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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSenior Advisory Board - Minutes - 03/08/1995SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD • Minutes of the March 8 1995 Meeting CALL TO ORDER The meeting of the Senior Advisory Board was called to order by Vice Chair Yvonne Myers at 2:02 P. M. on Wednesday, March 8, in the Senior Center. A quorum was present. ATTENDANCE Members Kay Rios, Chair Yvonne Myers, Vice Chair Stan Ulrich, Secretary Jane Goodhart Jane Davis Ed Johnson Marjorie McTaggart Wayne Moellenberg Mary Alice Spelts Jill Taylor CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Guests Ruth Burns, Mountain Hosptial Joni Martin, Western Staff Crest Services Medical Barbara Schoenberger, SAB Representative Jennifer Klink, RSVP Council Liaison: Absent No one wished to speak before the Board. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Practice must make perfect, for only two corrections were made in the January 11 minutes. Ed pointed out that contractor should be replaced with "city" on Page 4, under Senior Center Update, line 1 in the second paragraph. Marjorie pointed out the second correction and that was that February should be replaced with "January" on Page 7, first line. The minutes were then approved as amended. CORRESPONDENCE The SAB had received a letter from the First National Bank about the Paint—A—Thon, but since that topic was on the agenda, the concensus was that the letter should be read and discussed when that item was being considered. OLD BUSINESS Out of consideration for their time, Vice Chair Yvonne exercised her prerogative and moved the Mountain Crest and Western Medical presenta— tions from Items 2 and 3 under New Business to the first two items under Old Business. Jane Goodhart, who had made the arrangements for the pre— sentations, introduced Ruth Burns, RN from Mountain Crest, who spoke first. Ruth stated that her title at Mountain Crest is the Intake Com— munity Relations Coordinator for the Senior Care Unit. The Senior Care Unit, she said, is now four years old and is a medical geriatrics/psychi— atrics unit for seniors over 55 years of age, and it, in turn, is a part of Mountain Crest, which is a 60—bed, acute care psychiatric facility located on Harmony Road. The Senior Care unit was added, she said, as a result of a study conducted in 1991 or 1992. Demographics showed that in Page 2 of 9 Pages, SAB Minutes, March 8, 1995 that in those years, the population of seniors 65 and older was 19,500, which was 10 to 15 percent of the population. The unit contains 24 beds for patients and is set up just like a hospital. It also has a daycare program to take care of less serious problems and an Alocholic Anonymous program. One of her jobs, Ruth added, is to do clinical assessments to determine the appropriateness of admission. Not everyone needs to be admitted, and those who are not are placed in an on -site management program. Mountain Crest has developed an outreach program that extents into Nebraska and Wyoming. The hospital is well-known and draws patients from all over the United States. Since seniors are living longer, Ruth stated that problems with alcohol- ism, behavior, depression and dementia are increasing. Medicare funds the unit and gives 190 days of lifetime psychiatric benefits. The patient pays only the deductible. For the day care, however, Medicare pays only 80 percent. Each patient gets a complete physical and neurological exam to make sure that the patient isn't suffering from delirium, depression or dementia and to be sure that the hospital has a complete analysis of the patient's condition. The hospital is staffed on a one to three ratio to patients and does total case management. The most common reason for a patient to come to Mountain Crest, Ruth continued, is depression, whether it is the primary reason or secondary one. A crisis usually precedes admission because a stigma is still attached to any issues involving treatment "above the shoulders'.' in the senior age group. Many patients come from nursing homes and one reason that she is called to the home is that the patient is extremely combative and aggressive because of the stigma. This is unfortunate, she added, because early treatment would be much more effective and the situation could be more easily reversed. Ruth then supplied statistics for the reason why the Senior Care Unit was established. At the present time, the older adult makes up 12 per- cent of the total'population, but that percentage will rise to 20 by the year 2000. Seniors use up 30 percent of the health care dollars, 36 percent of the hospital beds and 80 percent of long term care. MC -can- not keep up.with the:demand., The Senior Care Unit -started with.8:1beds in 1992, increased to 24-beds, and now has.a waiting list. Alcoholism is the big problem. Fifteen percent of the patients over 50 have an alcohol -related problem and 1 in 5 hospitalized elderly persons is an alocholic, but goes untreated because when an elderly person arrives at the emergency room, he usually has fallen and he/she is treated for the injuries only. $60,000,000,000 