Often remembered specifically for that purpose, this Mediterranean-style building has been serving seniors in the area since 1903. 

“We bought the old Bedford Hotel in 1903,” explained Dr. Ron Plamondon, Executive Director of the Elks National Home. “In 1914, we decided we needed a new place. So, we tore down that building and people stayed at the old Jeter School for Girls, which is no longer in existence. In 1960, we dedicated our existing building.” 

After tearing down the castle-esque Bedford Hotel, the Elks National Home moved a few feet from the original location and built a more modest, yet architecturally beautiful, building for seniors. 

“It’s changed quite a bit since it was originally built,” Plamondon remarked with a laugh. “We originally started the Elks National Home for the elderly and the poor elderly—for those people who couldn’t find work and were too old or sick to work. We bought the hotel for those people. After we built the main building, we added H Building in 1927. In 1930, we built I Building. We could house up to 400 people—and we did during the 1930s when a lot of people were out of work.” 

In the beginning years, the Elks National Home only housed men. It wasn’t until recently that women were able to live there as well. 

“H and I Buildings used to just house men in a dormitory style,” Plamondon explained. “In 1985, we started renovating the main buildings. In 1999, we allowed women for the first time and created space for 37 apartments. H and I are still dormitory style—though we don’t use I building anymore. Next year, we’re looking to start a renovation program to turn H and I building into apartments. Then, we’d add a specialty care unit and 49 more apartments.” 

Ever since its inception, residents have been required to be members of an Elks Lodge prior to living at the Elks National Home. With 105 men and women currently living there, Plamondon doesn’t see that as a restriction. 

“You definitely have to be an Elk. You shouldbe an Elk for five years, however, there is a waiver process,” he said. 

Along with the 105 residents at the Elks Home, 19 nurses, CNAs and medical technicians work on-site around the clock to ensure everyone is properly taken care of. 

“We have doctors who come in three days a week,” Plamondon explained. “They are foot doctors, optometrists, hearing aid specialists. Just about everything you can think of, we have them come to the home. If [a resident] needs to go out to see a specialist, we do provide transportation.” 

Even thought the Elks National Home is much like its own little community and neighborhood, residents occasionally want to stretch their legs and get out-and-about—and that’s taken care of as well.

“We also have an entertainment director. We have a golf course on-site which the residents love. We also have indoor and outdoor shuffle boards and BINGO tournaments. When residents want to go out, we make trips to banks, to the mall, etc., a couple of times a week to Lynchburg, Roanoke and, of course, around Bedford,” Plamondon said.

Acting as a historic emblem and a scene of many childhood memories, the Elks National Home has created a standard of excellent care for over 100 years—a reputation it expects to continue for 100 more, and beyond.

“I’m excited to be able to stay on-site for the renovations. Every day I see progress being made,” said Davenport, who was relocated to a multi-family unit on the outer perimeter of the complex while she waits for her inside apartment to be finished.

Davenport has lived at Lynchburg High Apartments for five years.

“I’m excited for the changes,” she said. “It was comfy cozy before, but I’m so excited to go back—it’s something new.”

The apartments are housed in the old Lynchburg High School on Park Avenue, located at the highest point in the city. The building was built around 1910 and was converted from a school into apartments in the late 1970s. It had no major renovations until January, when an $8.9 million project was begun to update and improve the facilities.

Lynchburg Covenant Fellowship (LCF), a nonprofit organization that owns and manages the low-income facility that also houses many elderly and disabled residents, isn’t gutting the building, just reconfiguring several rooms. Five apartments will meet the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, and the number of units overall will go from 70 to 74 when some of the four-bedroom apartments are changed to two-bedroom units.

The 40 inside apartments are for the elderly and disabled and can only be accessed through the main building entrance. The other 30 outside units are multi-family and have outside access.

The renovations are a low-income tax credit project with financing through the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) as well as $40,000 from Lynchburg HOME funds. The total cost of the project includes everything from development costs to construction.

Renovation plans started about two years ago with preparing the application for the VHDA.

“There are lots of upfront costs involved to submit the application,” said Connie Snavely, associate director of the nonprofit.

An environmental study was required for tax credit approval, and that part of the process alone was $16,000. LCF enlisted the help of EarthCraft House Virginia to increase energy efficiency in the building. EarthCraft helps homes reduce utility bills while at the same time protect the environment.

“Using EarthCraft gets organizations more points toward getting their applications for tax credits approved, but it also ensures that we’ve taken the additional steps that make us as energy efficient as possible,” Snavely said.

EarthCraft was on-site recently to conduct a preliminary test to see how the renovations are progressing in an apartment that had insulation work done to it. The instrument used by John Semmelhack, EarthCraft technical advisor, measured pressurized air in the room. The numbers were fairly close to the ones measured prior to the renovations, and this second test revealed where there were drafts and gaps in insulation so crews knew where to work next.

Since most of the units at Lynchburg High Apartments are for low-income residents, “it makes sense for us to do what we can to control their electric bills,” Snavely said.

The apartments, which before had baseboard heat and no air conditioning, will be equipped with central heat and air.

“Even with window air conditioners, it was very hot in the summer,” Snavely said. In the winters, “the residents had high electric bills and haven’t really been warm.”

