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From the Director
Elder Services receives matching gift from GE Fund
Prostate cancer screening and treatment
Roundtable Meets
Walk a Mile in My Shoes
What is SHINE?
Roundtable Meets
By Jeanne B. Siegel, Elder Services’ Planner
Representatives from Councils on Aging (COAs) from throughout Berkshire County met at Elder Services on June 25th for the second Roundtable of 2002. In addition to information sharing, the Roundtable developed new mechanisms for increasing communication flow between Elder Services and the local Councils and their constituents. With the help and participation of all the COAs, Elder Services will be creating a new Directory of Senior Services in Berkshire County. This guide will be available to the general public on-line and thus will be easy to update. It will be a valuable tool for staff and seniors. (Watch Berkshire Senior for details)
Elder Services’ Caregiver Liaison, Bea Cowlin, presented some of the findings from the recent survey conducted by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs on Caregiver Needs. There are 54 million caregivers in the United States, and approximately half stated they do not receive much support from family and friends. In Berkshire County close to a quarter of the caregivers work full time and are caring for aging parents. Some 71% of people receiving care at home are between ages 80-99, which is higher than the rest of the state at 57%. Elder Services and Councils on Aging will work closely together to support caregivers, and hence assist Berkshire families.