden, Recreation Manager Steve Lulkin, Recreation Supervisor Absent Lillian Bruzzese Joan White Christine Wilson 1. Pledge of Allegiance Chair .leanne Hasty called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. and led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 2. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll and noted the absences. 3. Approval of Agenda Motion Ms. Chamberlain moved to approve the agenda as presented. motion that carried unanimously. Vice Chair Field seconded the 4. Approval of Minutes Motion Ms. Chamberlain moved to approve the minutes of the June 3, 2002 meeting. seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Vice Chair Field 5. Chairman's Remarks Chair Hasty welcomed Ms. Brenda Burbank to the meeting. Ms. Burbank is the head of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) section of the Area Agency on Aging. She also welcomed City staff members Steve Lulkin and Sharon Golden to the meeting. She then welcomed the new Alternate Board member, Ms. Barbara McGee. MD to You Program Chair Hasty mentioned a presentation that had been given to the seniors concerning doctors going to the homes of seniors. Mr. Lulkin stated that it had been MD to You. She had heard excellent feedback even though only ten people attended the presentation. Chair Hasty believed that widespread publicity would attract the people who needed to hear this presentation. Meeting Minutes Senior Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 9, 2002 Variety Show Chair Hasty remarked that they were working hard on the variety show to be held on November 14, 2002 at 1:00 p.m. at the Senior Center. So far, about ten acts had been arranged including semi-professional and professional singers, dancers, and comedians. Chair Hasty would appreciate help to sell tickets. Chair Hasty congratulated Vice Chair Field on having her picture on the front of the City's Fun Fare magazine. Field Trips to Other Senior Centers - Accreditation Chair Hasty reported that Steve Lulkin and Denise Chamberlain had visited two senior centers in Florida to find out what the Boynton Beach Senior Center would have to do to obtain accreditation. Ms. Chamberlain had glowing praise for the Senior Center in Pembroke Pines. They were not accredited but did not feel that they needed it. They have two committees of seniors that are elected by the seniors, who obtained non-profit status. These committees collect about $150K a year from various fundraising activities. The Pembroke Pines facility is very large and has an Alzheimer's unit, a daycare unit, and its own living quarters with 192 rental units. The rental units supply a large part of their resources. The foyer of the center was comparable to the entire Senior Center in Boynton Beach. Ms. Chamberlain spoke of the St. Petersburg facility that had been in place for 25 years and was accredited. It is also very large with an auditorium for shows, a gilt shop, and a coffee shop. Boynton Beach offers almost the same activities as those available at the Sti Petersburg Center, but on a much smaller scale. The Boynton Beach Senior Center serves more meals than they do with St. Petersburg having about 60 people coming for lunch each day and 130 who were served by Meals-on-Wheels. They had a much larger staff than Boynton Beach and a much larger building. Chair Hasty asked if they had assistance from the City of St. Petersburg like Boynton Beach did and Ms. Chamberlain replied that they did. Ms. Chamberlain commented that when the Senior Center addition in Boynton Beach was complete, they would have 10,000 square feet. The St. Petersburg facility had 53,000 square feet. Mr. Lulkin stated that they were going through a Self-Assessment for Accreditation and he invited the Board members to participate in the committee. Chair Hasty offered to assist. Mr. Lulkin reported that while both facilities were bigger, they still offered the same things as the Boynton Beach Senior Center. Boynton Beach did not expect to get into the daycare and living facilities, but were a more recreational, social, and educational facility. They believe that accreditation will help them get funds in the future. 6. Old Business 1) Grant Chair Hasty asked Mr. Luikin when the Senior Center would be getting the money from the grant. Mr. Lulkin stated that they had received two grants from the Lattner Foundation: one last year for $48,900 and another one this year for $50,000. They had also raised $4,100 through their STARS program. 2 Meeting Minutes Senior Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 9, 2002 At the end of October, the sprinkler systems will be installed and following that, construction will begin. They held off on the exercise room because putting the whole project together would be less expensive than doing two separate projects. Chair Hasty asked what the main purpose of that room would be. Mr. Lulkin stated that it would be an exercise room and the new computer lab. The offices that are there now will disappear, making the main room much bigger. It will also allow them to have more tables for the food program. They were now serving about 200 people a day for lunch. Ms. Chamberlain asked if any more grants were going to be requested. Mr. Lulkin thought the Lattner Foundation resource had been exhausted. Debbie Majors is always looking at different sources from which to get grants. She planned to set up a meeting with the Director of the Area Agency on Aging and the Recreation Director to find out why Boynton Beach was not getting any type of assistance from that organization. Chair Hasty asked if the City would be providing any assistance. Mr. Lulkin stated that the County proposed a bond issue and this area's County Commissioner decided to favor the Wilson Center instead of the Senior Center. Ms. Burbank mentioned that if the Center needed a grant writer, the Non-Profit Resource Center was training grant writers. 