The apartments are getting new doors, Energy Star appliances and hybrid hot water heaters—the only energy efficient electric hot water heaters with the Energy Star label, which Snavely says are “expensive up front, but a huge savings in the long run.” The kitchens are being updated with new cabinets, countertops, dishwashers and plumbing. Ranges in the inside units will be ADHD compliant and have easily accessible controls.

“[Snavely] had me sold the first time [she] said ‘central air,’” Davenport said of the renovations. “Over the dishwasher or anything else, it was the central air.”

Renovations at the complex are extensive. Common areas are being redone and a sprinkler system is being put in to comply with VHDA guidelines. The door on the elevator has to be made bigger, so that means making bigger openings in the concrete walls on all six floors. The building is also getting a new roof.

“So you can see, it’s not as simple as dividing [$8.9 million] by 74 [housing units],” Snavely said.

Other improvements include an emergency bell system in the inside units. All of the bathrooms and bedrooms will have emergency call buttons that will ring into the resident manager who lives on site and will determine if a 911 call is needed.

A new security system is being installed over the whole property, with about 30 cameras that will be accessible by employees via the Internet.

“That’s a wonderful change,” said Davenport, who lives alone, adding that while she felt safe previously she was always conscious of her surroundings.

Community Housing Partners (CHP), a nonprofit organization out of Christiansburg, is the contractor for the renovation project. They know all the regulations and requirements necessary to get Virginia tax credits and they have worked with EarthCraft on other projects.

“It’s nice to have a contractor who knows the ropes,” said Snavely. “They have their own properties they work on and came to us with ideas that saved us money. I can’t emphasize enough how lucky we are to have them.”

Snavely said CHP’s bid for the project was more than $1 million lower than any of the other bids they received.

Thirty-two people were relocated from the inside units plus two outside units for this first phase of the renovations. Two Guys and a Truck did all of the moving for the residents the week after Thanksgiving and the first week of December.

“They gave us a great deal. They researched us, knew we were a nonprofit, found out what we do and really worked with us,” Snavely said. “They were half what anyone else was [when it came to price].”

In addition, Snavely adds that “the guys were great with the residents,” many of whom can’t manage steps and some of whom are in wheelchairs.

“Lots of the residents have been here a long time and the guys were great with them, so cooperative,” she said. “It touched my heart that they were so good about it.”

The renovations are being done in four phases. The first phase started January 4, and Snavely said plans are to have those residents back in their apartments on May 1. Complete renovations will be done by the end of the year, with all residents back in their homes in December. Snavely said that the crews are working hard and at times there are more than 60 workers in the building.

Davenport said that while she likes her temporary residence and she’ll miss the bigger kitchen, she’s looking forward to moving into her newly renovated apartment in a couple of months.

“I do miss my patio—I’ll still have my patio, right?” Davenport asked Snavely recently with a laugh. Snavely assured her she would, complete with new doors and rubber flooring.

“Our bones tell us when it’s cold,” 80-year-old Josephine Reynolds said. “We don’t even have to look outside.”

Reynolds says when the weather turns cold, her body starts aching. Now a resident in the independent living community at Bentley Commons, she does not worry as much about the cold weather. When Reynolds lived alone, however, there were many concerns.

“In the winter, electric bills get high,” Reynolds said.

With the increased use of electricity to heat her house, she would worry about how much the bill would be. The winter made life very unpredictable. Reynolds moved into Bentley Commons last June because her family was worried about her living alone. Although Reynolds was unhappy with the move originally, she now knows it was for the best and enjoys her new home.

Aside from the increased cost of heating in the winter, senior citizens deal with physical issues that rarely cause concern for most young people.

“Falls and balance issues are very high on a senior’s radar,” Lisa Baity, director of community relations at Bentley Commons, said. “Balance is a real issue when you become a senior.”

With this in mind, Baity suggests checking in on senior citizens, whether it be family members or those in the neighborhood, on a regular basis to ensure their well-being and safety. During the winter season, the risk of falling greatly increases. When the winter weather is especially bad, Baity said checking in on seniors should be a daily occurrence.

“Be more diligent in checking up on them,” Baity said.

Other crucial elements to check in on are whether they are taking their medications properly, eating well and staying healthy.

Heather Pippen, executive director of Heritage Green Assisted Living, concurs with Baity, saying that senior citizens who are not in an assisted living community are at a higher risk of being affected by the cold weather.

“The seniors are going to be more vulnerable in their home, if they’re alone and don’t have proper heating,” Pippen said. “I think they need family members who might give them a call once a day, check on them, and make sure their heat system’s working.”

Aside from falling and getting the flu, getting too cold is a serious risk for seniors. In fact, Pippen, who has worked at Heritage Green for 10 years, says the greatest risk for seniors during winter is hypothermia–a condition that causes body temperature to lower, which can cause the heart, organs and nervous system to work incorrectly.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC), elderly people without necessities such as heat, proper clothing and food are at a risk for hypothermia. Warning signs of hypothermia include shivering, confusion, memory loss, drowsiness, slurred speech, fumbling hands and exhaustion.