each year is spent on alcohol -related and drug problems. The reason, Ruth cited, is that as a person grows older, the liver can no longer work as efficiently as before and traces of drugs will remain longer in the body. Alcohol will react with these drugs. An added danger is that many seniors are suffering from multiple - medical impairment and that increases the risks immenesely. Many differences exist between older adults and younger adults in the use of services. For older adults, it usually takes a crisis for treat- ment, they are taking more medicines and the culture .."accepts" the belief that 80 year -olds are supposed to be confused. The older adult is also more isolated, emotionally,•physlcally�-and financially, and cost is always of primary concern. Seniors do not want to be a burden and assume feelings Page 3 of 9 Pages, SAB Minutes, March 8, 1995 of guilt and then start drinking again. Ruth concluded her presentation by saying that she is available for con- sultation, and then invited the members of the SAB to visit the facility. Chair Kay, who had arrived just as Ruth began her presentation, assumed the chair and called upon Joni Martin, RN supervisor for Western Medical Services, which is a home health and staffing agency. Ruth stated that she worked for Western Medical several years ago, but had left because she was concerned at that time that when patients were released to their homes, there was very little follow-up. While being treated, the patients responded well to medications and new regimens, but they soon became non- compliant after they left the hospital because no one was there to super- vise. Many of them slipped back into their depressions. As a result, they have `-to :be re -admitted to Western Medical in two or three months, or they would go home to a dysfunctional family or another undesirable environment. With the help of a consultant, Joni continued, Western Medical developed a psychiatric home health program to provide continual treatment. The services are covered by Medicare, Part A, and the patient never sees a bill because WM accepts the Medicare cap, and it does all the paper work. The Health Care Program includes psychiatric nurses, psychiatric physical therapists, psychiatric medical/social workers, home health aides, phy- sical therapists and speech therapists. When the team gets a referral from Mountain Crest, it does follow-up tests in the home, and members of the team "scope out" the whole situation: home living conditions, medica- tions used, finances of the patients and other factors related to health. Then the team puts together a plan of care to help stabilize the patients in the home. The program, in essense, provides a contiuum of care for psychiatric patients because it does decrease the number of re -hospital- izations and it cuts down on the length of the hospital stay. Psychia- tric home care is unlimited under Medicare, but the provider must meet certain criteria for prolonged care. After a question and answer period, Kay thanked Joni and Ruth for their input and invited them to attend the Network Luncheon that will be held in September. OLD BUSINESS Senior Center Update Following the presentation by Joni Martin and Ruth Burns, Kay went to the first item under Old Business and called on Ed Johnson for an update on the new senior center. Ed reported that the Parker General Contractors had not paid the sub -contractors, and they decided not to work as long as they didn't get paid. The surety company has now taken over the responsibility of paying the sub -contractors, and the city now makes out the checks to Parker General Contractors and the surety company. A fund has been set up, and the sub -contractors are now paid from that fund. Parker General, however, is still respon- sible for the supervision of the construction until it is completed. With the assurance of getting paid, the sub -contractors are now back on the job and had 29 people working there during the past week. All the major construction is done, and all that remains is finishing work. There are still problems with the roof and landscaping, and if Page 4 of 9 iages, b A 6 `.Lnutes, March 8, 1995 the landscaping company cannot get bonding, the city will take over that operation. Ed added that he thought the March 27 date of completion is not very reasonable because much finishing work still needs to be done. The roof still has a sag in it because the workers had placed heavy loads of material in one spot and caused a dimple in the roof. Other prob— lems are still plaguing the contractor, and Ed didn't know how soon they can be resolved. The good news, Ed continued, is that assist bars had been installed in the restrooms and appliances have been placed in the kitchen and are ready to be hooked up. The management of the general contractor has also returned to the table yesterday. The bridge across New Mercer Creek is built, and the sign has been installed and it says, "Fort Collins Senior Center." Homebounders Jane Goodhart reported that Kim Ragan had resigned as the director of Homebounders and that she had received a call from the Alzheimers' director, who:told her that