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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSenior Advisory Board - Minutes - 02/09/2000CITY OF FORT COLLINS SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES: MEETING OF FEBRUARY 9,2000 Chairperson: Erik Margolis — 416-1411 Staff Liaison: Barbara Schoenberger — 224-6026 City Council Liaison: Ray Martinez, Mayor — 221-6506 L Attendance: Erik Margolis Excused Absence: Blanche Yakmas George Kress Alyce Eckley Marjorie McTaggart John Roberts Kristin Glenn Dorothy Kramka Guests: Cristi Wilson Florence Williams Al Heath June Tucker Kay Rios Ray Martinez, Mayor Staff: Barbara Schoenberger II. The meeting was called to order by Erik Margolis at 2:06 pm III. Citizen Participation: None IV. Correspondence: • Received Thank You from BlancheYakmas for her gift • Received a letter from a citizen regarding the hours of the library at the Senior Center. The letter was given to Dorothy to follow up • Received information regarding the New West Fest • From The VOA a flyer about their VOA RSVP Program in 2000. It is titled "I Remember Mama". For $20.00 tributes can be written about special women in our lives. The entries will be included in a special Mother's Day Tribute booklet. (This flyer was in our individual folders) N, V. `i rmoved that the minutes of the last meeting (February 9,2000) be approved as submitted. Kristin seconded. The motion carried unanimously. VI. Guest Speaker: Al Heath, Social Worker and Director of the new Mental Health wing at Fort Collins Health Care Center spoke about the new center and the need for geriatric psych care. The center is in process of remodeling. There are five private units, which include baths. Because the unit has only been opened six weeks, data regarding average patient stay, success rates, etc. is not available. They are however staffed Fort Collins does have a need for this type of facility. It is certified by Medicare. VII. Group Discussion: Mayor Martinez addressed issues with the group. 1. Marjorie stated that she called the deputy City Manager last week to give her personal opinion regarding the boards and commissions reviews they will be doing. Marjorie endorsed the idea of orientation sessions and suggested that they be held for the applicants, before appointments are made.". 2. Kay stated that they are trying to get a copy of the contract for the Northern Hotel project, specifically the funding from the city. She was told that is not public record. She thinks that it is and Ray said that he will investigate and try to get a copy and forward it to her. 3. George asked if the City Council knew what the Boards did. Ray responded by stating that they get copies of the agendas and after reviewing they make the decision to attend or not. Attendance is also determined by the availability the council members. He also suggested that perhaps we could get the agendas out earlier. 4. We also discussed Board memberships, the evaluation of the Boards to determine their needs, lack of applicants, and no changes to the public forum meetings. Marjorie also had an article from The Coloradoan regarding the "revamping of the Boards. VIII. Old Business: A. Transportation: Both Florence & Kay provided the following information Kristin sent the letter from the Board to the City Council stating that funding cuts would affect the senior citizens. Kay indicated that the funding cut for Dial -A -Ride is a dead issue at this time. Funding cuts would affect the seniors. Kay stated that educating the community about Dial -A -Ride and its value to the seniors is very important. The mission is advocacy, education, and advisory. The Transfort '1 ave surveys attached asking "what's good, what's not".They are c rent y rking with ridership to develop fixed routes and training. They Office on Aging is doing an on -site visit 2/18 to observe training and scheduling. On May 1 installation of tracking devices to determine the locations of the vehicles will begin. Actual tracking will not begin until next year. CSU and the City will start strategic planning for transportation. Planning will include members of the Board, community members, and CSU students. Kay reminded us that any decisions made regarding Transfort will impact Dail -A -Ride. There is a web site for the Mason Street corridor. This site provides a comprehensive review including goals and progress to date. The web site is: wwwxi.fort collins.co.us/c—TRANSPORTATION/Mason Street/index.htm. The Citizens Against Regional Supercenter will appeal the approval of the Wa1Mart Project and the approval for the Round -About for the Mulberry/LeMay crossing. The Council will hear their comments on March 28,2000. If denied by the Council this group will take the matter to court. A recent editiorial in The Coloradoan stated that this was a threat to the voters. A recent opinion in The Coloradoan stated that "the Council and Staff must be "sure" that Mulberry & Lemay is the best location for the Round -About. SAINT update: Unscheduled stops by riders result in drivers being late for the next rider. Due to a computer glitch the financial statements were incorrect. The statement did not show the true figures. This will be corrected. There was a shortage of drivers in June and July which resulted in below average number of riders. SAINT always need volunteers. Per the minutes of the Board of Directors there are several changes in the Board memebership. B. Outreach: George, Marjorie, Florence, Barbara, and Erik will present to the Long Term Care Resident