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What's New? Message from the Executive Director 9/1/2006 - Coordinated efforts patched hole in the safety net for area's elders By Lou Swan, Executive Director All of the Age Center's programs have continued due to the cooperative efforts of Elder Services of Worcester Area Inc., the Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging, the New England Dream Center and Family Services of Central Massachusetts. The Age Center was one of several agencies providing services for elders in the Worcester area, although it had the sole responsibility for the nutrition program that provides a hot meal for some 1,800 elders five days a week and for the Money Management program that helps elders pay bills and balance their checkbooks. Elder Services of Worcester Area already contracted with the Age Center to provide meals and money management services for our elderly clients. With only 48 hours' notice of the Age Center's pending closure, staff from both agencies acted quickly to head off a crisis. We dealt with hundreds of details to ensure that nutrition services weren't interrupted and that no elders missed their meals. At the same time, Elder Services staff worked closely with the Social Security Administration to transfer the Money Management program so that elders' bills were paid on time. We offered Age Center program staff, who had struggled mightily for the past months to maintain nutrition and money management services, the opportunity to continue their jobs as employees of Elder Services of Worcester. Because our offices at 411 Chandler St. are full to capacity, we leased space to administer Meals on Wheels at the Worcester Senior Center, working cooperatively with the city of Worcester's Elder Affairs Division. Over the past 33 years, Elder Services of Worcester has developed expertise in responding to the challenges involving our growing elderly population. With services such as care from our nursing and homemaker staff, we provide a safety net that enables elders to remain in their own homes rather than in nursing homes. The addition of the nutrition and money management programs strengthens our ability to meet these critical needs. With continued funding from the state, we are able to assure elders that these vital services won't be interrupted. Elder Services of Worcester is part of a strong network of agencies at the state and local level; each of us is concerned with providing for elders in need and their families. A crisis for elders was averted because, working together, we patched a hole in the safety net. Back to What's New?
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