Minutes of ESCOTA General Meetings

Minutes from the Thursday, January 13, 2011 General Membership Meeting

Date of Meeting: Thursday, January 13, 2011
Presentation: Anxiety Among Older Adults

Speaker: Lisa Furst, LMSW

Program/Location Chair Amy Loewenberg, LMSW, ACSW, called the meeting to order at 3:30pm and welcomed the group. The meeting was hosted by Stanley Isaacs Neighborhood Center, Inc, and in her role as Director of Stanley Isaacs, Amy spoke briefly about the programs and services they offer for all ages, children through older adults.

• They are an active senior center, serving breakfast and lunch six days a week and offering 150-60 activities each month.
• They are a NORC and provide support services including case management and health care.
• They are a Meals-on-Wheels provider for the East Side and East Harlem.
• Their “Elders at Home” program provides programs to homebound seniors via teleconferencing.
• They are part of the East Side Case Management Consortium.

Amy also provided an update on city budget cuts to senior services: the 30% cut to case management has been prevented with the help of City Council member Jessica Lappin and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Amy also announced the schedule of upcoming meetings:

• 2/10: Carol Levine speaking on Transitions in Care at Dorot
• 3/10: Ken Onaitis speaking on Elder Abuse at the Carter Burden Luncheon Club
• 4/14: NY Presbyterian OT/PT speaking on stroke rehabilitation, location tba
• 5/12: Lauren Wiesenfeld speaking on the Samuels Foundation perspective on aging programs at Lenox Hill Neighborhood Center
• 6/9: Dr. Mark Lachs speaking on Geriatric Medicine at Atria W. 86th Street

Announcements:

Roan Kane announced that he has started a new position as Director of Marketing for MZL Home Care Agency. He provided this brief introduction to the company:

MZL Home Care Agency, a company of the GEFEN Senior Care Group, is licensed by NYSDOH and provides nursing, home health aides, personal care aides in the 5 boroughs, Suffolk & Westchester Counties. Quality assisted living services are available to seniors needing placement in any of our adult care facilities in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Hudson Valley.

Contact Roan Kane, Director of Marketing, Tel: 347.945.2040, Cell: 646.300.0617, email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Roberta Mikhael announced that Carnegie East House will be hosting an open house on Wednesday, February 2, 2011, 8:30 am to 10:30 am. The event will include a light breakfast. RSVP by Monday, January 24th. For more information or to RSVP, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call Roberta at 646.438.8009.

Ellen Polivy, a geriatric care manager who also works with Community Board 8, announced that volunteers are needed for the 2011 NYC Street Survey on Monday, January 31, 2011. In that event, the NYC Department of Homeless Services will conduct the Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE). Volunteers will canvass parks, subways, and other public spaces to count the number of people living unsheltered. Anyone 18 or older is encouraged to volunteer. For more information or to volunteer go to http://www.nyc.gov/dhs or call 311. 

Connie Gemson, LMSW, announced that her senior poetry troupe is available to give readings from their new collection. Contact her aqt .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 212.874.7788.

Nancy Hayes, Sales and Marketing Director at the Hallmark, announced an upcoming event. Contact her at the Hallmark for details.

Mary Dodd of the Carter Burden Center announced a full time position in the social service unit for a care assistant. Fax resumes to 212.879.9861 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Presentation:

Anxiety Among Older Adults
Lisa Furst, LMSW, is the Director of Public Education for the Mental Health Association of New York City and the Director of Education for the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York. She is co-author with Jacquelin Berman, PhD, of Depressed Older Adults: Education and Screening (Springer Publishing Company, 2010).

This presentation highlighted the prevalence and features of anxiety disorder among the older adult population. Effective identification tools and interventions for older adults were discussed. To view Lisa’s powerpoint presentation, click here. Many thanks to the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York for sharing this presentation with us.


The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm.

Next Meeting:

Date: February 10, 2011
Location: Dorot, Inc.
Presentation: Community Organizations and the Family Caregiver: Smoothing the Rocky Roads of Transitions
Speaker: Carol Levine, MA and Jennifer Rutberg, MSW

Respectfully submitted by Jae Gruenke, Co-Secretary

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