Office for the Aging

Genesee County is woefully unprepared to serve the needs of adults reaching retirement age in middle-income brackets, the director of the Office for the Aging, Ruth Spink, told members of the County Legislature during the Human Service Committee meeting on Monday.

There is retirement housing available for those with low incomes or little savings, and housing available for those in upper-income brackets, but there is nothing available for those who might afford living arrangements that fall between the $700 and $2,000 a month range, Spink said.

If there's really an issue, Legislator Andrew Young asked, isn't that an issue for the free market to address? Shouldn't we just let capitalism do its job?

Spink said she's not suggesting direct government intervention, but the county, through the Office for the Aging, can play a role in raising awareness, alerting potential developers and attracting investment into the county. She suggested the county host workshops and seminars to draw attention to the need.

Legislator Shelly Stein said she's certainly aware of a need in Le Roy. She said about 10 people a year move out of Le Roy and into Bergen Meadows because there is inadequate senior housing available in Le Roy.

Spink said if the county doesn't address the issue and there isn't new development to meet the need, many residents who want middle-income senior housing will leave the county. Three days ago developers imploded the former MIllard Filmore Hospital tower in Buffallo to make way for a new high-density, mixed-use neighborhood. Spink said it is those kinds of developments that local residents might seek out if there aren't alternatives available in Genesee County. 

Then there are the local residents who are maybe a decade or two away from retirement, but aren't planning ahead. They need both the awareness that can be fostered by seminars and the ready housing supply to meet their needs when they retire, Spink said.

"They're thinking, well, I'm not getting old for another 20 or 30 years, but they're not realizing that someone could become ill, could have a car accident, could need hip surgery or knee replacement surgery and they can't navigate in their house, they can't get up the stairs, they're not thinking about that," Spink said. "They're just living in the moment, not thinking ahead."

A graying population in Genesee County and ever-more constricted sources of government funding has the Office for the Aging straining to keep up, but the job is getting done, Director Pam Whitmore told the Human Services Committee on Monday during a department review.

The legislative committee met at the agency's offices on Bank Street for the briefing.

Statistically, about 20 percent of the county's population was age 60 or older in 2010, Whitmore said. Now that percentage is about 25 percent and it's expected to be 30 percent by 2020.

There is an increasing trend, said County Manager Jay Gsell, for people born and raised in Genesee County who moved away for careers and lower taxes to return in their retirement years to be closer to family.

That means even more people wanting to use the services of the Office for the Aging.

A successful program, Whitmore said, is the agency's health insurance counseling service.

In 2013, the program saved all of its clients $2.6 million combined in health insurance premiums by helping find better insurance alternatives. So far this year, the savings is $3 million.

And that's just one year of savings, Whitmore said. The office doesn't calculate what the savings might be over a period of years.

The service is primarily funded through a $32,000 federal grant and supplemented by a $10,000 grant.

For 2015, the funding seems to be in good shape, Whitmore said, but she's more doubtful about 2016 and beyond.

"The program doesn't break the bank, but it does offer a rather huge return on investment," Whitmore said. "We see it helping our local economy by creating more discretionary spending through the money people are saving."

In general, the Office for the Aging is seeing more and more people coming through its doors every day, Whitmore said.

"We're trying to manage that with the staffing we have now in the office," she said. "Our funding is capped, but the number of people who walk through the door is not capped."

There's also growing demand for the meal delivery program and medical transportation.

Home health care is also an area long on demand and short on resources.

The waiting list for services is about 40 households long, but it never grows larger because at 40 on the list, the office stops adding names.

"It could be 100 names long if we kept adding them," Whitmore said.

The service helps elderly residents who have in-home medical needs.

A big concern in the office, she said, is the lack of middle-income housing in Genesee County, she said.  

There's no shortage of low-income housing and homes that are more expensive are available, but in that middle-income bracket, especially for seniors looking for apartments, there's just nothing available.

"We'd love to see that kind of option here," Whitmore said. "It's a niche, but a niche we don't have here. We need it, too, and in our county or another county in the state is going to meet that need."

Press release:

The Genesee County Office for the Aging is critically short of volunteers to take seniors to medical appointments and deliver Meals-on-Wheels.

Currently there are individuals in need of help through the Medical Transportation Program, but there are not enough volunteers to provide this service.

Courtney Iburi, specialist, Aging Services, noted that this shortage of volunteers, “may mean that one of our seniors will miss a medical appointment, putting their health at risk."

The program is free for individuals in Genesee County, 60 years of age and older, who need transportation to medical appointments outside Genesee County.

Additionally, the Meals-on-Wheels program which provides a noontime meal to homebound individuals five days a week is short-handed. Current volunteers are helping by doing two or even three routes a day to ensure delivery of the meals.

