Senior Moments

Often times I get asked, “What is Senior Services/Transit and what do they do?” I thought I would dedicate this week’s column to answer these questions.

The Mission of Freestone County Senior Services/Transit is to promote the well-being of all older adults, with special commitment to those who are most vulnerable. All activities of Freestone County Senior Services reflect concern for the dignity of the individual and are conducted in a caring, compassionate way.

Freestone County Senior Services/Transit provides rural transportation services and nutrition services in Freestone County. FCSS operates four senior centers in the county. These centers are located in the communities of Butler, Fairfield, Teague and Wortham. We are in hopes of expanding these services in other areas of the county as the need arises. These centers are not “stand alone centers” meaning they do not have their own governing bodies — we are all one organization! All Senior Services/Transit employees (including center managers) are employees of Freestone County. All centers are administered consistently and all administrative duties and handling of funds are handled through the Freestone County Senior Services/Transit Administrative Office. We receive funding from Area Agency on Aging (AAA), Freestone County Commissioners’ Court, Program Income, and private donations. We provide services for C1-Congregate meals, and C2-Home-delivered meals. A hot, nutritional lunch is served at noon at the centers with a suggested donation of $2.50 (for individuals 60 years of age and older) and $5.85 (for individuals younger than age 60). The Fairfield center houses the administrative offices and the central kitchen. The central kitchen prepares meals for all four centers in the county as well as all the homedelivered meals averaging approximately 250 meals per day. Both congregate and home-delivered meals are transported in insulated containers to ensure the food is kept safe at the correct temperature. Shelf- Stable meals are also provided to homebound clients several times during the year. The Freestone County Senior Centers offer various activities for senior citizens such as music, dominoes, games, puzzles, birthday and holiday parties, walking, blood pressure/glucose clinics, nutrition education, etc. We encourage seniors to attend the centers to enjoy lunch and have social interaction with others.

Volunteers play a very important role in making our centers successful. We have volunteers from all areas of the communities such as churches, civic organizations, county and city governments, the local VFW Post 5872 and many others. Without these people and the financial support of these groups, we could not succeed. The Meals on Wheels program could not operate without the volunteers who so generously donate their time and vehicles/gas to deliver meals to the homebound residents. There are many times that the Meals on Wheels volunteer may be the only contact a homebound client has during the day. Persons interested in the Meals on Wheels program should contact 903- 389-5800. An in-home assessment is performed on all homebound clients to determine eligibility in accordance with Area Agency on Aging guidelines.

Freestone County Transit offers transportation for the public, elderly, and non-emergency medical trips. We transport individuals to the doctor, hospital, pharmacy, grocery store, bank, post office, etc. If an individual is on Medicaid and they get Medicaid approval, Medicaid will pay for their trip. Transit transports individuals to dialysis centers in both Palestine and Corsicana three times per week. The charge is very minimal — within the city limits of Fairfield — $2 one-way; within Freestone County — $3 one-way; across one county line — $7 one-way; across 2 county lines — $14 one-way. If you or a loved one needs transportation, please give us a call at 903-389-5800. We would appreciate a 2- day notice; however, if schedule and space permits, we can sometimes do same-day trips.

Menus

Wed., Feb. 3 — Beef lasagna, buttered corn, spinach, bread, pink stuff

Thurs., Feb. 4 — Steak fingers with gravy, mashed potatoes, okra and tomatoes, bread, apple cobbler

Fri., Feb 5 — Sliced ham, macaroni and cheese, turnip greens, bread, brownies with nuts

Mon., Feb. 8 — Fritochili pie with onions and cheese, pickled beets, applesauce

Tues., Feb 9 — Cook’s choice.