“If they’re over 75, they’re five times more likely to die from it,” Pippin said. “There are a lot of factors that can help prevent it, like proper nutrition.”

Ways to prevent hypothermia include keeping a senior well hydrated and covered in warm blankets at night while sleeping. In a case of hypothermia, the CDC suggests taking the hypothermia victim to a warm place, giving them a warm, non-alcoholic beverage and removing any wet clothes while waiting for medical assistance.

Aside from checking in on seniors in our community, Pippen says there are other things our community can do for them during the cold winter season.

“Make sure they have an arrangement if it snows to get food to them,” she said.

Making sure they have food stocked up is also important and eliminates their need for going out on snowy days. With the fall risk being increased, keeping their sidewalks cleared and salted is also of high importance.

“A broken hip would be a big setback to them,” Pippen said.

For those who drive, it is important to ensure that their vehicles are maintained. People in the community can help their senior neighbors by picking up groceries, giving them a ride or asking if they need help.

“If you know that no one else is checking in on them, you should help them out,” Pippen said.

Baity suggests that while checking in on seniors to also make sure their water pipes and hot water heater are working correctly in case of a winter storm. Although having food stocked up and being prepared is important, if their heat is out, they need to be taken some place warm.

“Family or neighbors should take the senior out of the environment without heat and electricity and provide them with a safe environment,” Baity said.

If seniors are not helped, they might remain in the unhealthy and sometimes dangerous situation. A few mindful and simple steps can not only make a senior feel more secure and cared for, but also keep them safe and warm this winter season.

“Our program coordinator, Tara Wells, went out to do the home visit and assessment and discovered that Sally, herself, had debilitating rheumatoid arthritis as well as diabetes. She could hardly get up from her chair,” Lisa Shafer, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lynchburg area, said. “After the interview, Tara informed them that there was no problem at all providing Bill with Meals on Wheels. She also informed Sally that she, too, was eligible to receive meals because of her condition. Sally, who had never asked for herself, was so happy and touched.”

Like many of the more than 400 people Schafer estimates that MOW served between 67,000 and 75,000 meals to in 2010, Sally and Bill were eligible for meals at no cost to them because of the household income, and the medical expenses that had been incurred. In fact, Shafer says that though they do charge for meals on a sliding scale, only 34 percent of MOW’s recipients can afford to pay anything at all. But Sally, despite her financial struggles, wanted to give so someone else could also benefit from MOW’s services.

“As Tara prepared to leave, the woman struggled to get up from her chair and pressed three $1 bills into Tara’s hand. Tara protested that it was unnecessary. Then Sally told her that when her mother was alive, she had received Meals on Wheels, and the volunteer who came to her home became one of her best friends and remained so until her mother died. While Bill and Sally are unable to pay for the meals which they both so desperately needed, they wanted to do what they could. They said they would send in some money towards their meals as they had extra,” Shafer explained.

Sally and Bill are just two of the hundreds of stories the staff at MOW comes across each year. With a mission to provide “healthy meals, friendly smiles, and warm reassurance to the local homebound community,” Shafer says that MOW accomplishes their goal by delivering a balanced, nutritious, hot meal five days per week to those who are unable to cook for themselves.

But like those they help, the 36-year-old nonprofit, which Schafer says has served more than 1,875,000 meals locally since its inception, is now also struggling to stay above board financially.

“Our current budget (July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011) is $485,310,” Shafer said.” We are currently in the red by $33,628. We still have six months to make up this shortfall and we are certainly saying our prayers that it will come in. I have stepped up my grant writing. The board is working hard to raise funds through special events. We have cut our costs so far this year by about $20,000. I feel we are running as tightly as we possibly can.”

MOW does not receive any state or local funding and relies heavily on individual donations to stay afloat. During the 2009-2010 budget year, MOW received nearly $136,000 from individual donors, but with the economy still waning, that number is also dwindling. Still, Shafer has hope.

“The community of Lynchburg is a great community in which to be a nonprofit,” she said, noting that this sentiment extends into the realm of volunteerism as well.

Right now, MOW has more than 900 volunteers who help out during the course of the year; some every week, others twice a month and some only work yearly, according to Shafer. Like financial giving, she says the giving of time is always a need for MOW, especially considering that the majority of the population they serve—the elderly—is growing exponentially.

“The fastest growing segment of society are those 60 years of age and over,” she said. “The need is there, but we need more volunteers so that we can add on more routes, which means we need to raise more money in order to afford the meals. It’s really a mad, vicious circle.”

In the past year and a half, MOW has added four new routes, making the need for funds even more crucial since volunteers often deliver more than just lunch. In fact, MOW also delivers dinner to about 30 percent of its meal recipients. Ensure or a like product is also part of the delivery for some, as well as physician prescribed diets (heart healthy, carb-controlled, renal, etc.) for others. Birthday Boxes are sent on a meal recipient’s special day, while Blizzard Boxes, which contain five days worth of shelf stable foods, are delivered when inclement weather threatens the delivery of a meal.

Even animals can benefit from MOW, through Animeals, a program that delivers donated pet food to companion pets of meal recipients.

“It definitely takes a lot of help to keep the wheels turning,” Schafer said. “We only have three full-time employees, one part-time, and three technicians who help with the routes. The rest are here on a volunteer basis.”

