Senior Services Committee

CITY OF VERONA SENIOR SERVICES COMMITTEE April 13, 2021 VERONA SENIOR CENTER MINUTES 1. The meeting of the Senior Services Committee was called to order by Katie Kohl at 6:06 p.m. 2. Roll Call: On roll call: Christine Posey and Katie Kohl were present. Also present: Stephanie Ehle, Senior Center Director. 3. Approval of the minutes from the March 9, 2021 Senior Services Committee meeting. Motion by Posey, seconded by Kohl. Motion carried 2-0. 4. Director’s Report • The Senior Center will continue to open slowly. Programs still require registration. • Staff are almost all fully vaccinated. • All current volunteers are also fully vaccinated. The Senior Center will look to bring on more volunteers as they open more in-house. • Ehle is working on evaluating and updating the Case Management department to meet evolving needs. A lead Case Manager role and an updated Case Manager role will be taken to the Personnel Committee on Thursday. • The team is looking to the future and the possibility of bringing on more student interns. • No further news about the merger of Town of Verona and City of Verona for senior services. Stay tuned. • The Senior Center will be partnering with the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin to offer free virtual medication reviews. As a thank you for partnering with them, the Pharmacy Society will contribute money to the Senior Center. Alder Posey asked how this partnership came about. Ehle replied that the Pharmacy Society approached the Senior Center to offer this free service. Ehle knew of the benefits of this type of opportunity and decided to try it at the Senior Center. This will be their second medication review event. Alder Kohl asked if there was a limit on how many could participate. Ehle stated that they will start with 4-8 people but could offer more opportunities to meet the needs of those who are interested. 5. Reports on Programs and Case Management: Programs – • Virtual and in-house programs remain steady. • The Senior Center continues to incorporate on-line signups via Schedules Plus. Most people are still calling to sign up for programs. • In April and May more in-house programs will be offered: limit 20 people in the main room. • All in-house speakers are being asked to live stream their presentations via Zoom. So far this has worked well. • Other in-house programs offered include foot reflexology, chair massage, table massage, and reiki, pelvic wellness program, Stepping On for fall prevention, movies, Great Courses, and Rendever virtual reality. Most wellness services are fully booked. • Virtual programs have an average 6-8 people. They are seeing an increase in participants trying Zoom. • Exercise options are expanding in the coming months - Ageless Grace (low impact), and Total Control pelvic wellness will be in-house. All other exercise classes remain virtual with steady attendance. The Senior Center is working towards bringing on new exercise instructors. • The Senior Center continues to partner with local businesses. In April they will host a drive up lunch with Fraboni’s. 23 people signed up. • The Senior Center Board is also providing free monthly lunches. Case Management – • Helping Hands has had no requests. • Outreach continues to offer “Zoomin’ with Case Managers”. The program is going well and they are exploring topics for summer. Case Managers are utilizing phone and Zoom to meet with clients. • Vets group is not meeting at this time. They hope to have a drive thru event before intern Lauren leaves. • Caregivers group is meeting via Zoom. They are exploring an outdoor group for spring or summer, weather permitting.  ● Triad is changing slightly to maximize offerings and staff time. They will offer 6- 8 programs around the topics of crime prevention and safety a year including Car Check, Coffee with a Cop, and Drug Take-Back (twice a year). The Verona Police Department, Dane County Sheriff's department, and Fitchrona EMS are involved when appropriate and resources are available. ● The RSVP Triad Coordinator is working on a new Dane County Triad Newsletter (writers, photographers, artists, cartoonists, etc.). ● Case Management needs remain steady. They are receiving new referrals every month, both self-referrals and professional referrals, usually with higher needs. They also are still seeing an increase of food insecurity, folks needing help with bill and rent expenses. ● Intern Lauren’s last day will be April 29th. Lauren has re-launched the Friendly Caller program. Lauren has also conducted a Senior Center survey and the results will be available in May. The Case Management team is looking forward to having more students in the future. Programs: 6. Other Business Alder Kohl and Alder Posey both extended words of great thanks to Alder Jerney. It was stated that she was a great asset and brought many great ideas and a new perspective to not only the Senior Services Committee but to the Council as a whole. Ehle chimed in and offered thanks from the Senior Center team. 7. Adjournment • Motion by Alder Posey, seconded by Kohl, to adjourn at 6:27 p.m. Motion carried 2-0.