Senior tidbits A column by Joette Kunse

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Seniors 55 years-old and any person with a disability living in Clarkston, Independence Township and Springfield Township can request transportation through the Independence Township Senior Center.
Destinations for adult over 55 years include medical appointments within Independence and Springfield Townships, Doctors? Hospital of Michigan (formerly North Oakland Medical Center), Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital, and Pontiac St. Joseph’s Hospital in Pontiac. Senior center vans and buses take senior citizens and people with disabilities grocery shopping in the townships, and to the Senior Activity Center for lunch and activities. Tuesdays, seniors may take the van to Meijer’s Food Store and Great Lakes Crossing Mall for shopping. Residents living in the assisted living facilities and nursing homes in the area utilize senior citizen transportation.
Individuals who qualify for transportation should call the senior center at least one day and preferably two days in advance before noon to schedule a ride. Riders need to fill out a medical form for transportation in case there are any medical issues while riding the buses and vans. If the rider is in a wheelchair, they should make the dispatcher aware they need a wheelchair bus.
Rides are available Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. by calling the center at 248-625-8231.
Last year, the senior center provided over 7,600 rides for individuals over 55 and persons with disabilities. Wheel chair rides increased 20% in 2008. The senior center has a fleet of seven vehicles with five handicapped accessible vehicles. The vehicles are purchased with Community Block Grant dollars from Independence Township, Clarkston and Springfield Township. Municipal Credits and Specialized Services grants also help support the transportation service. Two of the vehicles are on loan to the center from Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) through the Michigan Department of Transportation. The grants and rider donations make up less than 50% of the operating money needed. Independence Township provides general fund dollars for the service. The Senior Activity Center helps sustain the program through fundraisers such as Bucks for Buses.
Cost share or donation to ride the buses for individuals is $2 one way in the townships and $10 roundtrip to the Pontiac hospitals.
‘I’m so grateful for the transportation,? says Sylvia Chieca of Springfield Township. A former hospice nurse, Chieca is now legally blind and cannot drive. The senior buses take her to her doctor’s appointments, St. Joseph’s hospital and the Springfield and Independenc Township libraries as well as the senior center. ‘The bus is a great service and they have wheelchair lifts. The drivers are so much fun, it’s like having another friend,? said Cheieca.
Tom Mitcham and John Cesarz are the full time drivers with four part time drivers available when needed. Mitcham, a sales person before retirement, and Cesarz retired from Chrysler financial are both enthusiastic about their jobs.
‘We take people to dialysis three times a week and this is a life sustaining service?, says Mitcham. ‘We also take handicapped kids to work at Krogers, McDonalds, and nursing homes. They are trying to integrate into society and work, though they cannot drive.?
‘I establish friendships with my passengers,? said Cesarz. ‘Sometimes people move away to live with their kids.? He remembers a 94 year-old woman from Springfield Township who had a great sense of humor and was a frequent rider on his bus. ‘This was her independence,? he said.
Both drivers said this year’s winter weather has presented a challenge to make their pickups. The vans provide about 35 people with two way rides a day.
For additional information on transportation, call the Independence Township Senior Center at 248-625-8231 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For more information on senior services and activities, contact Margaret Bartos, Senior Center Coordinator at 248-625-8231. Additional information can be found at www.twp.independence.mi.us (go to Township Services, then logon to 50+ adults).

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Seniors are invited for lunch at 12 p.m., Monday through Friday at the Independence Township Senior Center or meals will be provided seven days a week to homebound seniors.
The same menu is used for both groups, according to Joanie Mendelsohn, Nutrition coordinator. She shared a couple of daily luncheon menus; vegetable lasagna, asparagus, salad, bread, an apple with milk and coffee/tea or pepper steak, coleslaw, hot vegetable, bread and dessert.
Mendelsohn says Panera bread is provided with the meals. The food is prepared in Rochester at the Older Persons Commission but is provided hot to homebound residents and seniors who eat at the center.
The center requests a $3.50 donation from homebound residents and $3 for seniors at the center. The difference in costs is transportation. Homebound and senior center lunch costs are not based on income.
Homebound meals for seniors are provided seven days a week. The Senior Center in partnership with three area restaurants provides meals 365 days a year to homebound residents. Deer Lake Racquet Club, Mr. B’s, and Ram’s Horn provide meals on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
If a senior would like to have homebound meals delivered or join other seniors at the center, they need to call Mendelsohn by 10 a.m. the day before to arrange for a meal. Seniors, who would like to come to the center for meals, can also make arrangements for van transportation.
According to the USDA, 85 percent of seniors believe nutrition is important for health and well being but few act on it. The USDA Human Nutrition Research Center says you can slow down aging by eating well. The research center says that older citizens may have trouble shopping and cooking, or feel they no longer can taste and smell as they once were able to, therefore not eating as well as they once did. Eating with others can be a help to continuing to stay independent and healthy.
The Senior Center has a daily detailed menu which seniors can check to see which meals they would like to come for.
Meals are analyzed for carbs and fiber to fit a senior citizen’s diet. Medelsohn says many seniors have heart and diabetic restrictions and the menu takes this into account with items such as fish and turkey breast. Each Wednesday is called Heart Smart Wednesday with items especially for those with health and heart concerns.
Once a month, the center provides a soup and sandwich luncheon, all homemade. The center provides special lunch days such as the recent Veteran’s Day with 57 seniors in attendance.
Nov.19 was the senior center Thanksgiving Day meal with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings.
Both seniors at the center and homebound seniors can take advantage of purchasing their Ensure at the center for $1 per can. A doctor’s prescription is needed. Homebound seniors can also purchase a cold meal each day for $2. Cold meals include sandwiches such as egg salad, tuna, ham and cheese, juice, fruit and milk.
Volunteer drivers provide the homebound meal delivery. Drivers usually work one day a week for about 90 minutes to take the meals to the home. Independence Township resident, Jennifer Jones, has been a volunteer for the center for 12 years.
‘I wanted to participate in the community and do something for others. My kids were little and Meals On Wheels was wonderful as I could take my kids with me. They have grandparents all over town,’said Jones. ‘It’s fun, I just love it. I feel like I have family all around town.?
The center also has volunteers who help in the kitchen, readying and serving the meals at the center. Kitchen volunteers work about 2 ? hours once a week or more.
For more information on the nutrition program, call Joanie Mendelsohn or Margaret Bartos, senior center director, at 248-625-8231.
Next month’s column will focus on programming for the winter months.

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