These volunteers also provide a vital service during the meal delivery process, called a “safety check.” This simple routine has sometimes meant the difference between life and death for a meal recipient. It works like this: If a recipient does not come to the door when a volunteer delivers a meal, that volunteer calls the staff at MOW, who then call the client to make sure they heard the knock. If there is no answer on the phone, the recipient’s contact person is then called to go and check on them.

“Many times, our meal recipient was in need of immediate medical attention, and could not get to the phone [due to a stroke, fall, etc.],” Shafer said. “Because we (our volunteer) visit them every day, we were able to get them help immediately. And there are the unfortunate times that we have found people who have passed away. This is all part of who we are … part of what we do.”

Even with the daily struggle to raise funds and gather enough volunteers to do the job, Schafer says that the service MOW provides is invaluable; one she is proud to be a part of.

“It is a privilege for our staff and our volunteers to be able to serve those homebound people who really do need our help,” Shafer said. “I always say that somewhere, you will find that one of your friends, a family member, or someone else you know will need our assistance. It might even be you. We want to be ready for that time. And we can be, if everyone who is able does what they can.”

MOW is looking for teams and sponsors for their Annual Golf Tournament fundraiser, slated for May 3, 2011, at Boonsboro Country Club.  Please call the MOW office at (434) 847-0796 for more information.

*Names changed to protect identity.

“Independent living is more of a lifestyle choice,” said Lisa Baity, Director of Community Relations at Bentley Commons, an independent living and soon-to-be assisted living facility in Lynchburg.

Baity says that independent living is more for those who are 55 and older and are at a point in life in which they do not want to worry about such tasks as cutting grass, home maintenance or cooking.

“It is more of coming into an all inclusive community and having all that stuff taken away,” Baity said.

Bentley Commons resident, Virginia Herndon, is an example of someone who had reached that point in her life after the death of her husband in late 2009. Since Herndon did not want to live alone and deal with the maintenance of her home, she began pursuing senior living options. Her daughter, Karen Zak, said that her mother made the decision to become a part of an independent living community.

“Her first words were, ‘I do not want to be here by myself,’” Zak recalls her mother saying of her home after her husband’s death.

As Zak began researching possibilities for her 81-year-old mother, a friend recommended Bentley Commons.

“As an adult child, I did not know that there was such a thing as independent senior living,” she admitted.

With independent living, Zak’s mother, as well as other residents, has an opportunity to be in a community where they live in an apartment on the facility’s property and their meals and transportation are provided. They can also choose to cook themselves since they have stoves furnished in their apartments.

Assisted living has a similar living arrangement as independent living; however, residents are given guided assistance from nursing staff. In an assisted living facility like Heritage Green Assisted Living, residents receive help with medication administration and bathing, said Executive Director Heather Pippen. Different therapies, such as occupational and physical therapies, are also available to residents.

Amy Johnson, Admissions Director for the assisted living facility, Runk and Pratt, describes assisted living as a higher level of care in which seniors still can keep their independence. For example, a senior may be able to do everything else independently but need assistance with some daily tasks. This is the point at which Debbie Beamer, Executive Director at Bentley Commons, says that families may consider moving an elderly family member into assisted care.

“The daughter may say, ‘Mom does everything else. She just can’t get in the shower anymore,’” Beamer said.

Other reasons for families to consider a move to assisted care is when they notice a senior forgetting to take their medication, falling more easily or generally lacking balance. In assisted living communities, nursing staff is available to avoid the backlash of these symptoms of aging. From distributing medicine and helping a resident get their balance, to answering a call for help sent from a button in their bathroom, the staff at assisted living facilities exists to aid seniors in every aspect of life that might be challenging.

Pippen says that some seniors may become excited about the prospect of residing in senior living, while others initially may not be fond of the idea. Some seniors may worry about leaving the home they lived in for many years. Baity noted that the generation of seniors who were born from during the Depression Era in particular may be very reluctant to leave a house they’ve owned for decades.

To ease their concerns, Baity talks to each person coming to live at Bentley Commons, assuring them to trust their children or family member’s judgment.

“I tell them that you have to trust that they will not let anything happen to you,” Baity said.

Baity, Pippen and Beamer find that both family members and residents are typically satisfied with their decision once they settle in. To ease the adjustment, residents can bring furniture, vehicles and pets from home so that they can be more comfortable in their new environment.

Although Zak had never heard of an independent living facility prior to her mother becoming a resident at Bentley Commons, she has been pleased with the outcome.

“It has been really good physically and mentally. We have been really happy with this place,” Zak said.

At both assisted and independent living, residents get a chance to participate in activities at the facility sites. These activities include Bingo and playing Wii game systems to keep both their minds and bodies active.  At both independent and assisted living facilities, seniors also have a chance to engage with others and get help and assurance from facility staff, if needed. Assisted living simply gives seniors more guidance with basic personal tasks in comparison to independent living.

“We are the best of both worlds,” Pippen said of assisted living. “You can have as much independence as you want but know that you can get those personal care services as well.”

