 PSRAAA Driver Wayne Gough, right standing, prepares to take Henry Fulcher, seated, and his wife Joyce, to a non-emergency medical appointment. Henry Fulcher was PSRAAA’s first client of this new program, providing safe, reliable transportation for seniors in the seven-county service area. Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging (PSRAAA) has expanded its services to provide safe and reliable non-emergency transportation to senior citizens in its seven-county service region.
“Through a grant from the Department and Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) --- which included a local match --- we were able to secure funding for a five-passenger, handicap-accessible minivan,” said PSRAAA CEO Justine A. Young, RN, BSN. “We’ve worked for many months with staff and DRPT and the Department of Motor Vehicles to make this dream a reality for the seniors of our community, who need and deserve a safe, affordable way to get to their doctor’s appointments.” Young gave special credit to the Centra Foundation, the Impact 1890 Foundation and Davita Dialysis, for their contributions and support. PSRAAA provides companion services, Medicare insurance counseling, care coordination, home-delivered meals, friendship cafes, money management, and many other services to seniors who live in Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties. According to Young, in past Health Needs Assessments and surveys done by Centra Southside and STEPS Inc. among others, transportation has been ranked in the top three needs locally. “We’ve had more than 10 successful appointments to date --- appointments for seniors who are living on fixed incomes with barriers to transportation who may not have otherwise been able to get to their doctor or health care professional to address their needs. These are seniors living in isolated areas with very isolated social interaction,” said Thomas Jordan Miles III, PSRAAA Director of Nutrition and Transportation. “We want to increase that, and we’re looking for clients and appointments.” The program is currently accepting appointments from seniors living in all seven counties in the PSRAAA region, though active service is only being offered currently to seniors living in Prince Edward and Farmville and surrounding neighborhoods traveling to doctors’ offices in Prince Edward and surrounding neighborhoods. In the coming months, PSRAAA will offer active service to seniors living in all seven counties. “This should not discourage our seniors from calling and getting their appointments on our schedule,” Miles said. “All you have to do is call us, no matter where you live. You can go ahead and get your appointment on our schedule, even if it’s several months out.” Miles said the agency is also looking for volunteer drivers to safely transport seniors to and from their medical appointments. “For anyone who wants to give back to this community, this is a very easy, satisfying way to serve our senior population,” Miles said. “Having driven appointments, I can tell you the social interaction is very, very rewarding for both the client and the driver.” PSR plans on transporting veterans to the Veterans Affairs Hospital once a month in the coming months. Through 2020, PSRAAA has DRPT vouchers to offset the costs of service for seniors who qualify, using the Federal Poverty Guideline Sidling Scale. To be eligible: -Must be age 60 and older -Unable to access transportation, public or private -Live in Prince Edward and have an appointment in Prince Edward (service area will expand in coming months) Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. *All charges for transportation services are payable in advance If you are seeking non-emergency medical transportation, you must call PSRAAA’s Transportation Hotline, 434-767-5588 or 1-800-995-6918 at least (7) seven business days (not including weekends or holidays) before the appointment/requested date that transportation is needed. Exciting news! For the eleventh year running, the Meals on Wheels network is participating in the Subaru Share the Love Event. Over the past ten years, Subaru and its retailers have helped Meals on Wheels to deliver nearly 2 million meals nationwide to seniors in need. Why does Subaru support Meals on Wheels? Too many seniors are struggling to stay independent and healthy. One in four seniors lives alone in isolation and one in seven seniors might not know from where their next meal is coming. This is simply unacceptable, which is why Piedmont Senior Resources provides the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks to the seniors of the Piedmont area. This vital support keeps seniors in their own homes, where they want to be. We’re incredibly grateful to Subaru and its retailers for supporting our organization and the seniors we serve. With that in mind, we thought you might want to learn a little bit more about the Subaru Share the Love Event. HERE’S HOW IT WORKS This November 15, 2018, through January 2, 2019, for every new Subaru vehicle purchased or leased, Subaru will donate $250 to the customer’s choice of participating charities.* Meals on Wheels is one of four national participating charities and has been since the inception of the event. Through this event, as a member of Meals on Wheels America, Piedmont Senior Resources will receive a share of the donation from Subaru vehicles sold in Virginia. You might not be in the market to purchase a new car, but if you are, please look into the Subaru Share the Love Event to learn more. If you’re not shopping for a new vehicle, you can still help by spreading the word to your family and friends. A few quick and easy ways to do that:
