ELDERLY OPPORTUNITY AGENCY, INC.

  Year in Review

January 1, 2007 – December 31, 2007

 Netti Bain – Executive Director

Donna Waters – Fiscal Officer

Elizabeth Medes –Housing Manager

 134 N Washington Avenue

Emmett, ID 83617

208-365-4461

www.eoaidaho.org

Serving Seniors in Southwest Idaho Since 1973
 

 Message from the Executive Director

Netti Bain

  2007 was an interesting year for E.O.A.   We were very short funded and worried how we could continue to provide our services at the level that we had in the previous year.  Thankfully, SWIAAA gave us some carry forward dollars, and dollars that hadn’t been utilized by other contractors.  Because of that, we were able to continue programs without interruption of services.  We were also able to expand our disease prevention/health promotion programs.

 Personally, for me the highlight of the year was the strategic planning meetings that our fiscal officer facilitated.  We had good attendance from board members and coordinators alike and planned better ways to do business.  We have an active mentoring team and we will continue to meet and glean information from successful senior centers outside of Area III.

 Our E.O.A. Policy and Procedure Manual continues to be a wonderful training tool and keeps us running in compliance with all Federal and State rules and regulations.

 At this time I would like to thank everyone for supporting EOA with positive, helpful attitudes and by volunteering so many hours to help us be the best that we can be.

 In the year of 2008, it is my hope that each senior center will establish a policy and procedure manual of their own.  If routines and responsibilities for tasks are written down and in order, then changing of board members and employees will be much less stressful, allowing centers to continue to run smoothly.  Many problems in the centers come when we lose the “edge” because new people don’t know how to deal with situations, because it isn’t written down anywhere and the knowledge hasn’t been passed on to them. I will address this when I visit each board this year, but you can all be thinking about this. 

 Netti Bain

 Who We Are

 We provide quality services and programs to senior adults in southwest Idaho through nutritional, social and recreational activities, and senior housing that enhance their well-being, support their independence and encourage their continued involvement in and with their communities.

 With increases in longevity, our society is becoming increasingly mature.  Baby boomers influence every aspect of our community through their cultural, economic, and lifestyle choices.  EOA is dedicated to leading older adults and those poised to become seniors toward building healthy, productive and active communities, now and in the future.

 Our service area includes the counties of Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Valley and Washington.  Our services are coordinated with and provided in partnership with senior centers located in these counties as well as through meal sites at Mercy Medical Center in Nampa and West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell.

 We also own and operate subsidized senior and disabled housing apartment complexes in the communities of Parma, New Plymouth, and Council.  These apartments are subsidized through the USDA Rural Development program.

Our senior service programs are supported in part by funding from Title III of the Older Americans Act and the Idaho Senior Services Act, as administered by the Southwest Idaho Area Agency on Aging, a division of Sage Community Resources. Medicaid, local fund raising activities, private donations, fees, contributions and community involvement add additional financial support.

 Our programs employ 95 to100 people who are committed to supporting older adults in achieving positive aging and high quality of life.  We describe our work as challenging and view it as rewarding because of the creativity, knowledge, flexibility and commitment it demands.  We most enjoy the daily variety and the interaction with older adults we serve, our dedicated volunteers and colleagues.

 Volunteers play a very important role and their efforts contribute highly to the overall success of EOA’s programs.  Volunteers are utilized in all of our programs and provide such services as delivering meals to home bound seniors (4%); transporting seniors to medical and other essential appointments (2%); assisting with the congregate meals programs (61%); assisting with health promotion activities (1%); providing information and assistance (2%); website design/maintenance and miscellaneous other services (30%).

 Our Programs and Accomplishments

Nutrition

Congregate Meal Program focuses on providing delicious, balanced meals in welcoming group settings to meet the nutritional and social needs of people 60 years of age and older. All ages are welcome and encouraged to be involved.

Total Meals Served age 60+ - 137,184

Total Participants – 3,252

Total Meals All Ages – 144,957

Meals on Wheels Program provides nutritious meals delivered to the homes of our homebound seniors.  This program not only provides a hot meal, but the day-to-day contact of our staff provides a wellness check and socialization that contributes as much to the senior’s emotional health as the balanced diet does for his/her nutritional well-being.

 Total meals delivered – 101,570

Total Participants – 982

 Congregate meals went down by 5% as compared to 2006, while home delivered meals increased by 6%.  An indicator that our founding seniors are passing away or becoming homebound due to age related frailties and illnesses.   This trend has also impacted our volunteer workforce which is primarily made up of seniors who participate in our programs.  There was with a 16% reduction in volunteer hours from 2006.

 Transportation

 Transportation Services are offered at most of our senior centers and include transportation to and from health care (14%), the senior center for congregate meals and other activities (50%), shopping (23%), and recreational activities (13%).