Tulane Patterson is quick to greet you with a warm smile, kind eyes and an energetic handshake. On this particular day, that welcome comes in the waiting room of the Generation Solutions building on Route 221 in Lynchburg. The building is actually a red brick ranch-style house, with a large sign out front, boasting the company’s name and the signature ruby red slippers, a support to the company’s motto: “There’s no place like home.”

“Come on down to my office,” Patterson said, as he heads down the narrow wooden stairway to the basement. “My office is down here. I figure the home health aides, the nurses, the people who do the real work should be upstairs.”

Patterson certainly has been working, however, and working hard to grow his company. When he opened his business in Lynchburg in 1998, he had just three employees. Today, Generation Solutions has 300 workers, three offices (in Lynchburg, Roanoke and Smith Mountain Lake), a training school and a medical equipment retail store.

All of this wasn’t in the original business plan, but as Patterson worked with numerous clients over the years, he realized there were a lot of needs for senior citizens that weren’t being met, so he worked to change that.

“My mission is all about helping seniors stay at home,” he explained.

But it wasn’t always that way. Patterson used to work in nursing homes and retirement communities, where he used to convince people to leave their homes. It wasn’t until he was working on his MBA and writing a thesis paper that he realized he was really writing his future business plan because businesses for seniors were not meeting the needs of their clients.

“I had my ‘ah-ha!’ moment when I helped raise millions of dollars for a retirement community and realized we were spending millions on a building when thousands of seniors just wanted to stay home,” Patterson said. “I decided it was my ministry to help give people what they wanted. And what they wanted was to live and die at home.”

Thus, Generation Solutions was born.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

At first, the service offered was a “companion” for seniors, which was, as Patterson described, “like a babysitter” who would take seniors out to lunch or to go see a movie, and help make their meals. Shortly after, Patterson said they added transportation, housekeeping and house-maintenance—all non-licensed activities.

It didn’t take long for Patterson to realize that some seniors needed more care than a companion could provide –they needed people with specific skills, like nurses, to help clean and dress wounds, administer medications and provide additional care. Some clients needed around-the-clock care and supervision.

Generation Solutions began to add certified nursing assistants and medical technicians to the staff to help fulfill the needs of a growing client base. Geriatric care managers also came into play.

“Geriatric care managers really help people who may not have any family or for those seniors who have family living out of town,” Patterson explained. “They kind of replace the family. They take patients to the doctor and get updated on their progress, help clean house and cook meals, and just are really there to help the patients in any way they can.”

Patterson said one thing that sets his business apart is how tailored the patient care plans are. He calls it the “a la carte” services, where clients can pick and choose what they need.

“We really determine what the needs are today, and then they can have as much or as little care as they need. And that can change at any time. So if you need us for a lot in the beginning, but as time passes and you don’t need as much care, that’s fine too,” Patterson said. “We just go back to our mission of helping seniors stay in their homes.”

As more employees were in the homes caring for seniors, they realized another need: medical equipment, like oxygen tanks or wheelchairs, was often dropped off at seniors’ homes with little or no instruction on how to use it. In 2005, Patterson expanded his business to include medical equipment, and instruction on how to use the items.

A year later, in 2006, Patterson realized he needed to expand even more to continue to successfully accomplish his mission. This time, it was opening a licensed school to help train needed certified nursing assistants and medical technicians.

“We needed more and more good, trained people, but didn’t feel like we had a pool of people to count on,” Patterson said. “So we started training our own people.”

In 2010, Patterson opened a medical equipment store at the Langhorne Road location in Lynchburg.

“We wanted to offer quality items for people in need—not just for seniors,” he said. “We carry braces and slings for kids and teens, breast feeding equipment for mothers. It’s just about offering a good product to those who need a place to go find it.”

All of these things—the in-home help, the medical care, the medical equipment component and the training school—sets Generation Solutions apart. Patterson points out that this is a unique model—it’s one of the few companies that offers all of these services and it’s not a franchise—it’s locally owned.

The Family Thank-You’s

“We really aren’t just helping seniors here,” Patterson said. “We’re really helping the whole family—spouses and children and grandchildren. Families thank us at a loved one’s funeral for helping their mother or grandmother or whoever stay at home and die at home.”

The passion and dedication Patterson has given to this business is apparent. Generation Solutions was ranked in the top 100 out of 9,000 home agencies across the country in 2006. Since then, it has remained one of the top 500 agencies in the U.S.

“This is good for me. I’m happy,” Patterson said. He motioned around his office, tucked back in the corner of the basement and smiled. “I’ve got a profitable company that does good things to help people. I’m not anxious to grow it—I don’t want to lose that personal touch because it’s all about the people. If there’s a problem, the owner of the company is right there.”

In fact, Patterson has always been there. He fondly remembers the first few years of the business, when his wife would help deliver meals and he and his kids would visit with some of the clients.

“It’s always been about helping the people,” he said.

Patterson knows caring for seniors isn’t easy, and it’s a tough subject for families to talk about. He hopes he can help ease that burden a little bit.

“Let us do the work for you,” he said. “We want you to go do the fun stuff with them—just go spend time with them … and enjoy it.”

For Generation Solutions, there really is no place like home.