2) :Insurance for Helpers on the Shopper Hopper Chair Hasty stated that Leisureville's helpers were covered under its own insurance but the Senior Advisory Board wanted to know how to extend this coverage to the helpers on the Shopper Hopper buses in other areas. Ms. Brenda Burbank, the RSVP representative from the Area Agency on Aging, indicated that if a person were over 55 and joined RSVP, they would be covered by their insurance. Chair Hasty asked Ms..lenkins if she knew of any volunteers in her community that might be interested in helping on the Shopper Hopper and she did not know of any. Chair Hasty and Christine Wilson were planning to go to a church to try to get volunteers for the other areas. Ms. Burbank offered to have a staff member from RSVP go with them if they so desired. Ms. Burbank asked Mr. Lulkin if the Memorandum of Understanding that he was preparing to send to RSVP would cover the Shopper Hopper and he affirmed that it would. 7. New Business Chair Hasty spoke about the program that had been presented to the seniors about doctors coming to their homes. She thought that this should be widely publicized and arrangements made for the presentation to be given to seniors throughout Boynton Beach. A. Needs of Seniors Ms. Chamberlain stated that in High Point there were a lot of seniors and no one was checking on their needs or status during the summer months. Chair Hasty asked if the Shopper Hopper went there and Ms. Chamberlain responded that it did. She stated that they had just found a woman who had been dead for three days and no one was aware of it. She wondered if she had not called for help because she did not have insurance. Ms. Chamberlain had observed through her Hospice work that many seniors living in their own homes and requiring medical attention would not call for help because they did not have insurance. She saw this as a very 3 Meeting Minutes Senior Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 9, 2002 pressing need to be met. Chair Hasty was to try to gather the pertinent information and ask the Board members to take it to the individual condominiums and developments to get the word out. l) Transportation Mr. Lulkin said that transportation and the identification of homebound seniors were the most pressing needs of the Senior Center. At the moment, the Center has only one van and this van is always full and season had not begun. He knew that the Area Agency on Aging had given the Mae Volen Center a large portion of their transportation grant. Mr. Lulkin mentioned that Mae Volen did pick people up in Boynton Beach and take them to the Center but that people found it hard to deal with them. Mae Volen has different fee structures depending on where you live and it was confusing to a lot of the seniors. Ms. Chamberlain believed that lack of representation by Boynton Beach on the Area Agency on Aging Board was standing in the way of receiving help for this Center's need for an additional bus. Ms. Burbank was certain that the Executive Director, Kathy DeHerren, would entertain applications for membership on their Board. Taking a Leadership class was a prerequisite. Ms. Elizabeth ~lenkins broached the subject of transportation to and from the north end of Boynton Beach. She stated that they have had a problem with transportation since the Senior Center began. They need to have a bus pick them up that is ADA equipped for wheelchair service. She spoke of being picked up by a bus that did not have this feature but did not speciE/ the bus. Mae Volen's bus and the Shopper Hopper bus are both equipped for handicapped riders. Also, she did not know if the Shopper Hopper would pick people up on the west side of the C-16 Canal. Mr. Lulkin assured Ms. Jenkins that they would and that anyone calling for a ride could just give their address and they would be picked up at their door and brought to the Senior Center by the Senior Center's bus, which was equipped for wheelchair riders. Ms. Jenkins was given the number, 742-6590, for door-to-door transportation. Chair Hasty asked Ms..~enkins if there were any kind of We Care organization in Ms. Jenkins' neighborhood and Ms. Jenkins responded that there was not. Ms. Jenkins stated that she personally transports people and does so as part of her living. Mr. Lulkin offered to discuss this with Mr. Brett Rolle, supervisor at the Wilson Center, to determine if he would be interested in starting a We Care organization. Ms. Jenkins thought that the Wilson Center would be a good place to start because they were already involved with community services. Chair Hasty remarked that RSVP might be able to assist also. Chair Hasty added that the Shopper Hopper came to various communities in the area twice a week - once for grocery shopping and once for trips to WalMart, Target, and the Mall. The City does not have transportation for medical appointments at this time. Mr. Lulkin stated that one of the goals of the Senior Center was to get enough transportation to provide this much-needed service. They