MemoryLane Care Services is still coming to Bowling Green, but it is unknown when.
Representatives visited the Wood County Committee on Aging site on Friday to check out the site.
“I don’t have an exact timeline because we are waiting to secure some funding,” said Salli Bollin, executive director of MemoryLane.
Once funding is secured, she hopes to open the site in the Wood County Senior Center within five months.
Wood County Committee on Aging Executive Director Denise Niese announced at the Sept. 13 board meeting that MemoryLane representatives planned to visit the site to take measurements for furniture.
Memory Lane serves five counties in the Northwest Ohio area, including Wood.
There is one adult day care option, which is the largest service they provide, which is in Toledo. Bowling Green would be the second.
MemoryLane Care Services will operate the day care, which will be available to those with dementia or head trauma.
It’s estimated that it will take around $100,000 total to get the center operating, Bollin said.
According to the MemoryLane Care website, the adult day center provides structured, person-centered, and therapeutic activities to adults experiencing cognitive impairment related to chronic conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.
Adult day services offer respite and support for caregivers, and socialization and support for participants.
Bollin said she and Niese began discussing the need for adult day care prior to the pandemic.
The new senior center was built with space designated for the day care.
At the August 2022 meeting, the Wood County Committee on Aging board agreed to go along with the release of state fund totaling $35,432 for staffing and supplies for the Bowling Green day care site. The money is from Older American Act funds.
The money that was earmarked from the state last fall was to restart adult day cares — many closed during and after the pandemic — and expand the service. There was about $8 million set aside.
The Bowling Green center, which has capacity for 22, would start small, with perhaps six clients, Bollin said.
It costs about $100 a day to serve a client; typically, the participants pay about a third of the cost, Bollin previously said.
Also at the meeting, the board was updated on the status of its strategic planning.
The planning is in its final stages with a stakeholder survey, announced board President Paul Herringshaw.
All employees are receiving a survey as are other organizations, including the Bowling Green Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, University Women’s Club, the League of Women Voters, plus more.
Contact also will be made with the Republican and Democratic party leaders in the county, Herringshaw said.
In July, the board met with Abhishek Bhati, professor of political science at Bowling Green State University, to start the strategic planning process.
They discussed, among other things, what success looks like.
Herringshaw warned the Nov. 8 board meeting will be lengthy as Bhati will have his report completed and will review his finding at that time.
In other business, the board learned:
Staff positions needing to be filled include North Baltimore site manager and site driver, southeast driver and Rossford site driver.
To date, 11 projects have been completed using the one-time allocation of $115,000 from the Ohio Department of Aging for minor home repairs. There is $79,260 remaining to use before Sept. 30, 2024, Niese said.
Funds totaling $22,500 also have been received from the Older Americans Act; and $36,000 from the Ohio Housing Trust, which are income based. These funds expire Dec. 31.
On Oct. 26 from 2-4 p.m., seniors can learn how to keep up to date on the ways to protect themselves from scammers who use the digital world to target older adults. Register by calling 419-353-5661.
A number of flu vaccine clinics are planned at senior centers throughout the county in October.
Clinics are open to the community and will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 3 in Rossford, Oct. 4 in Pemberville, Oct. 9 at the Northeast center in Walbridge, Oct. 10 in Grand Rapids, Oct. 12 in Perrysburg, and Oct. 17 in Wayne.
On Oct. 24, vaccines will be offered from 1-4 p.m. at the Wood County Senior Center.
To make sure enough shots will be available, registration is requested and can be made by calling the center where the vaccine will be administered. Walk-ins will be accepted.
The Wood County Health Department will supply the vaccines and the nurses.
The hope is to give 350-400 flu vaccines at the clinics, Niese said.
Learned from Nominating Committee Chairman Roger Anderson that the nominees for board members included John Calderonello, Janet DeLong, Louis Katzner, Nancy Orel and Judy Wahrman.
There are four elected positions open for the two-year term, which starts Jan. 1, 2024. Two additional seats will be filled based on executive committee selection
