News Print Coverage
Better life sought for area senior citizens
The Dexter Leader
July 21, 2005
Approximately 90 people came together June 22 at Pierce Lake Elementary School in Chelsea to share ideas and brainstorm solutions for making Washtenaw County a better place for senior citizens.
The event, dubbed “Coming of Age in Washtenaw County: A Town Hall Meeting,” was sponsored by the Blueprint for Aging and Chelsea Community Hospital.
The growing number and diversity of older adults in the county is compelling. To keep u with the potential increase in the demand for care and assistance, the Blueprint for Aging is engaging Washtenaw County residents in a strategic planning process that will carry the county through the next several years.
The process involves a discussion and prioritizing of important issues, and planning a response to the concerns and expectations of older adults. The town hall meeting was just one of the many ways the Blueprint for Aging is providing a setting for older adults and others to share their voice in the process, according to a press release from the agency.
Arlene Howe of Chelsea was among those who attended the meeting.
“The mission was of great interest to me. I am an older adult and guess now of the age that I am in the older group,” she said. “I served on the Board of the United Methodist Retirement Communities Inc. for 16 years and was much involved in the Chelsea Retirement Community when the Kresge Nursing Home was built, major renovations were made in assisted living and the Dancy House was built.
“It has seemed to me for some time that although these accommodations were pertinent 20 years ago, the financial resources and needs of older adults have changed. Improvements in health care and the concepts of caring for the chronically ill and disabled have changed, allowing many more people to stay in their homes.”
Howe says there should be “a greater understanding of what is needed to remain as independent as possible, and procure what is needed, when it’s needed, and without a hassle.”
“And, those who are financially stressed need more help,” she said.
Attending the meeting inspired Howe to become more involved in the Blueprint for Aging.
“As I learned more about the Blueprint for Aging project and the continuing implementation, I was encouraged and optimistic that something meaningful could happen,” she said. “Since I am an older adults, reside in western Washtenaw County and am retired, I am a consumer. Too many times programs are developed with only the voice of the provider. If there is something available, I want to do what I can to get it to western Washtenaw County.”
The Blueprint for Aging’s vision for Washtenaw County is a community with people invested in the care of older adults and engaged and outspoken in promotion and supporting their health and wellness. Solutions to issues will be unique to the area. Overall, the goal is to tailor services and support directly to where they reflect the requests of older adults.
The Blueprint for Aging is a diverse coalition of community members and representatives from more than 40 public, private and nonprofit organizations who have actively worked for over five years to assist Washtenaw County in becoming more responsive to its older residents.
It’s part of Community Partnerships for Older Adults, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and among 11 projects nationwide selected from a field of 486 applicants to receive a planning grant in 2004.
© 2005 The Dexter Leader
Reprinted with permission from The Dexter Leader |
