Senior Dining & Wellness

EMILY

CARLEO, DIRECTOR OF CONGREGATE NUTRITION

What a year in senior dining! We served over 35,000 meals thanks to consumer contributions, the block grant funding and COVID-19 funding to help us exceed our goals and serve more than 200 new participants and more than 800 with meals and fresh produce We continued to offer services in-person when possible, as well as with delivery and curbside pickup.

1 When asked about overall health 40% said their health was better since being part of the senior dining program, 99% said their health was the same or better 2 77% of respondents state that their intake of fruits and vegetables increased because of the hot meals and produce they receive from this program 3 Over half say the meal they received from the senior dining program is the main meal of their day. 4. In terms of meeting participants’ nutritional needs 97% say that it has helped 5 We support exercise programs provided at the sites 99% say simply attending senior dining their rate of exercise has increased 6 Attending senior dining has improved their mobility, endurance, and strength 64% said it had improved and 100% said it had either improved or stayed the same 7 One of the cornerstones of the senior dining programs is that it is more than just a meal When asked about socialization 84% say the program has given them more people to talk to.

FIGURE 1. REVENUE PROGRAMS & SUPPORT

Health Insurance Services

BRUCE BIRDSALL, DIRECTOR OF MEDICARE SERVICES

The most significant development has been the acquisition of an office space for a “Medicare Center,” a facility dedicated to the Medicare program. The space provides offices for staff and volunteers, as well as much needed space for client consultations and conferences The Council on Aging’s SHIIP Medicare program was the leading county in North Carolina for both client contacts and cost savings for 2021 We had over 3,100 client contacts and saved clients more than $1 6 million dollars Through our Benefits Enrollment Center for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, in 2021 we assisted nearly 700 individuals, helping them to apply for various low- income subsidy programs The total value of benefits for our clients exceeded $1 1 million dollars

SUSAN WILSON, AFFORDABLE CARE ACT PROGRAM DIRECTOR

A snapshot of the change in the Navigator program from FY 21 to FY 22 can be seen in the difference in the budgets In FY 21, COA was allocated $80,000 for the program and In FY 22, our budget was $337,000 This included new staff, equipment and opportunities for outreach as well as partnership with CareReach to serve McDowell Access to Care and Health (MATCH) and the Tow River Project Access (TRPA) as subgrantees We have been working with MATCH since its inception and TRPA for the past 3 year We added one bilingual Spanish speaking employee which allowed us to reach out to a new demographic within our area We had 569 appointments, 121 outreach events, and we were able to purchase advertising in several Western North Carolina Newspapers, including La Noticia for Spanish program coverage. We were also able to run several commercials emphasizing a new special enrollment period that was offered to low income working families. Previously we were only able to engage in free marketing on social media and using flyers These incredible milestones have allowed us to increase access to affordable insurance for adults of all ages in nine counties.