Council on March 15,2000. C. Housing: There are two (2) Board member openings. The CBG has two funding cycles (one now and one later in the year). They are looking at implementing across the board standards for affordable housing, tenant rights, and mobile home owners. There is a proposal for a 58 bed assisted living facility in Fort Collins. $4.5 million in private bonds are being allocated. This facility is for moderate to middle income residents. The proposal is not clear as to how this will impact Medicaid recipients. The proposal is under review and questions have been sent back to the committee for clarification. Kay will keep us informed. D. IYOP Activities: Barbara reported that the breakfast held on January 20,2000 was very successful. E. Paint-A-Thon: June suggested that time be allotted for next months meeting to discuss in detail the Paint-A-Thon. She stated that after speaking to BRI in Denver they suggested that the Paint-A-Thon be held in August. She will be receiving from BRI information regarding successful Paint-A-Thons. Everyone agreed to take the time next month. F. Discounted Medications: June handed out a survey that she completed. The survey indicated discounts given by the pharmacies in Fort Collins. Of the fifteen pharmacies in Fort Collins only three (3) offered any kind of discount. The general consensus is that the pharmacies in Fort Collins offer such low prices, that offering a discount would put them in the red. After reviewing the information, it was decided that we would do another survey. June will supply a script and and a list of perscription drugs most commonly used by seniors. She will give the dosage and the quantity needed. Each member selected the pharmacies that they would call to get pricing information. After the information is received June will review and report back how the prices differ from pharmacy to pharmacy. A decision will be made as to how to share the information with the seniors. One suggestion was to print the results in Pathways and advise seniors to call the pharmacies to get the best price. G. Senior Resource Network City Line: Reports indicate that there is a problem with lines 2 & 3. Line 9 is not valid. The Sr. Center message is supposed to be changed weekly, however the current message is two (2) weeks old. Barbara will check into the problem. H. Pathways Articles: Marjorie reported that Blanche will write the article for March 1, 2000. I. Liaison Reports: A. PVHS: Erik reported that there were no new accounts for "Colorado Select". B. VOA/RSVP: Kristin reported that Susan Schmidt has been hired as the new program manager for the Nutrition Program. Derrick Hjerleid is the new kitchen manager. The transition of the meal program to VOA has gone smoothly and there have been many compliments regarding the new menus. A future goal is to find a permanent location for all the staff members of VOA. Currently the food program staff members remain in the county offices. RSVP staff are planning their annual fund-raiser "I Remember Mama". See the correspondence in your folders. C. Senior Center Council: Marjorie reported a very successful "Women's Gathering" event that took place in October. On January 10, 2000 about 20 women in addition the original committee met to brainstorm and decide if another Gathering should take place this year. They will meet again on Monday, February 14, 2000 to continue planning. D. Foundation On Aging: George reported that a presentation from CAST (Children & Seniors Together) requested monetary assistance to help with expenses. The FOA will provide $300. They also discussed the possibility of ongoing seminars to educate agencies assisting seniors with procedures seniors should follow when applying for low-income housing. The FOA sponsored two, four- hour computer classes for seniors. They were held at Cache la Poudre Junior High. Class size is limited to 20 enrollees, and they are assisted by junior high school students. E. Office On Aging: Steve Tool met with the Office On Aging. Discussions are in progress regarding outsourcing OOA. Suggestions are to keep it with the county, have a new umbrella, privatize or go non-profit. They are looking at he strengths and weaknesses of the current contract. Before making any decision they will be interviewing various groups. F. Others: Erik shared the minutes from the Loveland Senior Advisory Board. See attached. The Senior Networking luncheon is scheduled for September 29, 2000 at McKee Wellness Center. Judy Jones from the Senior Advisory Board is looking for volunteers. Erik also reported that there were no calls for the Sr. Line in Novembers, Senior Day at the State Legislature is scheduled for March 8,2000 for persons attending from northern Colorado. Also, McKee has a new prescription assistance program for seniors. A brief discussion regarding the formal presentation for outreach programs was held. We will further discuss at the March 8, 2000 meeting. IX. New Business: Erik informed the board that the annual report was due 2 days ago. A sub -committee will Review, re -write and submit There will be no speaker next month. Marjorie brought Coloradoan articles in regarding new primary physicians in Fort Collins that accept Medicare, and a new chain of dental practices now open in Fort Collins. X. Having no other business before us, June moved to close the meeting. This was seconded by George. The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 PM. Respectfully submitted by June M. Tucker PHARMACY SURVEY PHARMACY CALLED: Hello, I am calling to get prices on some medications. I would appreciate it if you could give me prices on both brand name and generic brands if available. The drugs are: Liptor 20 mg one tablet daily quantity 30 Price: Generic: Y N Price Prilosec 20 mg one tablet daily quantitiy 30 Price: Generic: Y N Price Relafen 750 mg one tablet twice a day quanitiy 60 Price: Generic: Y N Price Prinvil/ Lisinopril 20 mg one tablet once a day quantitiy 30 Price: Generic: Y N Price Azithromycin (Zithromax) 250 mg 2 tablets the first day : then 1 tablet daily for 6 days. Price Generic Y N Price I would also like to know if there are any cost savings by buying in quantity? Is there a discount for senior citizens? Thank you for your assistance. City C By DAVID RUISARD The Coloradoan The Liquor Licensing Author- ity is not the only advisory group facing changes. The city's 28 other boards and commissions could be in for a tune-up in the near future. Changes in recruiting prac- tices, outlining annual work plans and establishing council oversight are under discussion. Planning and Zoning Board member Sally Craig said tweaks suggested by the City Council were reasonable and palatable. The biggest change is the suggested implementation of periodic council reviews to de- termine if the advisory groups are effective — and whether they are even needed. Councilman Scott Mason rec- ommended any council reviews to be based on the boards' an- nual self-analysis. "It becomes dangerous when (council reviews) appear to be a tool to control or eliminate a particular board or commis- sion," Mason said. In order to avoid the appear- ance of a witch hunt, the council wants to place the boards on a rotating review schedule. With each board coming before the council once every seven years, the reviews would be limited to four a year: , The council wants to begin re- L.� III tiers _revamping board; f We want blue sky thinking, but we also want our policy agen0a to be met. Y Councilman Kurt Kastein viewing actions taken by its var- ious advisory groups as soon as possible. Mayor Pro Tern Chuck Wan- ner suggested the reviews begin next year. Craig said the review process probably will be time consum- ing, but that if council thinks the reviews will make the boards and commissions more effective, they are warranted. At a council work session this week, members struggled with how to aid the boards and com- missions in establishing achiev- able annual work plans. Mason said he would like the council's policy agenda to serve as a guideline for the board and commissions when they estab- lish their annual work plans. "The reason for that is that these boards and commissions are suppose to advise the coun- cil," Mason said. Noting that only seven boards and commissions submitted work plans to council last year; Councilwoman Karen Weitku- nat suggested that drafting a work plan be made mandatory for the advisory bodies. Wanner said the boards and commissions need to find a bal- ance between pursuing their own ideas and looking into is- sues before council. "If they're not responding to what we are working on, they can be almost irrelevant," Wan- ner said. He added that allowing the boards to look into issues on their own, however, could signif- icantly diminish the council's workload. Councilman Kurt Kastein suggested the council establish a percentage guideline for the boards and commissions to help them plan to address council is- sues. "We want blue sky thinking, but we also want our policy agenda to be met," Kastein said. Weitkunat was the only coun- cil member interested in reduc- ing the size of the city's boards and commissions. She said she would like to see the panels re- duced to between seven and nine members. Boards and commissions cur- rently have seven to 13 mem- bers. "Having served on boards and commissions, any time it gets over nine (members), they can become unwieldy," Weit nat said. Her thoughts were not v received by her fellow cou members, who suggested t any size reductions be mad( the request of the boards ; commissions. "I'm happy with leaving th the way they are," Mason sa Councilman Mike Byrne s part of the reason for the boa and commissions larger m( berships is to increase the m her of citizens serving as offi( advisers to council. The council agreed that F ple living within the cityys url growth area should be allov to serve on the city's boards a commissions. "People who live on the h der are just as much a part this city as anyone else," By, said. They also said the majorib each board and commis. should be city residents. The council also was in agr ment on establishing a fora orientation process for n boards and commissions me bers. Craig applauded the decisii citing a high turnover on boas and commissions that she I lieves is the result of memb who don't realize the coma ment their appointments mand. New doctors help alleviate Medicare loaf 3y SONJA BISBEE WULFF fhe Coloradoan The Choice City is starting to sve up to its name for seniors in iearch of medical care, according :o a Coloradoan survey of local medical offices. All 14 Fort Collins internists — ncluding five who arrived last 9ugust — are accepting new Medicare patients, office staff re- ported last week. And all but four internal medi- :ine physicians accept Medicare assignment, meaning they mini- mize out-of-pocket expenses for seniors covered by the federal health-care program. That has not always been the case. With Medicare's mediocre to some seniors scrambling for med- ical care. `When the crunch started a few years