Total boardings age 60+ – 12,816

Total participants - 345

Total miles logged– 78,073

Total boardings all ages – 13,202

 Buses were purchased for Boise Basin Senior Center and Grandview/Rimrock Senior Center thanks to grants from the Idaho Transportation Department and the senior centers hard work raising matching funds.  A new van was put into service at the Cambridge Senior Center. 

 Community donations enabled the Melba Senior Center to purchase a replacement van for their center.

 Nampa Senior Center purchased a second van to increase their ability to provide transportation services.

Disease Prevention and Health Promotion 

Wellness programs are offered at our senior centers to provide disease prevention screenings and health promotion activities.  Activities during 2007 included clinics for routine health screenings for blood pressure, hearing, cholesterol, diabetes, vision, foot clinics, physical fitness programs, etc.  Our centers also coordinated the administration of flu shots, annual health fairs, and provided nutrition education and nutrition counseling.

984 Wellness Clinics - 25,436 contacts

21 Health Fairs – Health fair participants were given the opportunity to rate their health fairs.  52% rated their health fairs as excellent, 39% rated as good, 9% fair and 0% as poor.

Nutrition Education programs help older people to identify and understand their nutrition and health needs. Emphasizing prevention, programs are designed to improve participants' health through improved food purchasing, diet, food preparation, etc.

 Nutrition Education – 287 presentations (9,789 contacts)

 New programs added in August 2007 included:

 Medication management education – Errors in medication are ranked as the fourth leading cause of death for people over the age of 65.  This program provides a variety of services and information at senior centers for medication management education and screening.  EOA has partnered with Dr. Barbara Mason, ISU pharmacology program, who along with her interns and students will provide education and screening services at our senior centers.

 Medication Management Education – 1,075 contacts

 Prescription drug assistance – Many seniors need prescription medication to stay healthy.  However, the high cost of these helpful life-saving drugs makes it hard for people, especially those with limited or fixed income, to afford them.  This program assists clients to determine eligibility for and access to pharmaceutical manufacturer’s prescription drug assistance programs.

 Prescription Drug Assistance – 42 clients (263 contacts)

 Medicare Part D sign-up assistance – The Senior Health Insurance Benefit Advisors Program (SHIBA) has partnered with our senior centers and provided resources, equipment and training to assist seniors with their Medicare prescription drug plan.

 Medicare Part D Assistance – 29 clients

 Outreach

 Outreach programs function to locate persons in the community who are not participating in available programs or receiving services for which they qualify.  It identifies their service needs, provides them with information about aging programs and services available in their communities, and assists them with accessing services they need or programs in which to participate.

 2,936 individuals contacted

1,031 follow-up contacts

Senior Centers

 Senior Centers are a vital link in our service delivery network.  They function as meal sites, screening clinics, recreational centers, volunteer coordinating centers, and community meeting halls.  Our centers also obtained assistance for our seniors with the complexities of things such as the Medicare Part D program and income tax preparation.  

 The significance of senior centers cannot be underestimated for they provide a sense of belonging, offer the opportunity to meet old acquaintances and make new friends, and encourage individuals to pursue activities of personal interest and involvement in the community.

 Our senior centers are located in the following cities:

 Last year eight (8) senior centers located in Ada and Elmore Counties were included in our Disease Prevention and Health Promotion programs.

Housing

 Senior Housing is subsidized through USDA Rural Development and provides affordable housing to individuals aged 62 and older and disabled through rental assistance.  Apartment complexes are located in Council, New Plymouth and Parma.

 The hallmark of the agency’s housing department in 2007 was the completion of the remodel at our newly purchased 6-unit elderly project, Parma Park, in Parma, Idaho.   This was nearly a year-long endeavor involving the installation of ADA roll-in showers in all units as well as carpet, vinyl flooring, paint, light fixtures, hardware and kitchen appliances.  These units are situated in town just a short distance from our 32 unit project, Parma Senior Housing. 

The ownership transfer of Osprey Court Multifamily Housing to SICHA (Southwest Idaho Cooperative Housing Authority) took place the end of March 2007 and was a smooth transition for all parties.    

The agency effected a site management policy change at our three projects this year.  In the past each complex had a caretaker (maintenance staff) living on site.  The USDA RD 515 subsidy application and certification of tenants were handled directly through EOA’s central office and overseen by an independent housing contractor from B & D Management.  As of July 2007 the three sites now have Site Manager trainees, employees who not only oversee the day to day maintenance of the project, but are being trained to assist in the process of certification. 

 These Site Managers, Housing Office Manager, and Executive Director will attend Spectrum Training for a 515 STAR certification in May of 2008, which is a designation that the recipient has a comprehensive understanding of Rural Development’s 515 regulations and management principles. This will complete our long-term plan of bringing the certification process to the projects and having two fully-certified management staff in the office as well.

More information about our programs, senior centers and subsidized housing can be found on our website at www.eoaidaho.org.

 Audited Financial Statement for Year Ended December 31, 2007