Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
For the week of October 11th
Note: the Office for the Aging and all OFA Senior Friendship Centers will be closed on Monday, October 11th for the national Columbus Day holiday. Clients of the OFA Home Delivered Meals program will receive their meals in advance of the holiday.
2022-2023 ANNUAL UPDATE SUMMARY
Each year, as part of its planning process required by New York State, the Dutchess County Office for the Aging (OFA) and OFA Advisory Board conduct public hearings: listening sessions where we gather your input and questions regarding services for senior citizens and caregivers. Ordinarily, we would hold these listening sessions in person in the fall, but physical safety during a pandemic continues to be of utmost importance. Other ways of speaking up for seniors remain available. Contact us at 845-486-2555, in writing at 114 Delafield Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 or by email at ofa@dutchessny.gov.
SERVICES PROVIDED
A variety of services are provided by OFA, both directly and through subcontracts with local providers, with many services targeted at Dutchess County’s most vulnerable seniors. Services described in the OFA Annual Update are funded through a combination of Dutchess County funds, federal funds, state funds, client contributions and cost share. Specific statistics from the Annual Update will be available this week at dutchessny.gov/aging.
Impacts on the Lives of Seniors and Caregivers
Successful independent aging is a key goal for Dutchess County seniors – and future seniors. Ongoing OFA outcome and client satisfaction research has found that services offered have a significant impact in helping seniors remain independent in the community, and in relieving caregiver stress and burden. Clients continue to express a high degree of satisfaction with services provided.
Initiatives and Accomplishments
OFA measures annual accomplishments during the period that coincides with the state fiscal year, from April 1st of one year to March 31st of the next. The year measured most recently, April 2020 to March 2021, corresponds closely with the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The accomplishments included the following:
- With the great increase in seniors who found themselves effectively homebound due to 2020 pandemic restrictions, the number of meals distributed by the OFA Home Delivered Meals (HDM) program nearly tripled from its pre-pandemic numbers during the height of the pandemic.
- Eligibility for the 2020-21 Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) was likewise extended, with assistance and emergency benefits continuing through the end of August 2021. Its previous scheduled closure had been April 2021.
- Transitioned previously in-person events to safely distanced formats, including our Senior Picnic program. The transition enabled seniors to remain socially engaged while awaiting the vaccines that became available in early 2021.
PLANS FOR 2022 AND BEYOND
A primary OFA initiative for 2022-23 will be to continue providing more information regarding OFA programs and services remotely through technology. The purchase of tablets, laptops, mobile devices, and monitors, allowing OFA to interact with seniors remotely, is being funded with the help of a $14,000 grant from the Field Hall Foundation.
In our immediate future there’s good news to report: the Tri-Town OFA Senior Friendship Center serving the Towns of LaGrange, Pleasant Valley and Poughkeepsie re-opens to in-person senior meals and activities this week. The Friendship Center will operate Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Pleasant Valley at 1576 Main St. (Route 44). Contact OFA for more information.
Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 114 Delafield St., Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone 845-486-2555, email: ofa@dutchessny.gov website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging
SIGN UP FOR SENIOR LEGAL DAY (Tue 10/12)
There’s still room for seniors to sign up for OFA’s Senior Legal Day event at the Pavilion at Brookmeade in Rhinebeck (34 Brookmeade Dr., just off Route 308 east of the village).
Here’s the day’s schedule:
9:30-10:15 – Medicare, Social Security and “Bumps in the Road” with Nina Lynch, OFA Health Insurance Information, Counseling and Assistance Program (HIICAP); and Marion Power, Geriatric Care Manager
10:30-11:15 – Preventing Fraud and Abuse; with Nancy Brodey Koch, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley
11:30-12:15 – Wills, Power of Attorney, and Health Care Proxies with Paul Weinberger, Attorney at Law
The building has the capacity to seat hundreds, but to make it easier for social distancing we’re limiting attendance to 75 at each seminar.
Contact the Office for the Aging at 845-486-2555 to reserve your place.
ENJOY THE FOLIAGE AT WILCOX
Join OFA and Dutchess County Parks at 9 a.m. on Friday, October 15th for a Senior Walk Around the Lake at Wilcox Park in the Milan/Stanford area of northern Dutchess.
Call 845-486-2555 to sign up.
HEALTHY LIVING FOR YOUR BRAIN AND BODY (Tue 10/19)
Science can provide insights into how lifestyle choices can keep your brain and body healthy as you age. The Alzheimer’s Association presents “Healthy Living For Your Brain and Body” on Tuesday, October 19th at 10:45 a.m., at the City of Poughkeepsie Senior Friendship Center (114 Delafield St., in the OFA building). Learn about research in the areas of diet and nutrition, exercise, cognitive activity and social engagement.
For more information, call the Alzheimer’s Association at 800-272-3900 or the Poughkeepsie friendship center at 845-486-2564.
OFA GETS READY FOR HOLIDAY NUTRITION CHALLENGES
As part of OFA’s nutrition programming, we publish a monthly Nutrition News newsletter, which includes tips on healthy cooking and eating for seniors, plus simple, healthy, tasty recipes when space allows. Click here for the October menu: https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Aging/Docs/NutritionNews2110.pdf
It includes three simple recipes using local apples, which you can find at farmstands throughout Dutchess County.
As we get closer to Thanksgiving and the holiday season, we’ll share more recipes. Watch for them in our November and December nutrition newsletters.
For a full list of OFA nutrition publications, including newsletter back issues, click here: https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Aging/OFA-Nutrition-News-and-Program-Menu.htm
Other aging news online
Lessons on growing older with grace, along with a few things NOT to do: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/ageing-gracefully-life-age-old-b1919972.html
People with diabetes who keep it under control may have a lower risk of dementia later in life: https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/easd/94774?xid=nl_mpt_SRNeurology_2021-10-05&eun=g1261622d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NeuroUpdate_100521&utm_term=NL_Spec_Neurology_Update_Active
The fascinating life of New York forensic documents examiner Pearl Tytell, who died recently at age 104: https://www.avpress.com/news/newsline/pearl-tytell-examiner-of-dubious-documents-dies-at-104/article_6fe54e40-23f1-11ec-b027-ff2608daab01.html
Here come the stink bugs again: https://www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley/outdoors/article/stink-bugs-are-killing-NY-apples-16507431.php?IPID=Times-Union-HP-CP-Spotlight
95-year-old Tony Bennett’s struggle with Alzheimer’s seems to vanish – but only when he sings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNrvXw9juNs&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR0AB6ICVe6qjO_xeeS_zjqIl0fzvgSqEF2fSkZz03mnMM0rRF93XTMvaB0
This week in senior birthdays:
10/11: Singer/songwriter Daryl Hall (75)
10/12: Yankees shortstop/sportscaster Tony Kubek (86)
10/13: Disc jockey “Cousin Brucie” Morrow (84 or 86)
10/14: Fashion designer Ralph Lauren (82)
10/15: Painter/Dutchess County resident Brice Marden (83)
10/16: Actress/singer Dame Angela Lansbury (96)
10/17: Country singer/songwriter Alan Jackson (63)
And the week’s Bad Joke:
Q: What’s the best way to carve wood?
A: Whittle by whittle.