ago, we started re- sponding," said Dr. David Abbey, co-founder of Internal Medicine Clinic of Fort Collins, 1100 Poudre River Drive. Abbey defined internal medi- cine as "primary care for adults." In addition to new a physician assistant, Dr. William Harrison joined the practice 2'1z years ago, followed by Dr. Jorge Allende last, August. "We wanted to serve the need of the community," Abbey said. Other recent internal -medicine arrivals include: drick with Poudre Valley In- ternists,1025 Pennock Place. ■ Dr. Mark Simmons, 1080 E. Elizabeth St., who also special- izes in pediatrics. Poudre Valley Health System helped recruit three of the new physicians, offering to pay salaries for Allende and the Hen- dricks for a year while they get established in Fort Collins. A community survey and dis- cussions with local physicians in- dicated a need for primary care, especially for seniors, said Matt Kilton, director of business devel- opment. After Fort Collins re- ceived national recognition as a top place to retire, anticipated growth in the senior population University professor and teer Medicare counselor Ogg recently reported conti difficulties among his client ers say they have seen im: ments. Fort Collins resident Rainwater, retired from the dustry, said he's been hearir. ter news from people he kn( the community. "I think most of them ar ting in (to a physician)," 77 old Rainwater said Tuesday left the Fort Collms Senior ter. Rainwater and his wife had a physician since arriv the Choice City five years E ✓....d tsf l4,.. �_4J if ull 11krcl L011 I I ICILIUf ja, suture, chains Ohake inroads intIR city dentistry Sy STEVEN OLSON .� For the Coloradoan Chain dental practices aren' new, but some players in thr field are new to Fort Collins. Comfort Dental, a chair based in Denver and the sur rounding suburbs, will make it, first move out of the metro area by establishing two practices in Fort Collins. The first is sched. uled for a F4b—1 opening in the old Godfather's Pizza building on North Lemay, one block north of Poudre Valley Hospital. Perfect Teeth, a chain opel- ated by Birner Dental Man- agement Services, and South- west Dental have had offices on Riverside for some time. After four years on Riverside, Perfect Teeth is scheduled to open a second office on Har- mony Road in June. Although the growth of chain dental practices seems healthy in Fort Collins, whether it is the trend of the future is open to de- bate. Dr. Rick Kushner, owner of the Comfort Dental chain of 17 offices, thinks a rush toward dental -service operations was sparked by Wall Street. "Some years ago, orthopedic Centers ofAmerica made an ini- tial public offering and everyone made a lot of money," Kushner said. "I think the dental indus- try thought they'd do the same. I think the wave has passed. The stacks in existing ones are at rock bottom right now. I don't know that you will see more in Fort Collins." Birner Dental, for example, reported a loss of $61,000 in its second quarter in 1999. The year before, the company earned $510,000 in the second quarter. The company took in a record $14.2 million in the first and second quarters of 1999. but Profits fell from $573,006 the year before, to $237,006. Still, Kushner is thinking . about opening a second office h f We can save you about 35 percent below the stan- dard fee schedule. We also have our own dental plan. ere, and Perfect Teeth has def- mite Plans to open one this sum- tists in the compaq}�s north Ar- vada office, Kushner said. mer. Birner said the losses in the Dental chains are all run a little differently second quarter were caused by increased employee costs as a At Perfect Teeth, Dc Car] Ta- ber likes the fact that he doesn't result of adding support staff in its dental centers in anticipation have to trudge all the Of hiring additional dentists. to paperwork he had to do when he was running a traditional Fort Collins was selected as practice. an expansion site by two den- "I don't have to do taxes. I Dr. Rick Kushner, owner of Comfort Dental don't have to write the payroll. It's not my responsibility," he said. "I had a private practice for several years, and adminis- tration was not my strong suit" Tabor is an employee of Per- fect Teeth, but he can earn equi- ty and stock ownership with the company. He has a 401(k), a cafeteria plan and profit-shm- DENTAL WORK: Dentist Dr. Carl Tabor, left, and dental assistant Angel Glenn work on installing a resin filling in the mouth of Bellvue resident Christine Cook last month at the Perfect Teeth dental office in Fort Collins. Denver - based Perfect Teeth is just one of the dental chains setting up shop in Fort Collins. Comfort Dental will also make its first move out of the Denver metro area, opening two offices in Fort Collins this winter. Although the grow�b of chains is heplthy in Fort Collins, chains in'other parts of the country have seen a decrease in profits, leaving the future of the trend open to iebate. f.. Richard He, Te cdomdcan ing. At Comfort Dental, each den- tist is a partner in the firm, owning or leasing buildings. The appeal of dental chains also includes the economics of scale. Chains receive supplies and equipment at substantial discounts which are, in turn, passed on to the patients. "We can save you about 35 Percent below the standard fee schedule," Kushner said. "We also have our own dental plan. A monthly fee buys free services such as checkups, cleanings and Preventative care, you get a 45 Percent discount Over that and You most stay in the plan for a year" E _ _