And remember: this holiday season you can ensure our senior neighbors are not forgotten, when you buy or lease a new Subaru and select Meals on Wheels as your charity of choice. *Disclaimer: Subaru will donate $250 for every new Subaru vehicle sold or leased from November 15, 2018, through January 2, 2019, to four national charities designated by the purchaser or lessee. Pre-approved Hometown Charities may be selected for donation depending on retailer participation. Certain participating retailers may make an additional donation to the Hometown Charities selected. Purchasers/lessees must make their charity designations by January 31, 2019. The four national charities will receive a guaranteed minimum donation of $250,000 each. See your local Subaru retailer for details or visit subaru.com/share. All donations made by Subaru of America, Inc.   Senior citizens taking part in Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging’s Friendship Café at the SCOPE Center in Farmville designed and decorated their own pumpkins on Monday, just in time for Halloween. The pumpkins came from Dark Leaf Farms in Appomattox County. Seniors at all eight Friendship Cafes have enjoyed painting pumpkins that, not only allow for fun and conversation, but sharpening motor skills while painting and concentrating on the images they seek to apply to the pumpkin. “This is one of the many activities we offer at our popular Friendship Cafes,” said Director of Transportation and Nutrition Jordan Miles. “We offer and provide health assessments, flu shots, a hot, nutritious meal, exercises, fellowship, informational presentations, and more, and we provide transportation to and from each site in Amelia, Buckingham, Cumberland, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties.” Pictured are, from left, Evelyn “Artie” Moody, Kathleen Kellam, Alberta Redd, Grace Foulks, Louise Burnside, Blanche Brown, Flossie Hudson. To learn more about PSR’s friendship cafes, call 434-767-5588 or email jmiles@psraaa.org.
 Seniors at Piedmont Senior Resources’ Friendship Cafes recently painted pumpkins to celebrate Halloween. The pumpkins came from Dark Leaf Farms in Appomattox County. This week and next, seniors at all eight Friendship Cafes will enjoy painting pumpkins that, not only allow for fun and conversation, but sharpening motor skills while painting and concentrating on the images they seek to apply to the pumpkin. “This is one of the many, many activities we offer at our popular Friendship Cafes,” said Director of Transportation and Nutrition Jordan Miles. “We offer health assessments, flu shots, a hot, nutritious meal, exercises, fellowship, informational presentations, and more, and we provide transportation to and from each site in Amelia, Buckingham, Cumberland, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties.” Pictured are, from left, Isabel Hall, Mildred Garland, Lois Carpenter, Ann Jackson, Rachel Dove and Peggy Green. To learn more about PSR’s friendship cafes, call 434-767-5588 or email jmiles@psraaa.org.
Update:
Because of the significant improvements in restoring power in Lunenburg last night and early this morning, both Lunenburg 1 and 2 Piedmont Senior Resources (PSR) home delivered meal routes will run on schedule today, Tuesday, in addition to the makeup of the Cumberland Route, the completion of the Charlotte Route, Prince Edward 1 Route, and the normal Buckingham Route. Both Lunenburg and Buckingham friendship cafes are open today, though no transportation is being provided to the Lunenburg site due to road closures. ----------------------- Piedmont Senior Resources’ (PSR) friendship cafes in Buckingham and Lunenburg are open tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 16. Due to road closures, no transportation will be provided for Lunenburg’s friendship café. The Lunenburg #1 home delivered meal route, covering Victoria, will go as scheduled Tuesday. The more rural Lunenburg #2 route will be run Wednesday due to continued power outages in Lunenburg. Home delivered meal routes will be completed and made up Tuesday in Charlotte, Buckingham, Cumberland and Prince Edward. Home delivered meal routes will be completed and made up Wednesday in Lunenburg, Prince Edward and Nottoway. Home delivered meal routes will go as scheduled Thursday in Charlotte. Home delivered meal routes will go as scheduled Friday in Cumberland and Amelia (double meals to make up from last Friday). Please direct any questions to Jordan Miles at 434-767-5588.  PSRAAA Chief Executive Officer Justine Young, right, and Navona Hart, of Real Living Cornerstone, accept the Corporate Partnership Award from the Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging (PSRAAA) and Navona Hart and Real Living Cornerstone recently received the Corporate Partnership Award from the Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging (SE4A), a multi-state organization that encompasses area agencies on aging across nine states in the southeastern portion of the United States.