Supplemental liability insurance is provided to all volunteers and mileage reimbursement may be available.

Individuals interested in more information may contact Dorian Ely, director of the RSVP Volunteer Placement Program at the Office for the Aging at 585-343-1611.

Press release:

The Genesee County Office for the Aging has announced that there is a waiting list for homebound individuals seeking the support of a friendly visitor.

Currently there are individuals in various areas of the county who would very much like to receive services through the Home Visitation Program coordinated by Catholic Charities.

The program is a free service for individuals in Genesee County, 60 years of age and older, with a limited ability to get out of their homes who would enjoy a friendly visitor offering socialization and companionship.

Individuals interested in more information on becoming a friendly visitor may contact Dorian Ely, director of the RSVP Volunteer Placement Program, at the Office for the Aging at 343-1611.

The Home Visitation Program is made possible by the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s Muriel H. Marshall Fund for the Aging.

Press release:

Are you an older adult who has trouble getting in and out of your home? The Genesee County Office for the Aging wants to remind Genesee County residents, age 60 and over that handyman services are available.

The handyman can repair or install stair railings, repair entry steps, add exterior grab bars for stability, install motion sensor lighting for entryways as well as other services. While the handyman can do many jobs, priority is given to those that promote personal safety.

“The handyman can do those small jobs that make a big difference in the life of an older adult," said Courtney Iburi, specialist for Aging Services. "Especially during the winter months, it is a good idea to look at one’s entryway to make it as safe as possible.

"Sometimes just the addition of a grab bar to hang onto while opening the door can prevent a fall.”

The Handyman Program is made possible by the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s Muriel H. Marshall Fund for the Aging. Contact the local Office for the Aging for more information at 343-1611.

For every department in Genesee County, this year’s mandated budget cuts are hard to swallow. The county legislature is forcing 5-percent cuts across the board, in order to fit the county budget under New York State’s new 2-property tax cap.

Nowhere is the hurt more apparent than at the County Office for the Aging. Director Pamela Whitmore had already lost $102,000 in annual state grant money this year – a significant blow to her 2012 budget. With the mandated 5-percent cut on top, the Office for the Aging will now have to eliminate over $134,000 in spending.

Whitmore likened the 5-percent cut to that proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

“People are not going to get the level of service that they’ve gotten in the past,” Whitmore told the legislature’s Human Service Committee on Monday night.

She announced a planned $5,000 reduction to “Meals on Wheels,” which will now be on a three day-per-week delivery schedule if her budget goes according to plan. There are also pending staff cuts, social program reductions and fewer hours available for in-home services.

“Less staff means less time to do that face-to-face information and assistance – which is really the majority of what we do,” Whitmore said after the meeting.

Her message is further highlighted by this year’s census report, which shows a 16-percent increase in the over-60-year-old population in Genesee County. The census bureau also estimates that the population over 85-years-old, which is the most expensive to serve, has jumped by 33 percent in Genesee County the past decade (official numbers are not yet available for that category).

“It’d be one thing if the grant losses were just taking one program away…but most of our losses just took parts of each grant away,” Whitmore said. “So in essence, most of our services are still available, but there (are fewer) resources to provide them.”

In another Human Services report Monday, Chris Kuehl from the county nursing home told committee members that the home was able to reduce five positions to just three by consolidating some worker duties. That will save the nursing home $47,233 this year, and $104,439 in 2012, if the cuts are approved by the full legislature.

Also at the Human Services Committee, members approved the nomination of David Whitcroft as the interim public health director for Genesee County. Whitcroft's nomination comes on the heels of Randy Garney's abrupt retirement a week-and-a-half ago. Whitcroft will be paid $65,106 plus $600 in longevity pay. He officially takes over on Wednesday, if approved by the full legislature.

The Genesee County Office for the Aging has announced two new transportation services for Genesee County residents, age 60 and over. The Community Action of Orleans & Genesee CATS Assisted Transportation service now includes weekly rural service for shopping trips to Batavia and medical trips to Buffalo and Rochester.

According to Coutney Iburi, specialist for Aging Services, “The purpose of the rural shopping service is to ensure that all seniors in Genesee County have access to transportation services for their grocery, pharmacy or other personal shopping needs.”

The CATS service helps people who need assistance getting out of their homes and onto the bus or need help getting their groceries loaded onto the bus and into their home.

Iburi noted that seniors wishing to use the CATS medical transportation are urged to schedule their Buffalo area appointments on Tuesday afternoons and their Rochester area appointments on Friday mornings.

The Transportation Coordination Program assists seniors and their caregivers in understanding available transportation options. The program is made possible by the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s Muriel H. Marshall Fund for the Aging.

Prior registration for use of the CATS services is necessary. Contact the Office for the Aging to register or for more information at 343-1611.