In 2010, at the tail end of the worst recession in decades and on the cusp of the Baby Boomer retirement age, life is decidedly not what anyone anticipated it looking like, especially for the aging population. Take, for example, America’s workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “over the next 10 years, the number of employees 55 years and older is expected to grow 4 percent annually, which is four times faster than the growth expected in the entire workforce.” The combination of the Great Recession and the aging of Baby Boomers has now coincided, producing significant changes for not just the workforce as a whole, but the aging workforce specifically.

With the lay-offs that have come as a by-product of the economic crisis, many older people are looking for jobs for the first time in 20 or 30 years. Of course, during the past two decades, technology has evolved dramatically. For an aging applicant who has not held a job in a number of years, he or she may find themselves blinking at a computer screen wondering how using such a device could actually help. But these days, learning to use a computer is imperative for elderly workers.

For starters, job listings are almost exclusively online which means that potential employees must learn how to use a computer not only to apply for a job but also to apply for unemployment benefits. The Virginia Employment Commission has a user-friendly Web site that allows users to register for job services, research occupations and locate workforce centers, but even this may prove challenging to older people less familiar with surfing the net. While being tech savvy may present its unique challenges for an elderly person, the trouble with finding work goes well beyond how to click a mouse.

Several local experts say that Lynchburg area seniors are feeling the effects of the economic crisis. Not only has it affected their investments, they claim, but it is also affecting their jobs and retirement plans. With improved health later in life, many people simply desire to keep working but scores of workers are choosing to stay in the workforce because of fear, Denise Scruggs of the Beard Center on Aging at Lynchburg College says.

“There is a fear that the money will run out before I do,” Scruggs said.

In fact, this sentiment is shared by many seniors nationwide. According to a study by the AARP, seven in 10 seasoned workers plan to work in their “golden years,” mainly part-time, either for money or enjoyment. A Merrill Lynch survey gives further evidence of this, showing that 76 percent of all baby boomers want to work in some capacity after they reach retirement age.

Scruggs notes an emerging trend of older Americans choosing “encore careers,” meaning that after retirement, they are choosing new careers. Born out of a “now I can do what I want to do” motivation, she says seniors are starting their own businesses or working part-time, pursuing their passions.

As a result of the economic crisis and the aging workforce, many companies are transitioning employees into part-time workers. This saves money because these companies are no longer required to offer health benefits. The problem with this is that the longer people are staying in the workforce and putting off retirement, the more expensive their healthcare becomes. Therefore, the older a worker is, the more likely he or she is to have his or her hours cut at work or their job eliminated altogether.

“It’s becoming increasingly competitive,” Dr. Joseph Turek, Dean of the Lynchburg College Masters of Business Administration, explained. “Businesses are being forced to keep costs low because they have to be competitive. Losing businesses ultimately go out of business.”

According to the study “An Older and More Diverse Nation” by MidCentury, our country is aging rapidly. Currently, 40.2 million adults are 65 years of age or older. By 2020, that number grows to an estimated 54.6 million and reaches a staggering 71.5 million in 2030. With this in mind, Scruggs and the Beard Center on Aging say that our country, and Lynchburg specifically, must be prepared for the aging workforce.

“We are seeing demand for services increase dramatically for older adults, while financial support from local, state and federal resources are dwindling,” she said. “Although we all know that our population is aging, most are not concerned at all about it. …We will have to change that attitude or we will be in a bigger crisis nationally than we are now as our Baby Boomers steadily reach retirement age.”

“We gotta decide every day to get up and keep walkin’. We’re not always gonna feel like it. But I look around and some of our oldest folks are walkin’. How old are you Fred? 100? And you’re walkin’!” Brenda asked.

“No, no, no. I’m 91!” Fred replied, somewhat indignantly. “I still got a long time to go before 100.”

This conversation is not unusual here. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, seniors are picked up by vans at their homes and brought to the CVAAA’s headquarters for entertainment, socializing and a warm meal. Each week, this happens all over Central Virginia at nine different congregating sites run by the CVAAA. This week, the dining room is decorated for “Elvis Week.” The whitewashed walls are warmed up by the tiki hut-like vibe of bright island décor and the happy, easy-going manner of the group. Today “Elvis” himself is due to make an appearance. Excitement is certainly in the air.

Betty Smith, an 88-year-old Lynchburg resident, is a regular at these get-togethers. She relocated to Lynchburg two years ago to live with family after spending the majority of her years in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Smith loves the services provided by the CVAAA and says she also uses the Dial-A-Ride service frequently. Dial-A-Ride provides transportation for area seniors to non-emergency medical appointments and to the grocery store and pharmacy. But the service that the CVAAA provides that means the most to Smith is certainly the thrice-weekly meet-ups at the center.

“Before, I was very depressed,” she said. “When you’re sitting at home alone, you might not even bother to make yourself something to eat. By coming here, the depression has gone away.”

The CVAAA has a host of services for adults 60 and over. One of 25 similar agencies in the Commonwealth, the agency was established in 1975 under the Older Americans Act of 1965, which was passed to provide community social services to older people. It is a private, non-profit (501 C3) organization that exists to provide assistance to seniors so they can live at home and out of institutional care for as long as possible.

