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Talking with your doctor, part 2
Karen Reilly elected Elder Services Board President
Donors who made gifts in memory or in honor of loved
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From the Director - The Changing Goals of Retirement
Elder Services Board of Directors as of October 24, 2001
Berkshire County Thanksgiving Dinner
to homebound elders
Karen Reilly elected Elder Services Board President
Elder Services held its 27th Annual Meeting on October 24, at the Wahconah Country Club in Dalton, electing new officers and welcoming new members to the Board of Directors. Al Norman, Executive Director of Mass Home Care, was the guest speaker.
Karen P. Reilly, a Pittsfield resident who is Manager of Member Programs at Greylock Federal Credit Union was elected to serve as Board President.
Reilly is a member of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) board, where she serves as Co-Chair of the Marketing and Fundraising Committee. Former Vice President of the Elder Services Board, she is Chair of Elder Services’ Marketing and Fundraising Committee. She is also a member of the Education Committee of Chamber of Commerce of the Berkshires and of the Williams School Council.
Barbara Kie, R.N., of Pittsfield has been elected Vice President. She retired from Fairview Hospital where she was Vice President of Patient Care Services, and serves on the Boards of Hospice Care in the Berkshires and Epworth Mission Trustees, where she is Vice President.
William C. Dudley of Williamstown has been re-elected as Treasurer. He is retired from A.G. Edwards, Pittsfield, and a member of Williamstown Elderly Housing Corporation.
Denise Marshall of Pittsfield has been elected as Clerk. She is Vice President at South Adams Savings Bank in Adams, and serves on the Boards of Berkshire United Way and Girls, Inc.
Al Norman, Executive Director of Mass Home Care, a statewide association representing the 27Aging Services Access Points in Massachusetts, spoke to the meeting attendees on the topic Equal Choice: Civil Rights for Seniors. His speech addressed the need for equal choice for elders as to where they will receive long term care: at home or in an institution. If the legislature enacts the Equal Choice Bill S. (Senate) 676, more elders will be able to choose long term care in their own homes, rather than in long term care facilities.
Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Olmstead decision that it is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act for states to discriminate against people with disabilities by providing services in institutions when the individual could be served more appropriately in a community-based setting. Norman believes that disabled seniors who are unjustifiably segregated in a nursing home, when they could be at home, are being denied a fundamental civil right. He was impassioned in his exhortation that we do what we can to end disability-based discrimination, and give the choice of care-setting back to the consumer, saying that an investment in community-based care is one way to open the door to equality of treatment.
The October 24th meeting celebrated Elder Services’ 27 years of service to the county’s older residents. Elder Services employs over 130 staff to assist Berkshire elders to maintain their independence. During the past year, Elder Services served 1,659 older persons in the Home Care program, provided Meals on Wheels to 1,920 different homebound people, assisted 3,889 different older persons through volunteer services, and handled 7,716 calls for Information. Elder Services is a member agency of Berkshire United Way, Northern Berkshire United Way, and the Williamstown Community Chest.