Senior Friendship Center-Lee County

Love has wide black eyes, white furry paws, and meows and purrs gently while she is held. The orange tabby brings comfort to older adults with Alzheimers or dementia related diseases at The Caregiving Place at Friendship Centers.But Love is not a cat, and her name will likely change tomorrow.The robotic pet is the next big thing in dementia care, designed to bring comfort, companionship and lower stress for older adults. The Caregiving Place has a robotic dog, cat, and baby that have authentic sounds, motions, and use built in sensors to respond to motion and touch. The cat opens and closes its eyes, purrs, lifts its paw, opens it mouth, moves its head and body, and has synthetic, soft, brushable fur. The dog barks, moves, and responds to voices. The baby coos, cries and responds to being rocked and held.Every day is different with dementia patients, says Debbie Morrill, adult day services manager at The Caregiving Place. After a long day, someone may feel tired and anxious. The robotic pets help relax them and calm their anxiety.Friendship Centers does also have pet therapy twice a month, when real animals from the Humane Society of Sarasota County spend time at The Caregiving Place.  But there are several benefits of the robots over a real pet.We dont have to clean a litter box, take them outside, feed them, or take them to a vet, said Morrill.  Sometimes our patients who are in more advanced stages of dementia are afraid of a real animal, but they will hold the robots. They can get the benefits of having a pet without having to care for them.Morrill encourages family members to look into getting their own robotic pets if theyre interested, and directs them to Amazon to purchase.  The pets cost around $100.Thats much more affordable than PARO, the $5,000 robotic seal that The Windsor recently brought to visit patients at The Caregiving Place. PARO is an advanced robot developed by AIST, a leading Japanese robotics company.  PARO has five kinds of sensors: tactile, light, audition, temperature, and posture sensors, with which it can perceive people and its environment. It can recognize light and dark, can feel being stroked or held, and can recognize the direction of voice and words such as its name, greetings and praise.PARO can also learn to behave in a way that the user prefers and respond to new words.  For example, if you stroke it every time you touch it, PARO will remember your previous action and try to repeat that action to be stroked.  If you hit it, PARO remembers its previous action and tries not to do that action.Staff at Friendship Centers have noticed many benefits from the robots, and regularly include the dog, cat and baby in daily activities.Its amazing how interactive these robots are getting, said Morrill.  They arent a substitute for other psychosocial group activities and sensory interventions, but they are a great addition to the center, especially for those who love pets.

Senior Friendship Centers is working to identify seniors aged 60+ in Sarasota, DeSoto, Charlotte and Lee Counties who may be interested in receiving home-delivered meals.Nutrition is a year-round program at Senior Friendship Centers that consists of home-delivered meals and congregate dining centers, where seniors gather to share a meal and friendship. In 2020, Senior Friendship Centers served or delivered 366,000 meals. Due to COVID-19, Senior Friendship Centers has ramped up its ability to deliver meals and is accepting new clients.Someone who wants to receive meals must be 60 or older and enrolled in the Older Americans Act, which we can help with, said Debra Bragg, Nutrition Services director at Senior Friendship Centers. The meals we serve meet daily nutritional guidelines for seniors and are reviewed by a registered dietician.The meals are delivered by a contracted food vendor once a week. Each client receives seven frozen or shelf-stable meals for the week, and during the pandemic can request as many as 14. A menu is available and consists of items such as grilled chicken, lasagna, Asian glazed chicken, Tuscan pork, Chicken Verona, and more.These meals can be a lifeline for seniors who are homebound and unable to get supplies or cook, Bragg said. Because of this situation, people are scared to leave their homes to get even basic supplies. If anyone feels food insecure or feels scared to go to the store, they should call us. We can help them get nutritious meals.In Florida, the Area Agency on Aging is the administrative organization that distributes federal funding for senior meals programs. The recent $3 trillion stimulus bill gave $18 million to senior meal programs in Florida, with $1.3 million going to the service area that includes Sarasota, DeSoto, Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Glades and Hendry Counties. Senior Friendship Centers is the lead organization that delivers meals in this service area.In addition to home-delivered meals, Senior Friendship Centers is offering telephone reassurance calls, virtual and in-person activities and support groups, and is collecting/distributing essential supplies for homebound seniors who need them.Anyone who is interested in receiving meals should call the Home Delivered Meals Hotline at (941) 373-5027.Senior Friendship Centers mission is to promote health, dignity and quality of life throughout the journey of aging. Since 1973 the organization has served people 50 and older in Sarasota, Charlotte, DeSoto, and Lee Counties with programs and services including medical and dental clinics, activity centers, lifelong learning, meals in their centers and delivered to the homebound, caregiver support, adult day services, supportive aging services, and volunteer opportunities. More than 500 volunteers give time valued more than $2 million annually.

