HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOA Minutes 11-5-19Oshkosh Seniors Center
200 N. Campbell Rd.
Oshkosh, WI 54902
(920) 232-5300 (920) 232-5307 FAX
OSHKOSH COMMITTEE ON AGING (COA) MINUTES
November 5, 2019
A.) Ms. Richey called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.
B.) PRESENT: Heidi Basford-Kerkhof; Ron Duerkop; Judy Richey; Lurton Blassingame;
Julie Kiefer; Xandy Kloeckl; Julie Maslowski
EXCUSED:
ABSENT: Deb Allison-Aasby
STAFF: Jean Wollerman, Senior Services Manager; Bobbie Luft, Office Assistant
C.) APPROVAL OF MINUTES: October 1, 2019 minutes approved as written. Mr.
Blassingame moved to accept the minutes as written, Mrs. Maslowski seconded. Motion
carried to accept the minutes as written.
D.) Citizens Statements- Bryn Ceman, Supervisor, Adult & Disability Resource Center of
Winnebago County (ADRC) stated she oversees Benefit Specialists and Disability Benefit
Specialists; the Adult Protective Services departments, where she is assisting in a volunteer
guardianship pool, to help people with disabilities make decisions. She explained she also
oversees a couple of grants; the 85-21 Grant provides for specialized transportation within
Winnebago County this year with over $433,000 from DOT devoted to Winnebago County.
Ms. Ceman is the Aging Director for the Older Americans Act, two programs that stem out
of that are: The Winnebago County Nutrition Program administered by Advocap;
Evidence Based Wellness Classes-Wellness Plus program, Ms. Ceman works closely with
Winnebago County Health Department on the wellness classes.
E.) NEW BUSINESS: Pam Ruder, Executive director of Neighborhood Associations-Oshkosh Healthy
Neighborhoods since June of 2018. She announced that Cora Strand is neighborhood coordinator.
She stated there are 18 associations at this time. She explained the biggest challenge is what
defines a neighborhood: Name; boundaries; policies/agreement and to work as a core team. She
explained the benefits: opportunity to know your neighbors; street topper signage and branding of
neighborhood; forum to exchange ideas with the Oshkosh Healthy Neighborhood Association;
funding opportunities from GO-HNI, City loan program and CIP-Great Neighborhood grants and
to have fun, find a sense of belonging, connectedness and safety.
Partnerships: City of Oshkosh; Rock the Block Oshkosh - Habitat for Humanity
Over 131 community events held by associations in 2018 with over 6577 hours of
volunteer time, a value of $157,852.00.
www.gohni.org like on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter: Greater Oshkosh Healthy
Neighborhoods, Inc. phone 920 230 2717 email pam@gohni.org; cora@gohni.org
or visit 100 N Main St Suite 103----See attachment A, Oshkosh Healthy Neighborhoods
F.) OLD BUSINESS:
a) Strengthen our Partnership with Neighborhood Assoc. and Other Partners-Lurton
Blassingame- NONE
b) Affordable Transportation and Delivery Services for Seniors-Judy Richey-Mrs.
Wollerman explained that she had met with go Transit regarding stops at the Oshkosh
Seniors Center starting in January 2020. She explained they will be decreasing the stops
at the Center due to the Oshkosh Ave Bridge being out. She stated she would have
more information at the December meeting.
c) Create Community Design & Policy that supports an Age Friendly community-Jean
Wollerman- Mrs. Wollerman explained she and other staff have been working with the
Oshkosh Fire Department on a grant to reduce the number of calls for falls. She listed
information from the Oshkosh Fire Department regarding calls: 2018 responded to 8,684
calls for service, 1,475 (17%) were for falls. She stated there will be some listening
sessions to be held and encourage anyone 65 years or older and a resident of Oshkosh
to attend. Mrs. Roberts from the Winnebago County Health Department explained
there will be various sessions with different groups of people. See attachment B,
Listening Sessions
d) Improve Communication and Visibility of Available Services to Seniors-Ron
Duerkop- Mr. Duerkop stated that for 2020 there will be an increase of 1.6% for Social
Security and Medicare Part B is estimated to increase from $135.50 to $144.30. He stated
the open enrolment period runs through December 7th. With more than 22,000,000
people on Medicare 34% chose Medicare Advantage Plan over traditional Medicare in
2019. From 2019 to 2020 the number of Medicare Advantage Plans will increase by 414
plans, to 3,148 Medicare Advantage Plans across the country. The average person will
have 28 plans to choose from, up from 24 in 2019. Ms. Richey stated to check with the
plan and verify that there is no penalty to be transferred to a nursing home before 3
night stays at the hospital. She urged any questions to go to Joan Jaworski, Aging
Benefit Specialist and reminded that she is very busy during this time of year.
G.) OTHER BUSINESS:
a. Discussion and information pertaining to scams targeting senior citizens- Mr.
Duerkop reported on the Caller ID Spoofing Scam: Don’t trust your Caller ID!
Scammers are frequently spoofing the names of Financial Institutions/Social
Security/Medicare, etc., in an attempt to extract account, Social Security and Medicare
numbers or other personal identification information from you, the victim. Both the
name of the caller and the number are being “faked” or “spoofed” to appear to be a
trusted entity calling. In addition the caller may ask you to say “Yes” (a version of the
“Can you hear me?” scam) or is asking for other personal information. Do not say,
“Yes”! Action: If you have answered the phone, request the caller’s name and tell
them you will call back. Then call back using a trusted phone number that you know
is correct and ask if they called you. Or, if you have an answering machine, let the
answering machine screen your calls and if a message is left and you are concerned
about the legitimacy of the call, call the entity with a number you trust, not the one
they gave you. Ms. Richey stated you can search on whitepages.com to see f the
number is associated with scam / fraud.
Attachment C, Kaiser Health News-regarding scams around medical equipment
Mrs. Ashton stated there is a number for addiction recovery helpline, call 211, 24-7
availability. She stated the organization has helped 6,000 in the last year.
Mrs. Ashton stated One Health Day was celebrated this past Sunday November
3rd; 3 agencies from the state are getting together to promote health. She explained
40% of infections come from animals.
Mrs. Keifer, Learning in Retirement has invited Craig Culver, November 20th from
10-11:30 am, free and open to the public, at the Culver Family Welcome Center.
Ms. Richey stated the Food Co-op will be building a grocery store near the Jackson
Street Bridge.
Ms. Richey reminded all to Get your flu shot
Ms. Richey announce a Salute to all Veterans
Ms. Richey reminded the member that if schools are closed on meeting day, there
will be no meeting.
H.) ADJOURNMENT:
Mrs. Maslowski moved to adjourn at 9:04 am, Mr. Blassingame seconded, motion carried to
adjourn at 9:04 am.
NEXT MEETING:
December 3, 2019
8 am City Hall, Room 404
Respectfully Submitted,
Bobbie Luft
Office Assistant, Senior Services