the Alzheimers Association was comtempla— ting sending out a housing list. First, it will send out a letter to see if there is any interest in such a list. Yvonne added that the letter had been sent and it stated that subscribers would be charged for the list and that a facility would have to pay a fee to be included on the list. Yvonne estimated that it would cost more than $300.00 a year to use the service and the facility would still be responsible for calling the Association each month to update the information. Living Centers, Jane continued, had opened up the job that Kim had held to Living Center employees only. No outside persons had been encouraged to apply. A woman named Cindy had been hired, and Home — bounders decided to drop the case management part of Homebounders and to do a resource list only. The director of the Office on Aging reminded Linda Donahue, director of Homebounders/Senior Living Options, that the two programs were separate and should be dealt. with separ— ately. There is still no board of directors and community input is pretty limited. There is no known budget. Jane completed her report by stating that she had heard that Nancy McCambridge may also be thinking about printing a housing list. A fourth entity that may consider printing a housing list of resources could be the Office on Aging's I & R Consortium. A lengthy discussion about housing lists followed Jane's report. Yvonne questioned the validity of the Homebounders' list because many of the persons listed as being referred to New Mercer had never con— tacted New Mercer. The same thing was true with New Mercer's sister facility. Marjorie McTaggart said she had a question about the con— fidentiality of the list. Names on such a list should not be made public. Wayne added that Jill's intern tried to update the list and considered that a hopeless task and that it was probably not valid. Jane suggested that we discuss the matter with the new director of the Human Development Department, and Kay added that she had thought about that, too. She wants to write to the director and welcome her to her new job and tell her about some of the concerns of the Senior Advisory Board. Jane mentioned that Linda Donahue was concerned about the list being distributed, and she would be willing to have it researched if some names on it are questionable. Page 5 of 9 Pages, 46B Minutes, March 8, 1995 • Dial -A -Ride Kay reported that there wasn't much to report on Dial -A -Ride. Marge Walsh had resigned as director of Care -A -Van, and the organization had protested the city's decision to ward the Dial -A -Ride contract to Shamrock. Everything is still pretty much in limbo until a judge makes a ruling at a hearing on March 30. Senior Network Luncheon Kay reported that the Office on Aging will be co -sponsoring the Net- work Luncheon this year, and the event is scheduled for September 13. Kay said that she and Shelley would like to make the luncheon county- wide by inviting people from Berthoud, Loveland, Wellington, Timnath and other towns. Both of them are working on lists, and they are hoping that it can be held in the new Senior Center, but an alternate place would be the Lincoln Center. Kay also told about some of the activities that they hope to incorporate into the luncheon, and several members made other suggestions. Kay promised that she would take them to the next meeting. Paint-A-Thon Kay read a letter from Duane Rowe, senior vice president, First Nation- al Bank. In it, Mr. Rowe stated that the First National Bank is organ- izing a Paint-A-Thon Community Committee and he asked that Barbara should serve as a representative of the SAB. Kay stated that she will answer the letter and inform Mr. Rowe that she, Yvonne and Barbara will be attending the meetings. Bylaws Marjorie reported that copies of the proposed amendments to the bylaws had been distributed at the February 1 meeting and asked if they should be discussed at the meeting and voted upon at the next one, as stipulated in the bylaws. Stan moved that the bylaws should just be presented at this meeting and then discussed and voted upon at the next scheduled regular meeting. Marjorie seconded the motion with the proviso that all members read both sets of bylaws between now and the next meeting. The motion carried. Annual Report All that needs to be done under the "Annual Report" item, Kay said, was to report that it had been completed and she then showed a copy of it to the SAB members. Mobile Home Park Nothing new has developed (pun intended!) in the moblie home park situation, Kay stated, but the proponents are still battling it out. Senior Job Match The only additional news about the Senior Job Match Program. that Kay had was that the Office on Aging will monitor the evaluations. Ed added that the Senior Job Match Advisory Board had sceduled a meeting for March 1, but only he, Jeff Bridges, Donna Deschenes and Shelley Page 6 of 9 Pages, SAB Minutes, March 8, 1995 Stephens attended. Ed added that the Board is seeking more members and two more persons from the Centennial neighborhood. Basically, the Board hasn't done much with seniors, but another training session