Mayfield Village May Join Community Partnership on Aging

The retirement of Human Services Director Eunice Kalina meant that no longer had a certified social worker to conduct assessments for the Meals on Wheels program.

So village Administrator Diane Wolgamuth contacted the Community Partnership on Aging, which will be paid $1,600 a month to do the assessments. However, after meeting with Partnership Director Stacy O'Brien she's also looking into whether the village should become a full-fledged member so residents can also take advantage of a free lunch program, transportation, homemaker assistance and other services that are available.

"Once I saw what they had to offer I thought we should take it to our Commission on Aging members for feedback," Wolgamuth said.

Community Partnership on Aging serves South Euclid, Lyndhurst, Highland Heights and Mayfield Heights, which joined last year. Full partnership cost for Mayfield Village would be $58,000 for 2012.

Mayor Bruce Rinker noted at a recent City Council meeting that the village has been looking to providing more transportation services. He said village officials need to get input from residents about what other Community Partnership on Aging services would be desired.

"We need to figure out what's going to be useful," he said.

Rinker added that current village programs for seniors, such as card playing, tours, health checks and guest speakers would be continued regardless of whether the village joins the Partnership.

"We don't think we're going to lose anything, it's a question of what we're going to add," he said.