Dear Healthy Aging Readers,
Mid-winter blues have definitely set in, amplified by the continuing evolution of COVID. A recent national poll revealed that six in ten Americans feel “worn out” by pandemic-related changes they have had to make to their daily lives over the past 20 months. Many of us had to alter plans for the holidays (yet again) and the uptick of COVID cases with the new variant has been of continuing concern.
A brighter story can be told, however, when we reflect on the ways in which we have risen to the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, as individuals and communities.
In the recently released report from our state government on ReiMAgine Aging Planning Together to Create an Age-Friendly Future for Massachusetts /Year 2 progress, Governor Baker reflects:
“In the midst of this public health emergency, we witnessed the resilience of communities, including older adults, family caregivers, and the professionals that serve them. If there is a silver lining in all this, it’s how organizations and individuals from every corner of Massachusetts stepped up to confront the pandemic and care for each other. Local leaders and organizations came together, and the age and dementia-friendly movement served as a foundation for rapid coordination to meet the needs of older residents.”
Read on to hear how our own Councils on Aging addressed these challenges in 2021 and their plans for 2022. Stay tuned this spring to hear our progress on seeking recertification with the World Health Organization/AARP as an age-friendly (and dementia-friendly) island, reflecting our island’s values and priorities for our Older Adults.
Best,
Cindy
Cindy Trish
Executive Director, HAMV
ctrish@hamv.org
|
|
|
A Little Sweat, Resilience, and Flexibility: COAs in the Time of COVID
by Abby Remer
|
|
|
 On a recent blustery morning, Cindy Trish, HAMV’s Executive Director, convened a Zoom “luncheon” with representatives of the four Councils on Aging (COAs) to hear about their experiences—both past and ongoing—in meeting the needs of their clients during COVID.
The COAs are an essential lifeline to our Older Adult population, providing vital social engagement, educational programs, access to relevant information, food distribution, and other activities...whether through their own organization or referrals to other Island resources.
 This was no chatty catch-up. Joyce Stiles-Tucker, Director from Tisbury; Rose Cogliano, Administrator from Oak Bluffs; Joyce Albertine, Director from Up-Island; and Lyndsay Famariss, Administrator from Edgartown focused on issues of substance. A number of themes arose that revealed how these caring women and their staff learned to adapt, pivot, and re-imagine ways to keep accomplishing their organization’s mission.
The first and most obvious question was how have they learned to cope during this ever-changing, stressful time? Everyone immediately spoke about their volunteers having been immensely valuable from the lockdown forward. Stiles-Tucker expressed, “You get the warm feeling knowing that you have people out there even in the challenge of the pandemic who are willing to come out and help the community. I’m still blown away by the volunteers’ level of commitment and flexibility and willingness to work doing whatever was needed.” Cogliano said, “The thing that is most wonderful about all of it is the volunteers who have stuck with us through thick and thin. It’s more than endeared them to us; they feel so invested in what our mission is and what we’re doing. They are part of the team. Because of all this, our volunteers feel even more committed and involved. I thought they might head for the hills, but they haven’t.” Famariss voiced, “They braved Covid when people were homebound or had medical issues that made them feel especially vulnerable.”
Across the board, volunteers have assisted with grocery shopping, food and pharmacy deliveries, and internal office work. But they not only have assisted the COAs in serving existing clients but also in establishing relationships with new people who have been reaching out for the first time, as well as those who migrated to the Island to live because of the pandemic.
In terms of meeting clients’ needs, all the COAs offer various food-related services. Trish summarized, “I think Island agencies have done an amazing job at getting food into the hands of Older Adults.” Clearly, the COAs are an important connection point for cooked meals and supplies. But the COAs do much more such as connecting clients with available services for dental bills or fuel assistance. Some of them also have discretionary funds of their own that have been collected by Friends of the COA on their behalf. Albertine said, “We are blessed. The Friends have established a “gift fund” to provide financial assistance to pay utility bills, purchase gift cards to some of the pharmacies to help pay for prescriptions, and for food at Stop and Shop and Cronigs". Stiles-Tucker shares their experience: “This past Christmas season we got a very generous gift donation from an anonymous source for Cronigs, Stop and Shop and Reliable. It was absolutely wonderful. It really helped a lot of people.”
 And perhaps most importantly, the COAs were front and center in helping Older Adults obtain vaccines in 2021 during a time when many felt very vulnerable and needed assistance registering for an appointment during the rollout. Issues around physical and mental healthcare remain paramount. Albertine emphasized, “Some of our clients are still scrambling to get a PCP and they can’t get their prescriptions refilled.”
When discussing priorities for 2022 and beyond, Albertine said transportation continues to be vitally important, especially up-Island where there are many clients who live in remote areas that are difficult to get to. When agreeing that they all struggle with the issue of on and off-Island transportation, Famariss happily shared, “I’m excited because we’re really close to starting a pilot transportation program using a VTA-supplied van and hoping we can work out the kinks, and then maybe it would be something that would appeal to other agencies on the Island so we can expand the program.”
Other priorities include continuing to support Older Adults' access to healthcare, and other vital services. Another priority for 2022 is to strengthen partnerships with Island healthcare providers and other service agencies so that they can fully utilize the COAs’ connection to and understanding of our Older Adult population.
 Ultimately, the take-away from the hour was most definitely that they were digging in yet again to serve their community, including the new clients as best they can. As Stiles-Tucker said, “We want to keep doing that. We’re not going to let Covid say we can’t.” Cogliano added, “The key is that you have to roll with it and re-invent what you’re doing. It’s unfortunate that we can’t have our programming and big meetings...but that will change. This is not forever. It’s just a matter of our having to work hard to stay focused on our goal of servicing people in ways we had not before.”
Famariss reflected, “I think the silver lining in all this is that we are going to take some good things with us in terms of being able to reach people in new ways. There are some bright spots, and we will have a deeper toolbox to pull from after this experience because we’ve all had to come up with solutions on the fly. I think in the long run we will be better off.”
|
|
|
Island Councils on Aging
Edgartown Council on Aging: 508-627-4368
Oak Bluffs Council on Aging: 508-693-4509 x3
Tisbury Council on Aging: 508-696-4205
Up-Island Council on Aging: 508-693-2896
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
