The St. Joseph County Commission on Aging (COA) celebrated its 50th birthday throughout 2023. Executive Director Pam Riley shared some of the highlights when she spoke Tuesday before the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners.
Desserts honoring the 50 states were served weekly in 2023. There were also open houses at the enrichment centers in Three Rivers and Stugis, plus a special event.
“A summer picnic took us back to 1973, when disco ruled the dance floor and bell bottoms were cool,” Riley wrote in a report shared with commissioners before the meeting.
Growth was perhaps slightly more ample than fun, according to information from Riley’s live report.
“More than 30% of the 60-and-older residents of St. Joseph County are utilizing the COA services and programs,” Riley said Tuesday. “That’s more than 4,000 residents.”
Seniors were being taken care of during a year the COA fully came out of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Riley.
“Our staff handled (this) with amazing dedication and hard work. We saw increases in our membership and utilization of many of our services in 2023, as well as growth in our volunteer members,” Riley wrote.
The COA report included sections devoted to nutrition services, residential services, life enrichment, and more. Katie Hughes, COA’s nutrition manager, wrote about ways to continue brightening the lives of home delivered meals participants.
“In 2023, we served 141,000 home delivered meals and 57,000 congregate meals to help keep older adults in St. Joseph County healthy and independent,” Hughes wrote.
Home delivered meals clients are some of the most vulnerable older adults in St. Joseph County, Riley said Tuesday before the board of commissioners. Meals on Wheels trackers are often the only people they see daily, or at least five times a week.
“It’s incredible and important that we’re able to see that they’re safe and doing well,” Riley said.
There was 23% increase in home delivered meals participation between 2022-2023 and a 30% increase in congregate meals participation during that same time. The demand continues to significantly rise, Riley said.
Last year, a total of 9,375 hours were devoted to homemaking, personal care and respite care services to 180 vulnerable adults in St. Joseph County. More than 7,000 hours went to homemaking services, followed by nearly 2,040 hours for respite care to caregivers and just over 330 hours for personal care.
“The COA held an average staff of 13 in-home aides during 2023 and dropped to 11 active aides later in the year,” Residential Services Manager Nicole Notestine wrote. “As a result, the program was able to manage an ongoing waitlist of clients requesting services.”
During 2023, the COA hired a part-time chore worker who helped seniors with heavier duty chores in their homes. The chores included yardwork and small handyman tasks, ultimately accounting for 43 hours that year.
Commissioner Rick Shaffer thanked Riley for the report and the COA for its continued work. Shaffer and colleague Commissioner Terry Conklin serve on the COA board. Shaffer invited his other colleagues to attend a COA board meeting or event and witness what he called amazing work.
“I’m reminded of when a cow is milked and the milk is sent to the separator, the cream rises to the top. You did a great job of sharing with us the cream of what really is happening,” Shaffer said to Riley.
All seven county commissioners attended Tuesday’s meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 20 in Centreville.
Frank Stanko is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.
