Minutes from October 12, 2010 Meeting

AGING & DISABILITY NETWORK OF SARATOGA COUNTY MINUTES

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Present: Cindy Harrington (Shelters of Saratoga), Richard Amico (St Edward the Confessor Church), Mary Jane Pelzer (Experience Works, Inc), Larry Finkle (Experience Works, Inc), Leslie Carroll (Vet Help), Kim Swire (Choices), Mary Zlotnick (Jewish Family Services-NORC), Deb Boland (Price Chopper), Ted Reuter (Noise Free America), Karen Clark (Home Healthcare Partners), Christine Stegel (IPRO), Kevin O’Brien &Amie Tollinson (CDTA), Judy Chandler (New Life Fellowship), Noreen Jones (Catholic Charities), Sharron Cataldo (Raymond Walkins Senior Apts.), Shelly Crogan (Interim Health Care ), Robin Blostein (EDDY VNA), Alice Richmond (Saratoga Co. OFA), Candy Rivera Whitehead (NYS-EPIC), JoAnnZales (National Grid), Ben Nichols(NY Connects), Karen Thayer (SAIL, DOH RRDCs), Holly Pajak ( Redesign in Mind), Karl Francis (Capital District center for Indepandence), Linda Little (Parish Nurse), Michele Weber (Weber Medicaid Consulting), Cathy Tucker (Ameriprise), Cheryl Lawy (NABA)\

Next meeting:

November 9, 2010 – Understanding Dementia Panel

Location: St Edward the Confessor Church, 569 Clifton Park Center Rd, Clifton Park, NY

December 14, 2010 – Networking and Holiday Gathering

Location: Malta Community center, 1 bayberry Drive, Malta, NY

**We will hold meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of every month 2:00-3:30 p.m. unless otherwise indicated

“Our mission is to promote community awareness of the programs and services available to Saratoga County residents who are aging and/or disabled, and their caregivers, so as to better meet the needs of these ever increasing populations.”

Introductions & Announcements

• Office for Aging is sponsoring Medicare informational forums

o 11/12 Moreau Community Center 2-4pm

o Forum for So. Saratoga County not yet scheduled - call their office for location, dates and times.

• 10/20/2010 Aging Conference at Saratoga Holiday Inn

• HEAP guidelines for 2010/2011 season are available

• Next Step In Care website has a new informational document for consumers available: “Reducing the Stress of Hospitalization for Patients with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers: A Provider’s Guide (www.nextstepincare.org)

• IPRO is available to provide a presentation on “Planning for Hospital Discharge” to senior groups

• Price Chopper has added diabetic needles and pens sets that are available free

• April 7, 2011 Shelters of Saratoga is sponsoring their first annual gala to be held at Longfellows Restaurant

• CDTA – the STAR program requires an application and the process takes 21-days to see if person qualifies for program

Presentation:

Rory Fluman MS, OTR, CDRS provided a presentation on “The Older Driver & Pedestrian Safety Project”.

Highlights of the presentation were:

• He is available to provide presentations to seniors, caregivers, & case-mangers.

• This is a sensitive issue within families and usually, physicians do not want to discuss this topic with their patients.

• Older drivers are an emerging population; seniors are fearful to discuss because driving is linked to their independence; good for families to discuss and plan for the day that the senior will no longer be able to drive.

• 750,000 drivers in NYS are over 75 years of age; DMV expects drivers to inform them of changes in their health that affect their driving ability.

• A driver rehabilitation specialist evaluates people for their driving ability; a good time to have a person’s driving ability tested is after a serious health event, such as a stroke, cognitive changes, or other event.

• Call the local County Office for Aging for a driver rehabilitation specialist in your area.

• The evaluation process usually takes two hours; vision is assessed initially, then driving ability is assessed. Cost is $300 - $400, usually not covered by health insurance.

• DMV does have a method for a person to report a concern about someone’s driving ability; the dept. will investigate a concern reported by a social worker, police officer, or other concerned person.


A Resource Guide for Caregivers is available and can be downloaded from the NYS Office for Aging website: www.aging.state.ny.us. The resource provides information on common areas of concern, the importance of driving to older adults, how to begin the conversation, and other pertinent areas that are important to consider about the older driver.

Respectfully submitted,

Christine Stegel
IPRO – Care Transitions project