Our Mission: Promoting Health, Dignity and Quality of life throughout the journey of aging.In 2013, Senior Friendship Centers celebrates its 40th anniversary of service to older adults in southwest Florida. During that time the Centers have helped hundreds of thousands of people find solutions to the challenges that often come with age.The Senior Friendship Centers were a life-saver for our family, is a comment frequently heard when this non-profit organization comes up in conversation. Its services include:Health and Dental Clinics. The clinics provide a lifeline of medical and dental care for older adults who cant afford it. Staffed largely by volunteer retired physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, and clinic aides, the clinics work closely with the Public Health Department. Fees are on a sliding scale based on ability to pay.Working with the Elder Helpline, Senior Solutions Area Agency on Aging, and the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, Senior Friendship Centers help coordinate services and support for seniors in need.The Friendship at Home program reaches out to provide friendly visitors and telephone reassurance for isolated seniors, as well as assistance with emergency needs.Serving caregivers.Senior Friend-ship Centers Adult Day Services and Caregiver Resource Center are lifelines to help caregivers and their care partners. The Adult Day Services provide a safe supportive environment for loved ones to enjoy activities, and allow caregivers time for themselves. The Caregiver Resource Center offers education, support and information to help families through this challenging time. Finding purpose and meaning. Exciting lifelong learning opportunities, including classes at the centers as well as through the popular national and international Road Scholar program sponsored in Sarasota County throughSenior Friendship Centers. Senior Friendship Centers is also the host agency for RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) and AmeriCorps Serving Suncoast Seniors. More than 1200 volunteers give time valued in excess of $ 4.5 million annually to help older adults in the six counties the Centers serve.If you or someone you know might benefit from Senior Friendship Centers services , or you are interested in volunteering as part of the people helping people, please contact us. For more information. Visit www.friendshipcenters.org, email info@friendshipcenters.org or call 941-955-2122.

For older adults, loneliness and despair are side effects of COVID-19.Carol Tapp of Sarasota lives alone and suffers from COPD, arthritis and fibromyalgia. As the pandemic raged on through the summer, Carol watched the food in her pantry slowly disappear, until she was down to scraps. She didnt have anyone to talk to and didnt know where to turn.Carols situation is echoed by thousands of older adults in our area who are homebound, a situation that has become even more dire during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Sarasota County alone, more than 40,000 seniors, or about 23% of the population, live alone.Fortunately, Carol contacted the Senior Friendship Centers Friendship at Home program and was assigned a friendly visitor who helped her with grocery shopping and provided conversation and company. This global health crisis has shone a light on an issue that Senior Friendship Centers has undertaken since we were founded in 1973 senior loneliness is a public health epidemic.Research published by Brigham Young University reveals that social isolation is more lethal than smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In fact, loneliness is associated with significantly higher rates of heart disease and stroke and a 50% increased risk of dementia, according to a recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Lonely or isolated older adults report a greater incidence of depression and anxiety and suffer a mortality rate comparable to that linked to smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol and physical inactivity.When the coronavirus outbreak forced Senior Friendship Centers to close its doors in March, seniors in our programs were left bereft of their usual social opportunities, lectures, classes, exercise programs, and regular medical/dental care.  Fortunately, more than 100 volunteers stepped up to help with the distribution of essential supplies and food, to make reassurance calls, deliver groceries, provide telehealth, lead and participate in virtual support groups and activities, and more.And as the world spun with closures and shutdowns, SFC mobilized recognizing that our most vulnerable population would need our help more than ever. More than 120,000 nutritious meals have been served through our home-delivered meals program so far this year a 454% increase over the same timeframe last year.We are already seeing seniors mental health needs on the rise and are offering supportive programming. Our program outcomes consistently show participants feel stronger, more resilient, and more optimistic about their future.The founder of Senior Friendship Centers, Brother Geenen, famously said that isolation and loneliness are the malnutrition of the elderly. Now, loneliness is not just a concept faced by others. As a result of social distancing, weve all experienced some form of isolation and the devastating effects that it can have on our minds, health and wellbeing.We are all on this journey of aging, and if youd like to be a part of the solution for seniors in Southwest Florida, visit friendshipcenters.org(opens in new window).Erin McLeod is president & CEO of Senior Friendship Centers Inc.