“Everyone likes to stay in their own home rather than in an institution and institutional care is very expensive,” Dan Farris, Executive Director of CVAAA, explained.

The CVAAA puts plenty of miles on their tires. With a 2,100-mile radius, volunteers and staff members make some 16,000 trips to the homes of seniors annually. Not only does the CVAAA provide seniors with transportation to medical appointments, pharmacies and grocery stores, but they also take meals to the homebound elderly. Last year, 93,135 meals were delivered to seniors who are unable to drive.

Aside from delivering meals and providing transportation to clients, the CVAAA also provides homemaker services. Staff members assist clients with light housekeeping, such as cleaning bathrooms, changing bed linens, doing laundry and vacuuming. If an older person is no longer physically capable of doing these tasks, the CVAAA steps in and provides the needed help.

Not only does the CVAAA provide help with in-home maintenance, but the Weatherization program provides assistance with the exterior of a senior’s home. The Weatherization program is a service that pays for various improvements to homes of clients to reduce energy costs. To qualify, the improvements must be necessary for clients to remain healthy and safe. Eligibility for this program is determined by income.

The CVAAA also assists seniors in navigating the potentially intimidating and confusing world of eligibility requirements and referral processes for various local services. In the Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (VICAP), part-time staff members and trained volunteers help clients and their family members to better understand Medicare, Medicare supplements and long-term care insurance. Additionally, the CVAAA provides the service of an ombudsman, who serves as an elder rights advocate and helps to involve the right social services in meeting the needs of the client. In some cases, an ombudsman consults with police if there is an investigation of long-term care abuse.

The CVAAA provides these services and more to the elderly in Central Virginia, making the lining up of services for a family member a pain-free process. By calling the CVAAA at (434) 385-9070, an evaluation meeting will be set up with the client. A staff member visits the potential client in his or her home and discusses the various appropriate services. After that visit, the meeting services begin.

For folks like Smith, the CVAAA has made a remarkable imprint on her life.

“We’re like a family here,” she said. “We’re all friends. It’s a wonderful place to be.”

“It’s a good time to come to an assisted living community when someone needs assistance with medication administration and/or one or more of the activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, transferring, etc.,” Heather Pippen, Executive Director at Heritage Green Assisted Living in Lynchburg, said.

Early signs can also include balance issues and frequent falls, uneaten or spoiled food in the refrigerator, misplacing common items and weight loss. For those with parents who are aging, one of the best things you can do, according to Debbie Beamer, Executive Director at Bentley Commons of Lynchburg, is simply make it a priority to stop in regularly to check on the state of the parent’s home.

“Older children usually don’t live at home so they don’t know that something is off until they come home and there is evidence of falls, the house isn’t as clean or their parent’s hygiene has gone down,” she said.

Beamer recalls the story of a friend a few years ago who noticed that her grandmother was cooking gravy with an unusual ingredient—one that turned out to be a significant sign.

“Her nanny was putting green peppers in the gravy and insisting that she always made it like that, but she never had. Turns out, it was an early sign of dementia,” Beamer said. “Those are the things to watch for—misplacing keys, they can’t find their wallet, not recognizing their own things, especially if it’s something new they’ve received.”

Even once these kinds of signs are made obvious to children of elderly loved ones, that still doesn’t make their decision clear-cut. Beamer says that guilt is one of the biggest reasons people in these situations wait so long to place aging parents or loved ones in an assisted living facility. Because of this, she cautions that it’s best for families to take further action before making the final decision.

“First, they have to deal with their guilt, but I always suggest a good physical to rule out something medical going on,” she said. “Get the doctor to be the heavy so that way you can say, ‘Mom, remember you have to do this according to your doctor’s orders.’ If you can place that responsibility on the doctor, then they aren’t so angry when you show up to visit.”

Even after any underlying medical reasons are ruled out, there are often more steps to complete before a person can and should call an assisted living facility their new home, according to Pippen.

“A Universal Assessment Instrument as well as interview with the prospective resident is done to determine someone’s appropriateness for assisted living and the care they will need,” she said.

Once the decision is made to move a loved one into assisted living, it’s important to be mindful of your and your loved one’s expectations since each facility and community offers a slightly different environment, though each is typically designed to include the same basics in terms of care.

“Assisted living provides 24-hour supervision, meals, housekeeping, activities and more, depending on the community you choose,” Pippen said of the definition of assisted living, though the majority of local facilities offer many additional programs, social activities and recreational opportunities.

While the selection process can be a stressful time for adult children and elderly parents alike, it’s important for both to come to terms with the need for assisted living care. While guilt can certainly linger, as Beamer points out, not all elderly parents feel slighted by the decision to be placed in assisted living. In fact, some even welcome the change, according to Lisa Austin, a Registered Nurse and Assistant Administrator at The Summit in Lynchburg.

“At times, people themselves identify the need for help. They realize that they are not able to do things like they once could,” Austin said. “Although sometimes hesitant to admit the need for assistance, we see that most people often are relieved and feel safe in their new environment.”

