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5 <br /> 1 Janice Tyler said these committees meet onsite, and these meetings are back to back <br /> 2 with the Nursing Care Homes meetings. She said Commissioners are welcome at both <br /> 3 meetings. <br /> 4 Commissioner Greene referred to the list of emerging concerns and improving <br /> 5 regulatory expectations, such as resident to staff ratio and handicap accessible door <br /> 6 requirements. She asked if these are State issues or if the County could intervene. <br /> 7 Michael Zuber said DSS may know more. He said there is one facility without handicap <br /> 8 accessible doors, and he was told there is insufficient funding. <br /> 9 Commissioner Greene said the body with authority should be lobbied to address this. <br /> 10 Janice Tyler said there are handicap accessible doors, but they do not have the ability to <br /> 11 open automatically. <br /> 12 Commissioner Greene said the lack of resident-to-staff ratio is insane. She referred to <br /> 13 the statement about local leaders being apathetic about improvements, and asked if this <br /> 14 referred to the BOCC. <br /> 15 Michael Zuber said no. He said there is some discussion in the Master Aging Plan <br /> 16 (MAP) program about projects related to the assisted living facilities. <br /> 17 Commissioner Bedford thanked all of the committee members for serving, especially <br /> 18 given the considerable training requirements. <br /> 19 Commissioner Dorosin referred to the question about lobbying, and asked if there are <br /> 20 some organized advocacy groups that are pushing for changes. <br /> 21 Janice Tyler said the Friends of Residents of Long Term Care is a statewide <br /> 22 organization that is having an advocacy day on the first Wednesday in April. She said there is <br /> 23 some legislature going forward to raise the amount for the personal care allowance. <br /> 24 Commissioner Dorosin asked staff to get the name of the bill so the Board can pass a <br /> 25 resolution of support. <br /> 26 Commissioner Price encouraged her colleagues to participate in these meetings or <br /> 27 visits. She said both are very informative. <br /> 28 <br /> 29 Advisory Board on Aging Peggy Cohn, Chair <br /> 30 Peggy Cohn said the most outstanding accomplishment is the success of the Master <br /> 31 Aging Plan, and its ability to bring our community together to successfully serve our growing <br /> 32 aging population. She said the Aging board is especially proud of its work on advocating for <br /> 33 affordable housing. She said the Senior Housing Report was updated and is used as a <br /> 34 resource for the community in developing senior housing initiatives. The development of the <br /> 35 Home Preservation Coalition has improved the communication among agencies and will <br /> 36 ultimately help in getting clients served in a more coordinated and efficient manner. <br /> 37 Peggy Cohn said the MAP plan has brought the community together. She highlighted <br /> 38 the following: <br /> 39 o Programs developed for older adults seeking employment. Commodity Senior <br /> 40 Food Program served 243 low-income older adults in five locations (Seymour, <br /> 41 Passmore, Efland Cheeks Community Center, Cedar Grove Community Center, <br /> 42 and Carolina Spring). <br /> 43 o Rural Orange Action Partnership (ROAP) Steering Committee: Together with the <br /> 44 UNC Center for Health Equity Research, DoA formed the ROAP Steering <br /> 45 Committee, comprised of ten individuals from the Efland-Cheeks and Cedar <br /> 46 Grove communities. This committee will serve as a platform for meaningful <br /> 47 community action and change, and its development was financially supported by <br /> 48 the Detroit-Academic Urban Research Center, and the University of Michigan <br /> 49 School of Public Health. <br />