want to put together a program that could take people to such places as the doctor, the dentist, and the bank. Mae Volen has to come a long distance to pick people up in Boynton Beach. ~[f the Senior Center in Boynton Beach were able to provide this service to the local seniors, the distance would not be a factor and the seniors would benefit greatly from it. 4 Meeting Minutes Senior Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 9, 2002 2) :]:dentifying Homebound Seniors Mr. Lulkin stated that the other pressing need for the seniors in Boynton Beach was to find a means of identifying the homebound seniors. They do not know about the Senior Center and the Senior Center does not know about them. Once they were identified, they could start getting them the help they need. Ms. Chamberlain raised the plight of seniors who live alone in individual homes that were not associated with developments and that these people also had to be identified and assisted. Chair Hasty stated that she had been invited to speak at a development in West Boynton Beach about We Care and nursing care and how to get those services in a particular community. They were very interested and are starting their own group like we have in We Care. Ms. Chamberlain asked about We Care and what it was. Chair Hasty said it was a group of Leisureville volunteers. They provide rides for seniors in the development. They are interviewed to see if they need the help and then if they do, they can call a day in advance and get rides to doctors and dentists. Everyone donates walkers, wheelchairs, and all kinds of medical supplies, which may be obtained free of charge or for a free-will donation at the We Care office in Leisureville. She suggested that everyone who lived in a community talk to their Association Boards about this and she offered to go with them. Chair Hasty asked Ms. Burbank for brochures for RSVP so they could take them out to the various developments. Ms. Burbank stated she had complete membership forms also and offered to accompany them on any visits to the developments. Ms. Burbank stated that there were twenty-five communities in the County that had We Cares and they were trying to add at least ten more in the next few months. There will be a We Care directors meeting on September 20 from 10:00 to 2:00 p.m. and several people from this Center will be attending. She invited Mr. Lulkin to attend. With the state of the nation's economy at present, they were finding that there were some rich-looking homes out there with some very poor owners in them who were not able to eat or care for themselves properly. Chair Hasty asked Ms. McGee whether her Colonial Club community had any kind of program to check on the welfare of its resident seniors. Ms. McGee stated that they did this but on an informal basis. Also, they had one lady who does the welfare checks as a business for a small fee and everyone was happy with her services. She began it as just a friendly gesture but then people began to give her money for it. Ms. Burbank stated that through We Care, they constantly tried to educate the We Care directors about the resources in their community for seniors. They were trying to utilize the core groups that are so caring about their community to get that message out. She felt that it was a shame that the Area Agency on Aging was the best-kept secret in the world. They were trying to figure out a way to get the word out about services for seniors. They were also trying to get the word out about new agencies like Just Checking. The We Care Board of Directors told her that they had people that were beyond their help and they needed someone professional to help them through the system and get them the attention that they need. The .lust Checking group is actually made up of social workers that will come right into the seniors' homes to start services and make sure that these seniors get the services they require and help them into the system. She stated that she was trying to get Just Checking to attach themselves 5 Meeting Minutes Senior Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 9, 2002 to the We Care unit. Ms. Burbank noted that there was some sensitivity on the part of the seniors about asking for help and that this was an obstacle to be overcome. Just Checking wanted Ms. Burbank to have RSVP members join their organization because they will train members to become caseworkers, to extend the services of Just Checking. Ms. Chamberlain mentioned a woman who had been lost and was found by the Police sitting in her car off the highway in West Palm Beach and she did not know where she was. If something were available where people would know who to call and where to go, that would be wonderful. Chair Hasty stated that the Sheriff's office had free 911 automatic cell phones that were only good for dialing 911. They are out of them just now but will replenish their supply. She found out that even if you were having automobile trouble, you could use it and the 911 operators would send a policeman out who would then telephone AAA or do whatever it was you needed. Ms. Betty Spinelli, an applicant for a position on the Board, mentioned that she had gotten hers at Jog Road and Lake Worth Road between 10 and 2 on Tuesdays at the Sheriff's Department. The next Board meeting will be on November 4, 2002 at 3:00 p.m. Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 4:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (one tape) (091102)