will be held in April. The Board adjourned without setting a time and place for the next meeting. Ed then handed out the revised Project Overview of the Senior Job Match Program. As usual, Ed's comments generated a spirited discussion. NEW BUSINESS Office on AainQ Needs Assessment Since Jill had given her only copy of the Office on Aging Needs Assessment to Kay, she stated that she did not have a chance to read the report carefully and cannot give a full report. She said, how— ever, that she would like to report on it after she has had a chance to study it. The report is the result of a study, or survey, that the OOA had taken over the phone and had interviewed nearly 400 persons. Kay had the report with her and read its recommendations: (1) To identify and link older adults to existing volunteer opportun— ities; (2) To promote programs that assist older adults to remain in their own homes; (3) To advocate to decrease age discrimination; (4) To address preventative care such as low cost dental care, exercise programs, family relationships and nutritional needs; (5) To further study high nutrition risk before determining a plan of action; (6) To investigate best practice community fall prevention programs; (7) To implement multiple ways to increase knowledge of services among older adults and all community members and targeting neighborhoods, churches, families and physicians; (8) To increase awareness of the Office on Aging and its role and functions; and (9) To develop a systematic needs assessment plan for the OOA that includes primary random and non—random sources, community resource surveys and secondary data. Jill added that Shelley McGraw also mentioned that the Human Develop— ment Department is in the process of reorganizing and some of the recommendations will be incorporated into the changes. April Outreach The next Outreach program, Kay announced, will be held on April 12, at 3:00 P. M. in the Gifford Building on the CSU campus. Kay added that she will mail the parking permits, the room number, the instructor's name and maps to all the members. Each member was given an assign— ment for the program. Yvonne added that the role of the SAB should be emphasized. Human Relations Barbara passed out a communication that was sent to the SAB from the Human Relations Board, which is seeking nominations for the Human Relations award. She urged everyone to take an active part in dis— seminating the information to other organizations. She added that the SAB had traditionally nominated someone. Although the nominations aren't due until March 24, arrangements should be made now because the forms require some time to complete. Marjorie suggested that Judy Curby would be a worthy nominee because she and the Concerned Seniors have sponsored many worthwhile activi— rage i of 9 rages, SAB Minutes, March 8, 1995 1 ties. The members agreed, and Kay asked Marjorie to write a letter nominating Judy, but Marjorie hesitated to take on that task because she said she had too many other responsibilities. Yvonne suggested that Jane 0oodhart could write the letter if Marjorie would furnish the information needed. Jane agreed. Outreach Verses Regular Meetings This item was placed on the agenda at the request of the secretary, Kay stated. The SAB should decide whether or not outreach programs should be considered as special meetings and not held in lieu of regular meetings. The logic behind scheduling outreach programs as special meetings is that when an outreach program is presented, regularly scheduled meetings could be two or three months apart. The long hiatus between meetings results in a lengthy, complicated agenda and the meetings drone on and one. The concensus reached was that regular meetings would also be held in months when an outreach program is presented. No regular meeting, however, would be held in April. REPORTS RSVP Jennifer reported that the RSVP office will be moving to 405 Canyon Street on April 1, but it will still maintain a small administrative office in the Senior Center when it opens. Jennifer wasn't quite sure when the fianl move will be made, but she said when her desk is moved, she will follow. She added that AAIA is sponsoring a Winter Conference on March 30, in the Senior Center from 3:00 to 5:00 P. M. The program will consist of a panel discussion with experts speaking about seniors with drinking problems. She will be sending out invita— tions. In other news, Jennifer announced that Barry Carroll had resigned to accept a full—time position with CSU. Aspen Club In answer to many requests, the Aspen Club had conducted a tour of DIA after it opened, and over 350 persons had gone, Jill reported. The ER staff at Poudre Valley, she added, had seen many people coming into the Emergency Room without primary care physicians and decided to organize a pool of physicians that will take turns in caring for patients who have no primary physicians and who have chronic condi— tions that need long term care. She added that she had met with a group of people who has medical assistance programs with a small pot of money that has to go a long way. Some of the participants are Catholic Community