MAPLETON – The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 had an immediate and lasting impact on operations of the local Seniors Centre for Excellence, says program coordinator Helen Edwards.
“It was as really scary time,” Edwards told Mapleton councillors during an update on the program on July 13.
All in-person activities were immediately halted by the organization that provides services to seniors, who were quickly recognized as among the most vulnerable segment of the population.
“We haven’t done (programs) in-person since March of last year … So it’s been quite some time,” said Edwards.
“During that time when it was the first wave … we were fielding a lot of telephone calls from concerned seniors and just trying to get information from public health to share with people,”
Edwards noted a number of funding opportunities became available in response to the pandemic through various levels of government and the seniors centre was also able to obtain funding through the United Way, the Centre Wellington Community Foundation and New Horizons.
Also, she pointed out, “We did spend quite a bit of time making weekly phone calls to all of our all of our people that were enrolled in our program. And that was done by a lot of volunteers as well.
“I think it was appreciated that we were reaching out during that time.”
One of the first initiatives implemented by the centre was the Stay Safe, Lead the Way campaign.
Edwards explained that early on in the pandemic, it was identified there was not a lot of information getting out to older adults.
“There was a lot of information about staying home and those kinds of things, but not maybe what to be looking for in terms of, if you’re having problems with stress, where your mental health is being affected,” she said, noting the centre wanted to ensure seniors were aware of services available to them.
In partnership of the Waterloo-Wellington Older Adults Strategy, the centre created a series of informational advertisements that ran in the Wellington Advertiser between April 2020 and March 2021.
“We were able to determine the content of the ads by speaking with health professionals about emerging needs, and with seniors themselves about the things that they were struggling with,” Edwards explained.
“So even things about using face masks, not reusing face masks if you have disposable masks and how you would dispose of them was information that we got out really early and I think in a way that was easy for people to understand, all directed towards seniors.”
Edwards said that during the first and second waves of the pandemic, seniors were reluctant to go the emergency room or to see their physicians when they needed to.
“And when they did get to the emergency room they were in much frailer condition than they should have been if they had [sought] medical attention when they need it,” said Edwards.
“So we had people that were coming in that had had cardiac issues, or even a stroke, and have not gone to the hospital because people were very afraid to go to the hospitals.”
In response, the centre included in one of the advertisements a quote from a local physician encouraging people to get in touch with their primary care provider if in need of assistance.
A $44,000 contribution from the United Way was put to use in the form of a Good For You Food Box program, which included the hiring of a part-time coordinator to work with volunteers and agencies such as the VON and local churches.
“We had 90 individuals that we supported with bi-weekly grocery deliveries,” said Edwards.
“There were staples for the pantry and fresh produce that were handed out every two weeks in all three north Wellington municipalities.”
She added, “This was in response to the fact that, during the pandemic, the price for fresh fruit and produce had increased and seniors were struggling to make healthy choices at the at the grocery store.”
The centre was also able to purchase about $7,500 worth of $50 grocery cards that were given to seniors for whom “money was tight,” said Edwards.
A daily check-in tool was developed which involved a calendar distributed through Meals an Wheels and community paramedics.
“The idea was to provide information to seniors,” said Edwards, adding the calendars also contain a spot “where every day you can kind of track how you’re feeling.”
The tool helps seniors and family members monitor health issues.
“We were very concerned that a lot of the isolated seniors were really starting to struggle with some mental health issues,” Edwards noted.
“It’s been talked about that it’s going to also be adopted in other regions using the exact same format.”
During the pandemic, the centre has been doing a lot of programming virtually and over the telephone.
“I think if there’s a silver lining in all of this pandemic it’s that there has been such an increase in the number of seniors embracing technology,” said Edwards.
“I think a lot of them may be kind of grudgingly being pushed towards technology, but now that they understand how easy it is to join in on a Zoom session, we have people joining in on a regular basis.”
Mayor Gregg Davidson said, “I’m glad to see this … helping the seniors onto the Zoom calls and letting them get together. This is fantastic.”
Councillor Michael Martin thanked Edwards for both the presentation and “the passion that you have” for the Seniors Centre for Excellence.
“I was not aware of the amount of initiatives that you created and accessed over the last year 16 months, specifically directed towards the seniors, so this was excellent,” said Martin.
“I think our seniors across Mapleton and Minto and Wellington North are very lucky to have this program.”
