Minutes-02-16-2023-Business Meeting

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2 She said besides community partners, volunteers give time on a daily basis. She said Orange County continues to be a leader when it comes to aging issues. She said that the previous week, the television show NC Impact focused on dementia-friendly business efforts. She said Orange County was highlighted in its work. She said Orange County was highlighted in several state- wide initiatives. She said the county continues to be looked at to share experiences and lessons learned. She said they continue to focus on the complexities, challenges and opportunities in being a dementia-capable community. She said they will update the master aging plan to make sure it meets the current needs of the community. She said they will continue to focus on affordable accessible housing for older adults. She said the county needs more in-home services and support for older adults and caregivers. She said there is a shortage of direct care workers. She asked the Board to encourage people to value their work and appropriately compensate a critical and essential workforce. She encouraged the Board to visit the senior centers. She issued an invitation for the Board to come on a weekly radio show she hosts called "Aging Well Together." Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked about the pay for direct care workers. She asked what is the starting pay and what does it need to be. Dr. Altman said there is a goal to get the pay to $18 an hour. She said statewide it is around $13 an hour, and in our area it is around $15 an hour. She said Orange County's living wage is $16.60 an hour. Janice Tyler, Director of the Department on Aging, said contractors with her department pay a living wage. Shade Little presented on behalf of the Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee. He said they currently have three members. He said they recently began training new members. He asked the Board to approve new members as their applications come up to keep things moving along. He also said they need new members if they know anyone who is interested. He said that the staff of adult care homes do hard work that is important, and the visits that they conduct are very important. Commissioner Richards said she was concerned about the state of adult care homes. She asked how the adult care homes were licensed. Bonnie Hammersley said it is a state license but the homes are in Orange County. Commissioner Richards said she is concerned about some of the items in the report and asked what can be done. Shade Little said the generators could help and that they have been lucky so far. Commissioner Richards asked what the county could do. Bonnie Hammersley said it is all regulated by the state and any deficiencies would be handled by the state. Commissioner Hamilton asked what the optimal number would be for the committee. Shade Little said they could have up to ten members, but he would be happy with just a few more. Tara May said there are ten positions on the committee. Commissioner Hamilton said it is important to hear if the numbers are state guidelines or up to the county. She said that she has visited most of the adult care homes in the area and while the county cannot regulate a lot of things, having a committee of people to go into the facilities is crucial. Shade Little said that there have been people interested but it has taken a while. Chair Bedford said that members have to have training for over a year to be eligible to visit the homes and make reports. She said that during COVID, there was no training or visits and that has had an impact on current membership. Commissioner Greene said there is some frustration that the Board is not doing their paperwork on time. She said that they are seeing that no one is qualified at this point and therefore they can't make the appointments. She said that a refresher on the training and requirements