ADRC looks to move soon

By TOM LAVENTURE

[email protected]

HURLEY, Wis. — Staff of the Aging and Disability Resource Center of the North (ADRC) looks to move into the former Veterans of Foreign Wars building in Hurley by the end of the month, according to a report at the Hurley Senior Center, Inc. Board of Directors meeting Thursday.

The Hurley Senior Center staff has functioned as the county aging unit but is now a separate entity, said Trista Olson, director of the Senior Center. Senior Center staff are now contracted with the Iron County ADRC office in Washburn to provide services under the ADRC and this requires staff to share office space at the Hurley VFW building with ADRC.

Cally Bucknell, director of the Iron County Human Services Department, who was present at the meeting, said that if the Senior Center is a cooling and warming shelter for people in extreme cold or heat, then staff should look into obligations of accessibility with the potential for the building to be closed for longer periods with the move.

In the Senior Center director’s report, Olson said a state government waiver will now fund an existing staff position with federal pull down money. A corrective action plan was recently completed that included requirements to add meal site agreements at facilities operated by multiple entities.

As a requirement of the nutrition program, staff are working on primary food service vender contract. It will require a request for proposals process.

The staff are completing a corrective action plan for the Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources. The actions include update its general agreement with the meal sites to a written contract with information stating the responsibilities of all partnering entities.

The staff should find out by the end of January if transportation funds will allow rural transit buses out of Ashland to be available to Hurley and Mercer one day a week each. If approved the Hurley bus would take elderly disabled and general public riders to Ashland, and the Mercer bus to Minocqua and Woodruff.

A mobility manager would help coordinate rides to ensure passengers make appointments and get to-and-from locations.

Staff have nearly completed the memory screenings at the five congregate meal sites in Hurley, Saxon, Springstead, Iron Belt and Mercer. The staff are certified by the Aging and Disability Resource Center to conduct the 15-minute screening that involves memory recall activities that can help identify memory issues and recommend referral for medical testing.

The adult painting class was held in Hurley on Tuesday. The Mercer event will be rescheduled for the spring to allow for more participants, she said.

The search for an assistant cook at the Mercer congregate meal site is ongoing. The congregate meal service will be closed Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday.

The staff will be taking suggestions from seniors regarding a redesign of additional space that will be available following the office move next door. One example was creating a coat room, she said.

The next quarterly raffle will be held some time in February.

The single vacancy on the Iron County Senior Center board will be filled by someone from the Springstead or Mercer communities, according to the report. There has not been southern Iron County representation.

Dorothy Walesewicz, a former part time staff member of 21 years, who was present at the meeting to request that the board continue to allow her to continue to serve the congregate dining as an unpaid volunteer. She would continue decorating and playing music for the diners who she said tell her it makes the experience more like a party than just a dinner.

“This building and program are very special to me,” she said.

The board had no objection to the request and took no action.

Walesewicz also said diners are asking her about why the option to have meals to-go is no longer available.

Olson said that policies of the Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources do not allow to-go food orders. The rationale was that in addition to a healthy meal the congregate dining brings people who are sometimes otherwise along all day together to socialize.

“The home delivery program is separate and people need to qualify based on the situation in their home,” Olson said.

There will be a one-year trial run of a monthly 5 p.m. meal, she said. If the numbers of participants improve by offering an evening meal the program could grow, he said.

In other business, the board scheduled the next regular meeting for 1 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, at the Hurley Senior Center. There will not be a December meeting.