Austin recommends several ways to help ease the transition from home to an assisted living facility, including:

• visiting the facility before moving in
• meeting residents that live at the facility
• decorating the resident’s room with their personal belongings and furniture
• orientation to the facility

As for the effects of this change on the children of those entering assisted living, Beamer stresses the need for communication—with the facility’s staff, the doctors and the loved one themselves. This can not only alleviate some of the worry and guilt they feel, but can also help them to form relationships with those who work most closely with their loved ones, so they can be in the know about what’s taking place there.

“You have to be involved in the care of the family member. … Don’t fall into the trap of hearing a parent [at an assisted living facility] say, ‘No one fed me last night. They didn’t give me my pills.’ What you often hear is not what is usually the case, so talk to the staff. They will know what’s really going on,” Beamer said.

Once the transition is made, Beamer, Pippen and Austin all agree that the majority of people settle quite well into assisted living, and often even find a new sense of freedom there, knowing that their needs are being met.

“When your loved one is not functioning at the highest possible level and not being as independent as possible,” Pippen said, “assisted living can help with this by partnering with them to assist in their care and other needs. “

“I’m 90 years old,” she said the night she ate a bag of popcorn and called it dinner. “I can eat whatever I want.”

And we, her loving family, mostly agree with her thought process. Now Grandma Mildred doesn’t exist solely on donuts and coffee. My mom helps her grocery shop and ensures her cart and cabinets are full of fresh fruits, veggies, pastas and proteins. But like many other seniors, she doesn’t always take the time to prepare herself a healthy, well-balanced meal.

“For seniors (ages 60 and up), food and nutrition affect so many things,” Linda Hazlett, RN and the Geriatric Care Manager at Generation Solutions, said. “It affects their alertness, their ability to function, their mental abilities—just their overall health. That’s why it’s so important for them to be eating the right things.”

The recipe for a healthy senior diet is one that’s full of fruits and vegetables, protein, high-fiber starches, like wheat bread and whole-grain rice, and plenty of fluids, Hazlett explained. Because seniors are often dealing with different health issues and have different needs, it is especially important to make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need, to be as healthy as possible. Most seniors have thin skin, brittle bones and are very fragile. Metabolism and digestion both slow with age and Hazlett said dehydration is often very common. To prevent this, a healthy diet starts with drinking six to eight glasses of water a day.

“They need to keep pushing the liquids and need to eat three balanced meals a day, plus snacks,” she said. “Seniors have a lot of chronic disease processes going on, and food is a huge contributor. We want to make sure seniors are doing what they can to help their health.”

She says that this includes making sure that seniors are getting enough to eat.

“As we age, we naturally lose our appetite,” Hazlett said. “Your taste buds start to decrease, your sense of smell starts to go and there is less saliva production. That’s why we often hear seniors say they just aren’t hungry.”

To keep seniors interested in food, there are numerous resources out there to help. The number one resource is family, but others, like retirement communities or home health care agencies, work to make sure the elderly are getting their daily dose of nutrition.

Generation Solutions does this through companion aides, who meet with seniors in their homes and prepare their meals.

“A lot of our aides visit seniors in the morning, serve them breakfast and lunch and prepare dinner, so folks just have to heat and eat when they get hungry later in the evening,” Hazlett said. “And we make sure the meals contain those healthy staples of protein, fruits and vegetables.”

Bentley Commons in Lynchburg has its own chef, Thomas Schmidt, on-site to help plan and prepare meals and make sure residents get a well-rounded, well-balanced diet.

“Thomas really works to accommodate residents and their likes and dislikes,” Lisa Baity, Director of Community Relations at Bentley Commons, said.

In addition, Baity says they take into consideration food allergies and health issues when planning their menus.

“We even have a food counsel here where residents can dictate what they want. And they always want a ‘junk lunch,’ as I call it, where they eat hotdogs, hamburgers, and potato chips,” she said.

But the food at Bentley Commons goes well beyond the “junk lunch” and the tempting, delicious plate of cookies in the lobby. Take one look at the menu, and you can see the wide range of food choices offered, and the variety the chef brings to all the residents’ diets. Menu items include entrées like grilled chop steak with onion pepper gravy, herb crusted cod with sautéed spinach and rice pilaf and beef lasagna.

“There’s always a main menu and an alternate menu, which is usually more of a ‘weight watchers’ option,” Baity said. “We make sure they’re getting all the food groups—even dessert because that’s what most of them always want.”

Each meal served also comes with a side of social interaction, which most experts say is just as crucial as protein is to a senior’s healthy diet.

“Food is the pinnacle of everything in a senior’s life,” Baity said. “It becomes part of the cycle for health and happiness. If they’re not happy, they don’t eat. And if they don’t eat, their health goes down.”

Sadly, this is very common problem, says Hazlett.

“There are a lot of social aspects with food. And seniors are exposed to a lot of death, as their friends and spouses die, and as they become more isolated it really affects their appetite. A lot of times, if they aren’t with someone, they aren’t eating,” she explained.

Baity says this element of social interaction over meals is one of the positive draws for Bentley Commons. And other area retirement communities like The Summit and Heritage Green agree that the group dining is a huge benefit for seniors’ overall health.

“When residents come together for lunch or dinner, it forces them to sit down and eat a good, warm meal, and it forces them to interact with others,” Baity said. “And it’s been proven that people thrive when they’re more social.”