The award was bestowed to the two entities on Oct. 1 in Louisville, Ky. During the SE4A’s annual meeting. The award was given to PSRAAA and Real Living Cornerstone in recognition of their contributions to the lives of older persons across the counties of Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties. According to SE4A’s website, “The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding contributions of organizations that have enhanced the quality of life of older persons in the Southeast region.” PSRAAA Chief Executive Officer Justine A. Young says Hart has been an avid supporter of the agency for many years. “In every event we organize to raise awareness or funds to help the seniors in the seven-county service area, Navona and Real Living Cornerstone are there for us,” Young said. “The time, funds, energy, promotion and support Real Living Cornerstone and Navona have given us over the years has helped so many seniors in this area in a profound way. PSR is truly blessed to have community partners like Navona and the many, many others we work with.” Real Living Cornerstone continues to help sponsor and organize A Racy Affair, PSR’s annual fundraising event held in May, the Senior Santa, an annual distribution of more than 400 baskets of toiletries and other needed items for seniors, delivered right before Christmas. Hart, the leading realtor at Real Living Cornerstone, located in Farmville, said she is a proud supporter of the mission of PSR, which is advocating, advancing and achieving independence for the aging community. “It’s so important that businesses and other entities support our local nonprofit organizations, such as PSR, not only because of the vast services they provide to those who need assistance and a hand up, but because they operate on very, very limited budgets,” Hart said. “Real Living Cornerstone is proud to do just that. We pride ourselves on helping our neighbors – both young and old -- through nonprofit partnerships that include fundraisers, volunteerism, promotion and advocacy.”  Seniors across the seven-county service territory created their own sun catchers this week at Piedmont Senior Resources’ (PSR) eight friendship cafes, using their creativity and eye for color to paint clear, plastic ornaments, which they’ll take home with them for their windows and doors. “The activity not only allows them to be inspired each other’s work, but also allows our seniors to sharpen their motor skills as they hold a paint brush, select colors, and gently apply the paint to the sun catcher,” said Nutrition and Transportation Director Jordan Miles. “This is one of many activities at our friendship cafes we do on a daily basis to help keep seniors in their homes in a safe and secure environment.” Seniors aged 60 and older are invited to the eight friendship cafes held by PSR in Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties. Transportation is offered if seniors cannot attend on their own.    In partnership with the Piedmont Health District/Virginia Department of Health, Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging (PSR) will offer free flu shots to seniors age 60 and over living in Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Nottoway, Lunenburg and Prince Edward Counties.
Health Department professionals will be on hand in late September and early October offering the flu shots at PSR’s eight Friendship Cafes starting at 10 a.m. each day (locations and dates noted below) while supplies last. There is no need to call or make an appointment, nor do you need to bring any paperwork or information with you, though it is advisable to always have proper identification with you. “We see this partnership with the Health Department as an awesome way to prevent illnesses in one of the most vulnerable and susceptible populations, who could face life-changing results if diagnosed with the flu,” said PSR Chief Executive Officer Justine A. Young. “We thank David Martin for his willingness to assist us in our common goal of keeping members of our community healthy.” According to the Center for Disease Control, which advises seniors obtain a flu shot, “it has been recognized for many years that people 65 years and older are at greater risk of serious complications from the flu compared with young, healthy adults because human immune defenses become weaker with age ... So influenza is often quite serious for people 65 and older.” “All you have to do to qualify for a free flu shot is be age 60 or over and show up at one of our eight Friendship Cafes on the assigned dates. It’s as simple as that,” said Nutrition and Transportation Director Thomas “Jordan” Miles III. For more information, call PSR at 434-767-5588. Locations and dates for flu shots for seniors All times are 10 a.m. Sept. 18 - Buckingham & Lunenburg Counties Mount Olive Baptist Church (Buckingham) 16091 N. James Madison Hwy (P.O. Box 307) Dillwyn, VA 23936 Lunenburg Senior Center (Lunenburg) 1121 Tidewater Ave Victoria, VA 23974 Sept. 19 – Nottoway Crewe Community Center 200 W. Tennessee Ave Crewe, VA 23930 Sept. 20 - Charlotte County Blue Stone Harmony Ctr 635 Bluestone Rd Keysville, VA 23947 Sept. 21 - Cumberland County Payne Memorial Methodist Church 1 Stoney Point Rd Cumberland, VA 23040 Sept. 27 - Amelia County Amelia County Veterans Center 16440 Five Forks Road Amelia Court House, VA 23002 Oct. 1 - Prince Edward (SCOPE) SCOPE 505 Griffin Blvd Farmville, VA 23901 Sept. 26 – Crossroads (Prospect) Crossroad Senior Citizen Ctr 2966 Sulphur Spring Rd Prospect, VA 23960 PURPOSE OF REQUEST: Piedmont Senior Resources intends to enter into a Contract to procure frozen meals in accordance with applicable state and federal law governing federally-funded meal programs for the year of October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2020. RFP SUBMITTAL DEADLINE: Proposals must be received no later than 12:00 pm Eastern Standard Time on Friday, July 27, 2018. Mail to: Email to: jmiles@psraaa.org Thomas Jordan Miles III Nutrition & Transportation Director Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging 1413 South Main Street Farmville, VA 23901 Phone: 434-767-5588 |