COUNCIL
ON AGING ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2005
To
the Board of Selectmen: East Longmeadow’s Council on
Aging’s 6 town employees (with lots of help) served 1708
of the town’s 3246 elders (189 in nursing homes). Grand total: 77,374
units of service in the following areas:
We furnished INFORMATION AND REFERRAL: 14,900
calls/visits.
RECREATION (8,774 class attendance)
includes Art, Book Club, Bridge, Bridge Lesson, Informal Bridge, Chess, Chorus,
Computer, French, Jewelry, Movie, Pool, Pinochle, Quilting, Racewalking,
Scrabble, Scrapbooking, Trips, Trivia & 9 cultural events & parties
(1,053). Discontinued: Multi-Day trips. New: Veteran’s Breakfast: (74), Cribbage, Crochet, Jigsaw Puzzles and community
education: “shifting gears”- registry driving course (31) & proposed
housing (18). Club Attendance:
Friendship Club: 2,931, Baystate
Deaf Seniors: 655 .
FITNESS/WELLNESS (10,433): Programs include Ballroom, Line, Jazz, Square
& Tap Dancing, Tai Chi, Easy Exercise, Exercise, Walking, & 46 participant entries in Massachusetts Senior Games
(Racewalk, Track & Field, Bowling, Candlepin, Tennis, Swim, Shuffleboard,
Golf, Ice Hockey, Soft & Volleyball). New:Pilates
SOCIAL SERVICES (1851 appointments)
includes the following breakdown of units of services: Outreach: 647, Case
management: 1018, Client Support: 96, Health Insurance Counseling (SHINE): 90.
FINANCIAL ADVOCACY: includes Income
Tax Prep:158 appts, financial workshops (42),
131 individuals (76 families) for Fuel Assistance Intake; 644 for Commodity
Distribution (includes 314 non-elders);
and 64 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, Miss Bella’s Kiddie Club, St. Paul Lutheran Church, First
Congregational Church, Eastern Star Corona Chapter #205, Daisy & Brownie
Troops, a Christmas donation on behalf of COA Staff toward the fuel
fund, and several local families /total
of $3906.
HEALTH SERVICES (1941): Flu Shots (590 for age 65+), Blood Pressure,
Health Screen, Hearing Tests, Foot Care & (75) Health Equipment Loans. We
continued to fundraise for one half year of our HEALTH Staffing. We turned over
responsibility for the Town Employee Flu Clinic to Bd of Health & School Dept.
NUTRITION: We served 13,423 Meals on Wheels and 6910 Congregate “In House” Meals: We offer WEEKEND HOME DELIVERED MEALS to 16 frailest residents in cooperation with
Chestnut Hill Nursing Home & 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 (10,435) 5 days a week. We purchased and sold 439 “discount
booklets”, $40 worth of tickets for $30.
In addition to the Town’s Appropriation
of $164,243 to cover 6 staff plus expenses, Director wrote the following
grants: State $ 17,626 +$1428. Federal Title III-C Nutrition $20,000 for nutrition
staff, $544/emergency meals; $897 for a Health Fair, $750 for
health supplies & two 20 hour Senior Aides, ($14,040). Meal Donations were $35,514 (up $957). Friendship Club
paid $1207 for Thursday Programs; Arts Lottery granted $500.
MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS of $1,255 were received from Jan 1 to Dec
31, 2005 in memory of: Louise
W. Allan, Della Bracken, Don Carver, Jean Chiodo, Deane S. Clark, Marion Connor, Angela Gour, Betsy
Hausamann, Marlene Johnson, Eleanor M. Latourelle (COA secretary), Joseph
Longo, Ann Paterwic, Henry & Amalia Pawlowicz, Donald H. Peirce, Mary
Perrault, Ruth Evelyn Rice, Laura Rollins Johnson, Leon M Speight, Fred
Stevens, Albert “Baba” Tranghese, and a most generous $14,000 bequest from
Grace Cousineau. Funds were used ($104) for amplified telephone, our new
donated baby grand piano: moving ($227), tuning ($75), and piano truck ($390). Health Clinic donations, including United Way, totaled $3794. Our Trust Fund received $2,297.
Council on Aging sent $1884 to the Town’s General Fund for evening usage of Pleasant View from bridge, photography, deaf
& hard of hearing groups, Stavros, Homebuyers, Children’s Dance Recital,
Friends of Heritage Park, Chess Tournament, Jay Lefebvre’s info seminar, Mario’s Ballroom, and Redstone &
Swingles Square dancers. No charge for town elections, historical, health and
sports groups.
Highlights of our accomplishments
during the past year include being one of the largest sites where elders can 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. We hosted many seminars in the new Medicare Part D
Prescription Drug Program and enjoyed the Red Sox Trophy Display. The new COATES software should
help us in our statistical record keeping. We hosted a Health Fair & Try a New Exercise
Day. We are grateful to have a
Building Facilities Manager to plan some upgrades to our 1918 building and
grand-fathered plumbing. The Senior Center Study Committee withdrew its Town Meeting request to fund a
feasibility study of Pine Knoll recreation area (to take advantage of town
owned land). We went back full circle to renovating Pleasant View. Building Fund received $7,024 from: Panera Bread, Morning Glory Walkers, 4
casino trips, Quilting Club, Red Sox Picture Appreciation, Friendship Club
& Betty St. Peter & Simone Bolton & Karen & Danni Callahan: (memorial:
Grace Poquette, Baba Tranghese, Angelo
Gour, & Evelyn Callahan), Diane Tiago, Muriel Andwood, Volunteer
recognition, CVS, Falcetti, Leona & Edward Lessard, Roz Clark,
Philanthropic Education Organization, Deaf Women’s Club, Sally Perrin and
Millie Austin’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),
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 (special
desserts), Greater Springfield Senior Services, 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: DOCTORS Michael Lemanski & Bazin & Unger, Pharmacist
ThaoTrinh, AUDIOLOGIST Sue Bankoski Chunyk, and NURSES: Peg Reilly, Joan Weisse, Edith Buckley, Ann
Griswold, Ann Haskell, Anna Haskins, & Marilyn Richards, and Springfield
College interns. Our 273 VOLUNTEERS donated a record 10,871 hours. Thank you all! Our Senior Volunteers of the year: Millie
Austin & William Powell.
We are grateful to our fellow departments: DPW for delivery of commodities,
CLERK-tax work off, records lists, REC-joint programs, POLICE & FIRE: TRIAD
Safety program, SCHOOLS & SCOUTS
-decorations, COLLABORATIVE STUDENTS for biweekly 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 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 & VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITIES. Special thanks to the
BUSINESSES who support our “Old Quarry Town Elder” monthly Newsletter and
Annual Program Book.
_______________Respectfully submitted: Council on Aging Board Members:________________
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Chair/Study:
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Leon Osborne ‘06
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Vice Chair/Study/Club:
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Jack Coughlan ‘08
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Secretary/ Person’l:
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Linda Walachowicz ‘06
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AAA:
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Ray St. Marie ‘07
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Nominating:
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Dorothy Weyner ’06
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Corresp.Sec/Study:
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Muriel Andwood ‘07
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Emergency Plan:
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Melinda Mandeville ’07
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TRIAD:
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Doreen Harrison ‘08
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Member:
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Foy Miller ’08
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Member:
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Theresa Govoni ‘07
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Ex-Officio: Selectmen Chair: John
Claffey (Nick Breault, Exec. Sec) & COA Exec. Director Rosalind Clark
