Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
For the week of July 29
Golden Living . . . News for Seniors, Their Families and Caregivers
Todd N. Tancredi, Director
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
TAKING THE WELCOME WAGON OUT FOR A SPIN
Regular readers of this column can consider themselves fairly well dialed-in on aging issues, but let’s consider that many of our senior friends and neighbors in Dutchess County, along with their families and caregivers, might not know of the existence of the Office for the Aging and the services we provide. So, in this column, we’re getting back to basics.
If you have senior friends and relatives in New York State outside Dutchess County, make sure they’re aware that every county in the state has an Office for the Aging, or an office with a similar name that serves seniors. New York City also has its own Office for the Aging.
As for Dutchess, the Office for the Aging provides a wide array of services. Below are their brief descriptions. Get in touch with us and you’ll find out much more about them:
- Eight Senior Friendship Centers throughout the county, which provide nutritious hot midday meals and opportunities for socialization, recreation and more. Transportation is available to the sites and for weekly grocery shopping.
- A Home Delivered Meals program for qualifying seniors, available Monday through Friday.
- Transportation Services, including rides to Senior Friendship Centers, and to grocery shopping where available.
- Office for the Aging Continuing Care provides access to anyone, regardless of age and payment source, to long term care services.
- Point of Entry for community-based Long-Term Care, including home care needs assessment, home care services and case management for all ages, through our home care division.
- Legal Services for those over 60, with a focus on shelter and income issues.
- Reassurance programs, including the “Are You O.K.?” program, personal emergency response systems (PERS), and telephone reassurance through the Friends of Seniors program.
- Respite care, including adult day care services and overnight respite at the Vassar Warner Home.
- Energy and housing assistance, including the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) and senior housing information.
- Caregiver services, including information, case management, home care, adult day care, case assistance, workshops, referral and counseling for those who care for older adults in the community.
- Advocacy and case assistance for Medicaid, SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), and other entitlement programs.
- Health Insurance Information Counseling and Assistance Program (HIICAP) counsels people and provides workshops on all aspects of Medicare, Medicare+Choice, Medigap policy choices and Long Term Care insurance.
- Information and referral about issues of concern to older people.
- Grandparents raising grandchildren are offered support groups, workshops, case assistance and respite.
- A Senior Exercise Program to improve physical strength and fitness, and Brain Games to improve mental fitness. Both are offered at locations countywide.
- “A Matter of Balance” classes to improve balance and prevent falls are offered at locations throughout the county.
- NY Connects: your link to long term services and supports, providing information, assistance and referrals for anyone who needs it. Seenyconnects.ny.gov for more information.
- Various presentations for civic, social, and house-of-worship groups interested in learning more about how to add life to their years as well as years to their lives.
Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 27 High Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone (845) 486-2555, email: ofa@dutchessny.gov website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging
Office for the Aging upcoming events
Unless otherwise indicated, call (845) 486-2555 for more information
Tue 7/31, 11 a.m. – “Food Safety While Traveling”
With OFA nutrition coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
Millerton Senior Friendship Center, 21 Dutchess Ave.
Sun 8/5, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. – OFA at La Guelaguetza Festival
Waryas Park, Poughkeepsie (behind River Station)
(With Dutchess County Division of Human Rights)
Sat 9/22, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – at the Golden Gathering
Arlington High School, 1157 NY 55, LaGrangeville
(845) 229-0106 or email goldengathering41@gmail.com for information
Mon 10/15, 12 noon – 4 p.m. – Office for the Aging Senior Prom
Villa Borghese, 70 Widmer Rd., Wappinger
This year’s theme: “The Big Game” – dress as a spectator or participant in your favorite sport or athletic activity. Any other questions? Want a prom entry form? Email bjones@dutchessny.gov.
To request an Office for the Aging presentation for your senior, social and/or civic group, get in touch with outreach coordinator Brian Jones at (845) 486-2555 or bjones@dutchessny.gov. All your group needs to provide is a venue that’s wheelchair-accessible and open to the public, with space to set up a projector and screen. We have our own projector and screen – but if you have those, let us know.
We feature presentations on Successful Aging, Office for the Aging services, Medicare/Medicaid, senior housing, a wide range of topics related to nutrition, and more!
MHRH CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUPS, WORKSHOPS ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
The monthly Caregiver Support Groups and Workshops hosted by Mid Hudson Regional Hospital are on hold until further notice, with MHRH officials hopeful they can be resumed.
Caregivers in Dutchess County with questions can contact the Office for the Aging / NY CONNECTS with questions. Other local options include, but are not limited to, the following:
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- Alzheimer’s Association: 845-471-2655
- Parkinson’s Disease Support Group of the Mid-Hudson Valley: 914-475-2793 or
- Northern Dutchess Hospital: 845-876-4745
- www.caregiver.org
- www.caregiving.org
- For grandparents serving as parents to grandchildren: Cornell Cooperative Extension – 845-677-8223
OFA ANTI-SCAM PRESENTATION READY TO GO
The Office for the Aging has put the finishing touches on an all-new outreach presentation on the topic of scam prevention for seniors, and we’d like to show it to your seniors’ organization, civic group, house-of-worship organization, etc.
While the presentation is for seniors’ benefit, everybody with a phone and/or a computer is a potential target for scammers…and recent studies indicate that with many scams, younger adults are more often victimized than seniors.
To find out more about scheduling an anti-scam presentation, or any other Office for the Aging presentation, email bjones@dutchessny.gov or call (845) 486-2544.
WEEKEND TRAFFIC NOTE FOR ROUTE 44 IN PLEASANT VALLEY
Many thanks to the Town of Pleasant Valley for letting us host a Senior Picnic this past Wednesday under the enormous tent they’ve got up at Mike Cady Field in anticipation of this weekend’s festival. 172 seniors thank you for helping them stay dry that day!
Keep in mind that because of the festival, Route 44 through Pleasant Valley is likely to experience delays Friday through Sunday.
Other aging news online:
If you didn’t get as much exercise as you should have earlier in life…it’s not too late to catch up: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/well/exercise-makes-the-aging-heart-more-youthful.html
From a newspaper in Texas, food for thought for those considering aging-in-place modifications to their home: http://theleadernews.com/the-do-over-aging-in-place/
Try approaching aging like a jazz musician? https://www.ocregister.com/2018/07/24/dare-to-journey-beyond-whats-expected/
The world’s oldest person, Chiyo Miyako of Japan, passed away last week at age 117. The new world’s oldest person is also from Japan, as are three other women on the 2nd-to-10th-oldest list: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/07/26/national/japans-oldest-person-chiyo-miyako-dies-117/#.W1nQc9JKiUk
This week in senior birthdays:
7/30: Singer/songwriter Paul Anka (77)
7/31: Jets defensive lineman Gerry Philbin (77)
8/1: Former U.S. senator Al D’Amato (81)
8/2: Musician/songwriter/Hudson Valley resident Garth Hudson (The Band) (81)
8/3: Singer/actor Tony Bennett (92)
8/4: Mets outfielder Cleon Jones (76)
8/5: Actress Loni Anderson (72)
You thought you were going to finish this issue without a bad joke? Hardly.
Q: Why aren’t koala bears really bears?
A: Because they don’t have the…koalafications.
Brian Jones
Outreach Coordinator
Dutchess County Office For the Aging
Phone: (845) 486-2555 Fax: (845) 486-2571
Email: bjones@dutchessny.gov
Website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging