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New coalition to help frustrated senior citizens
By MIRANDA KOERNER - Star Writer
Frustrated seniors who feel lost in the community have a reason to celebrate.
In February 2006, the Kendall County Senior Coalition (KCSC) was formed by a group of women in the senior health care professions to meet the needs of the senior community. The KCSC aims to address the needs of seniors through several ways, including by providing a variety of services such as a Web site and eventually a published directory.
The first big project is to produce a Web site that would list physicians, health services and specialists in the area. It would include physician's schedules, healthcare service providers and available health services in the Kendall County area.
KCSC hopes having the information available online will make it easier for seniors to access, as well as an easy way to continue updating information.
“We may get to the point where if seniors have specific comments they can e-mail us,” said Peggy Sue Postell, co-chairman of KCSC and Boerne Heritage Place administrator. “We primarily want it to be an information source. For example, if someone is new to the area or someone's mom has had a stroke and they aren't aware of services here that provide help, the Web site will have that information. As we move forward we're going to try to address different needs. Our first goal is getting info available to the public.”
The core group of women who started KCSC - Helen Minas, Peggy Sue Postell, Sue Crandell, Becky Stephens and Marta Maley - did so because they felt a need to be advocates of the senior community because needs of seniors were not being met in several areas.
“I get calls from people who don't know where to start,” Postell said. “I had a man come in who lost his home, was battling cancer, didn't have a place to live or have any financial help. We decided that we wanted to move forward and educate the providers and the public and help people be aware of the needs of the senior community in Kendall County. Boerne is growing and its needs are changing, and we hope to be advocates of this community for seniors.”
Future plans include providing other services such as community education, senior-specific health fairs and educating younger citizens about the aging process.
“I'm thinking we'll be able to provide community education and reach out to the younger citizens to help them better anticipate what they're going to need in the future,” said Marta Maley, KCSC special project coordinator and Riverview Nursing and Rehabilitation administrator.
To assess current problems, the KCSC is planning to conduct a survey as to what specific needs are in the community. They have conducted one small group public meeting with residents at Park Meadows and plan to have more meetings in the future. The group hopes that the small group meetings will give them individualized comments from seniors that will help highlight specific problems.
Some of the problems that have already been reported to the KCSC by seniors are lack of community transportation and difficulty reaching medical appointments. Maley hopes the opening of new medical facilities and number of specialists coming to Boerne will help seniors receive needed medical care without having to find rides to San Antonio.
“A big challenge in Kendall County is access to transportation,” Maley said. “I think being able to have their health care needs provided locally so they don't have to go to San Antonio is very important. As soon as we get resources in this area, the better seniors will be.”
The KCSC plans for the Web site to offer not only medical and health information, but also to include topics such as Meals On Wheels information, financial advice and where to find donated items for seniors who have lost their homes or possessions.
“I'm hoping we can not only reach out to Boerne but to other cities in the county and be able to be a one-stop shop for people who need answers,” Maley said.
“We want to enrich the lives of the seniors of Kendall County by providing access to services and being an advocate for seniors in the community,” Postell said.
The KCSC does not have a physical location at this time, and the Web site is still under development. Call 830-249-9817 for questions or comments.
In February 2006, the Kendall County Senior Coalition (KCSC) was formed by a group of women in the senior health care professions to meet the needs of the senior community. The KCSC aims to address the needs of seniors through several ways, including by providing a variety of services such as a Web site and eventually a published directory.
The first big project is to produce a Web site that would list physicians, health services and specialists in the area. It would include physician's schedules, healthcare service providers and available health services in the Kendall County area.
KCSC hopes having the information available online will make it easier for seniors to access, as well as an easy way to continue updating information.
“We may get to the point where if seniors have specific comments they can e-mail us,” said Peggy Sue Postell, co-chairman of KCSC and Boerne Heritage Place administrator. “We primarily want it to be an information source. For example, if someone is new to the area or someone's mom has had a stroke and they aren't aware of services here that provide help, the Web site will have that information. As we move forward we're going to try to address different needs. Our first goal is getting info available to the public.”
The core group of women who started KCSC - Helen Minas, Peggy Sue Postell, Sue Crandell, Becky Stephens and Marta Maley - did so because they felt a need to be advocates of the senior community because needs of seniors were not being met in several areas.
“I get calls from people who don't know where to start,” Postell said. “I had a man come in who lost his home, was battling cancer, didn't have a place to live or have any financial help. We decided that we wanted to move forward and educate the providers and the public and help people be aware of the needs of the senior community in Kendall County. Boerne is growing and its needs are changing, and we hope to be advocates of this community for seniors.”
Future plans include providing other services such as community education, senior-specific health fairs and educating younger citizens about the aging process.
“I'm thinking we'll be able to provide community education and reach out to the younger citizens to help them better anticipate what they're going to need in the future,” said Marta Maley, KCSC special project coordinator and Riverview Nursing and Rehabilitation administrator.
To assess current problems, the KCSC is planning to conduct a survey as to what specific needs are in the community. They have conducted one small group public meeting with residents at Park Meadows and plan to have more meetings in the future. The group hopes that the small group meetings will give them individualized comments from seniors that will help highlight specific problems.
Some of the problems that have already been reported to the KCSC by seniors are lack of community transportation and difficulty reaching medical appointments. Maley hopes the opening of new medical facilities and number of specialists coming to Boerne will help seniors receive needed medical care without having to find rides to San Antonio.
“A big challenge in Kendall County is access to transportation,” Maley said. “I think being able to have their health care needs provided locally so they don't have to go to San Antonio is very important. As soon as we get resources in this area, the better seniors will be.”
The KCSC plans for the Web site to offer not only medical and health information, but also to include topics such as Meals On Wheels information, financial advice and where to find donated items for seniors who have lost their homes or possessions.
“I'm hoping we can not only reach out to Boerne but to other cities in the county and be able to be a one-stop shop for people who need answers,” Maley said.
“We want to enrich the lives of the seniors of Kendall County by providing access to services and being an advocate for seniors in the community,” Postell said.
The KCSC does not have a physical location at this time, and the Web site is still under development. Call 830-249-9817 for questions or comments.
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