Services Northern, a diabetic teaching and counsel— ing service, the Health Van, Larimer County Mental Health, Pharmacy Assistance Program of Poudre Valley Hospital, House of Neighborhood Services,Women's Center and the Salvation Army. To tap into these services, a person would have to fall within the guidelines established by the service. City Council Ed reported that he had nothing new to report since the last meeting except the sale of the building in which the Senior Center is Page 8 of 9 Pages, SAB Minutes, March 8, 1995 presently located. The transaction, however, will not affect the Senior Center because the sale of the building is contingent upon the completion of the new Senior Center. Office on Aging Stan stated that he doesn't have much to report because the Office on Aging Advisory Council's next meeting is scheduled for the next day, and there is nothing new to report since the March 1, meeting. He did mention, though, that a Senior Job Match report is on the agenda. Seniors Airborne Kay said that she had nothing to report on Seniors Airborne, but she added that she had invited Bill to attend one of our meetings. Marjorie added that she had talked with Bill after the new format had been introduced, and said that Bill was very enthusiastic about reporting live at the Breakfast Club. He was disappointed, however, that the spectators could not hear the broadcast. Marjorie also said that the live broadcasts will be continued on a three—month trial and Bill will continue to take call —ins. The manager also promised Bill that he would put in loudspeakers so the patrons of the Breakfast Club could hear the broadcast. A discussion about the re— lationship between the SAB and Seniors Airborne followed, and Kay said she would invite Bill to the May meeting to clarify the picture. Concerned Seniors Marjorie said that the Concerned Seniors report had been included in a previous discussion. Senior Center Council Mary Alice Spelts reported that the Senior Center Council had nomina— ted new members for the Council, and they will be approved or disap— proved at the annual meeting on June 12. The St. Patrick's Stew dinner will be held on March 17, Mary continued, and then handed out pieces of "stew" for each member. The cost of the dinner will be $5.00 for the dinner and entertainment. Mary Alice added that the Council is in the middle of a Women's Financial Investment Program. and that it is going quite well. Friends of the Senior Center Barbara reported that the Friends of the Senior Center had sponsored the Madri Gras, but because of the bad weather that night, attendance was low. Other competition was a.symphony gala that was also held in the Lincoln Center. The important thing to remember, she sttessed, is that the Friends did not lose money on the Madri Gras. Barbara's last announcement was that the Seniors will be sponsoring a social called The Last Blast on Thursday, April 20 from 1:30 to 3:30 P. M. in the Senior Center. OTHER BUSINESS Stan: The Senior Lobby will be sponsoring Senior Days at the Capitol on Wednesday, March 22. Page 9 of 9 Pages, S•b Minutes, March 8, 1995 t Jennifer: Pass. Wayne: Pass. Ed: Pass. Marjorie: The SOAP Troupe will be performing on the weekend of May 21 and 22 in the new Senior Center. Matiness will be presented on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. She added that the Friends of the Senior Center had ruled out holding a garage sale this year, but she added that that might be a "maybe." RSVP and the Friends may cooper— ate on one. Mary Alice: Pass. Jill: She had eaten "icky" food the night before and she was still feeling the effects of it. Kay asked her not to "bring it up" at the meeting! Jane Goodhart: A program called Adults Living in a Safe Environment will be presented at the fire station on March 21, at 10:00 A. M. Yvonne: The Neighborhood Forum will be held at the University Park Holiday Inn Hotel on Wednesday, March 22, from 5:30 to 9:30 P. M. She thought it would be something worthwhile for SAB members to attend. Kay: She didn't want to "bring anything up." ADJOURNMENT Since'.there1was'no further business,to conduct :and =.everybody -was dropping from exhaustion, the meeting was adjourned at 4:47 P. M. Stan Ulrich, Secretary Approved Kay Rios, Chair February 14, 1995 TO: City Council Members FROM: Kay Rios, on behalf of the Fort Collins Senior Advisory Board SUBJECT: Senior Job Match At a special meeting on February 1, 1995, The Fort Collins Senior Advisory Board again reviewed and discussed the Senior Job Match program at length. The Board voted unanimously to support the concept of this program. In addition, the board members agreed to commit support for the following areas: ■ Client identification ■ Target Neighborhood identification ■ Advisory review of proposed services ■ Critique and review of forms, application and brochures ■ Furnish input regarding elements of the provider training program ■ Advisory board representation (Ed Johnson was unanimously selected to serve in this capacity.) After this subsequent review, we recommend that City Council support this program. If you need additional information, please contact me.