By Sue Ellen Woodcock
Thanks to Jack Connors and Partners Health Care, and Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, the senior center has completed some upgrades that bring the 24-year-old building on Harvard Street up to more recent building codes.
Last December Partners Health Care donated $50,000 to the Friends of the Council on Aging. Since then a lot of work has been going on to spruce the center up.
According to director Nancy Williams, the entire interior has been painted by Roberta Will, costing around $7,000. There are also new handicap accessible entrance doors with push buttons for ease of use. This upgrade was about $14,000. Of interest to many of the seniors who use the center is the installation of new toilets in both the men’s and women’s rooms. The six new toilets are higher than previous toilets. Some patrons found the old toilets too low and those with arthritis and other mobility issues had a difficult time getting up, Williams said.
In the kitchen area, the center also received a new freezer, refrigerator and ice maker for about $8,000. A new glass window that slides was also installed at the front desk for $1,000. New blinds have also been installed in the windows, some of which were literally falling off the tracks, Williams said.
She added that they will hold a little open house at some point to show off the improvements. Williams is more than appreciative of the donation from Partners and the commitment of DeLeo, who is also president of the Friends of the Council on Aging.
Williams said the library at the center will be dedicated to the late Pat Brown, a COA member, author and baseball player who wrote “A League of My Own.†The new check-in system for seniors at the center is also almost ready. It is an electronic check-in system that will help staff track the services used.
William’s said they are also looking for a donation of an AED (automated electronic defibrillator) to have on hand. This lifesaving device can make a difference to someone having a heart attack and it is easy to use.
The Council on Aging is also in need of a new van. The current van which is seven years old has a broken transmission and has been fixed before.
“With 4,200 seniors in town we need a reliable van,†Williams said.