{"id":2456107,"date":"2020-03-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=323065"},"modified":"2020-03-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T06:00:00","slug":"healthy-aging-el-jebel-keeps-helping-those-most-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/healthy-aging-el-jebel-keeps-helping-those-most-at-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Aging El Jebel keeps helping those most at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Healthy Aging Program Coordinator Mandi Dicamillo, right, hands Marylou Felton her lunch in the doorway of the Eagle County Community Center on Thursday, March 19, 2020. People at the community center put lunches together for senior citizens every Tuesday and Thursday. Now that there is a restriction to gathering, the meals are mostly being delivered to homes. This Thursday, the crew put together 55 meals. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong>
Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

When the threat of coronavirus first rippled through the Roaring Fork Valley, Eagle County suspended bringing senior citizens together for meals and activities at the El Jebel Community Center on March 11.<\/p>\n

But the coordinator of the county program Healthy Aging El Jebel and a small army of volunteers have rallied to keep the good deeds going in trying time. Healthy Aging El Jebel is providing exercise classes online Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and providing meals via home delivery or pick-up Tuesdays and Thursdays.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an effort to add a little certainty at an uncertain time for people age 60 and older, said Mandi Dicamillo, coordinator of the program in El Jebel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the most vulnerable population,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She stressed that the adapted program was approved by the state of Colorado and continued by Eagle County. The program is proving popular with midvalley seniors.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere at the site, we would have around 50 people for lunches\u201d pre-coronavirus days, Dicamillo said. Thursday they provided 55 meals.<\/p>\n

Friends Sue Carnahan and Marylou Felton were among those who drove to the Community Center to pick up their lunch Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really appreciate that they took the time to work this out,\u201d Carnahan said. \u201cI like to cook but the meals are really helpful and we love Mandi. She really takes care of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Felton said the program is fantastic \u201ceven though we can\u2019t socialize like we used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another woman picking up a meal appreciated an opportunity to get out and about.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt breaks up the routine of being in the house,\u201d Ida Burnaman said. \u201cIt\u2019s a nice treat having something different than (what) I cooked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alan Kokish, owner of Custom Catering, cooks the meals. He started working with Healthy Aging El Jebel three years ago as a sidelight to his commercial venture. It has evolved into a favorite part of his business, he said.<\/p>\n

The meals \u201ccheck several boxes\u201d on the nutrition front, Kokish said, but they are delicious as well as healthy.<\/p>\n

St. Patty\u2019s Day featured corned beef and cabbage, carrots and potatoes, and grasshopper pie. On Thursday, it was short rib shepherd\u2019s pie, mixed vegetables and a lemon square.<\/p>\n

Kokish said he\u2019s developed a relationship with many of the seniors who attended the meals at the community center. He\u2019s happy to be part of one of many efforts in the valley to help those most at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s been pitching in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The majority of the seniors have a meal delivered. Dicamillo said midvalley residents have been generous with their time. She has multiple volunteers on a list.<\/p>\n

Mary Kenyon is among the delivery drivers. She is director of \u201cValley Meals and More,\u201d a program of the nonprofit Senior Matters, which aids seniors in the midvalley. It\u2019s an effort that started before the health crisis but got magnified.<\/p>\n

The \u201cand more\u201d covers just about any kind of errand, such as picking up prescriptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask them if they need anything more while we\u2019re there,\u201d Kenyon said. \u201cIt\u2019s not difficult work at all. We\u2019re just looking to fill that gap.\u201d<\/p>\n

The volunteers get a background check via Eagle County. Meals and prescriptions get dropped off at the door of the recipients while deliverers maintain a proper social distance.<\/p>\n

Kenyon said data collected by Garfield County estimates there are nearly 5,000 adults aged 60 and older between Glenwood Springs and the county line in the midvalley. Take away the estimated 2,000 living in Glenwood Springs and Carbondale and that leaves about 3,000 senior adults living in rural, remote and isolated areas. The demand for services will grow as the health scare continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of work to do,\u201d Kenyon said.<\/p>\n

Valley Meals and More can be reached at 970-274-2632 for help.<\/p>\n

Basalt Mayor Jacque Whitsitt is helping launch a volunteer effort to assist seniors in the midvalley with errands. If seniors prepay for groceries, medications or take-out food from restaurants, a volunteer with the organization will deliver the goods, following proper social distancing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can chat with them but you can\u2019t cross the threshold,\u201d Whitsitt said, stressing they will maintain a distance of 6 feet or more after knocking on the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to help people who are self-isolating and really need to stay at home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Seniors who want to use the service, Corona Helpline, should call 970-230-1974. Leave a message if someone isn\u2019t immediately available.<\/p>\n

Photographer Kelsey Brunner contributed to this report. scondon@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Healthy Aging Program Coordinator Mandi Dicamillo, right, hands Marylou Felton her lunch in the doorway of the Eagle County Community Center on Thursday, March 19, 2020. People at the community center put lunches together for senior citizens every Tuesday and Thursday. Now that there is a restriction to gathering, the meals are mostly being delivered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2456107","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 02:55:07","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}