where persons could come to participate in a kind of a social activity, as well as having the meals as against the delivering of the meal individually to one's residence. Mrs. WARSKOw. Yes, I believe that would be feasible. You have a good idea there. Perhaps have some sociability while they get their food or if they wish they could even eat it together there. If it is not too long a walk everyone should walk. That is an important exercise, walking. Mr. HANSEN. Do you tend to limit the home delivery to those? Mr. HANSEN. Who are really not able. Mrs. WARSKOw. Right. Mr. HANSEN. To come to a central location. Mrs. WARSKOW. Yes. By the way before I forget you were asking about how many senior citizens in the county. The last report I got was a little over 2,000. Mr. HANSEN. Over what age would that be? Mrs. WARSKOW. Over 65. Mr. HANSEN. The county? Mrs. WARSKOow. Yes. Mr. HANSEN. The county is about 110,000? Mr. HANSEN. The area we are talking about is about 10 percent. Mr. HANSEN. Of the population of those over 65. One additional estimate we had in the hearing this morning was about roughly 20 percent of those people had some need for the kind of service that was contemplated by this meal. If that were the case, we are talking roughly about 2,000 in the county who may have some need for services that will help give a more adequate diet. Mrs. WARSKOw. Yes. Mr. HANSEN. Thank you. Mr. BRADEMAS. How many members are there in your senior citizens' group? Mrs. WARSKOw. About 70 in this group. Mr. BRDEMAS. Are they based here in Elkhart? Mrs. WARSKOw. Yes, sir. Also, I am organizing an Elkhart area chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons, too. Mr. BRADEMAS. Do most of the members of your group find themselves fairly well taken care of insofar as getting a well-balanced meal a day? Mrs. WARSKOw. I believe so. I never heard the complaint. Mr. BRADEMAS. Are they mostly retired or are they employed? Mrs. WARSKOW. They are retired. Mr. BRADEMAS. All of them are retired? Mrs. WARSKOW. Yes. Mr. BRADEMAS. Are you a member of the chapter of the National Association of Retired Persons? Mrs. WARSKow. Yes. Mr. BRADEMAS. Are there other senior citizens' groups with whom you maintain contact in the community? Mrs. WARSKOW. Yes, there are. There is another one called the Friendly Pioneers in Elkhart, but they are not connected with the Senior Citizens State Council. Mr. BRADEMAS. Your statement has been very helpful. I was especially struck by the last sentence in which you remarked upon the importance of older Americans getting an annual health checkup and about the great expense of medicine and physicians' fees. You may be interested to know that on the third of October which is a Saturday, at 9 o'clock in the morning, we will have a conference on medicare and ways of improving the program and afford a forum for people who have criticisms on the operation of the program and suggestions for improving it. The forum will be held at South Bend, also in the public library there. I hope you and all of the members of your club will feel very free to attend. Mrs. WARSKOW. October 3? Mr. BRADEMAS. Yes. You may give us any ideas you may have or raise any questions that you may have. Mrs. WARSKOW. That is the first Tuesday; isn't it? Mr. BRADEMAS. No, that is a Saturday. Thank you. Your testimony has been very helpful. Our final witness today is Mr. Ivan Weaver, manager of Greencroft Village in Goshen, Ind. Mr. Weaver, we are very pleased to have you with us today, sir. We look forward to hearing what you have to say. STATEMENT OF IVAN WEAVER, MANAGER, GREENCROFT VILLAGE, GOSHEN, IND. Mr. WEAVER. Thank you, John. I am Ivan Weaver, manager of Greencroft Villa, at Goshen, Ind. Greencroft's activity up to now has been primarily in the area of providing independent living apartments for eligible people for whom the task of maintaining their own homes has become too difficult. As you know, Mr. Brademas, Greencroft is presently expanding its facilities to include an extended care facility and hopefully in the near future will also add an assisted living facility. While Greencroft's present facility is composed of providing independent living accommodations, a central dining room within this facility also provided the opportunity to share with others across a table in a well prepared and nutritious noon meal for those who elect to use its services. This service, as well as others of the extra kinds of services which Greencroft provided for its residents have also been made available for senior citizens in the community. One objective of the Greencroft philosophy has been to respond to the needs of the larger community. Our meal service is accordingly serving several nonresidents of the Goshen community who have found the task of preparing well balanced nutritious meals too difficult. Many times it seems to us that the psychological and social benefits received while sharing the meal are a close second to the nutritional benetfis. While our experience in providing these kinds of services for Greencroft residents and nonresidents has been quite limited it seems clear that some real basic values are obtained where these services are supplied. It is apparent that there are many persons in our community, living alone in various degrees and for varied reasons, limited in their ability to any longer adequately supply these various services for themselves. It seems to be only good logic to assume that these conditions are similar in every other community and no doubt to an even greater degree in many areas. In the light of my interests and concerns I have carefully studied bill H.R. 17763. It is my conviction, Mr. Brademas, that the bill, if passed and properly implemented could do much in meeting some of the basic needs of our aging persons. I was impressed with the bill's proposal to respond to the needs of not only those who cannot afford proper food but such also who do not have the skills, as well as, those who have lost the incentive to prepare nutritional meals and eat alone. I was enthused about its emphasis on providing these services at centers, wherever logical, inasmuch as I am thoroughly convinced that there are deep psychological and social vacuums in many cases that present as great a need as the improperly nourished body or may even become the cause of improper nourishment because of loss of incentive. Hopefully the center could also provide the occasion for other types of activities and services. I was especially concerned with the method of allotment of these funds. If my interpretation of section 703 is correct the allotment of funds would be made through a State appointed agency with the provision that if a State fails to qualify such agency for the purpose of receiving and implementing a program, allotments may be made directly to an organization, institution or agency within that State when an acceptable plan is provided. I would hope, Mr. Brademas, that you would do all in your power to preserve this element of the plan for making allocations so that in the event a given State fails to qualify to receive the allocated funds its citizens will need to be deprived of its benefits as was the case in the present Older Americans Act provisions. I hope that you will continue to promote H.R. 17763 and can see it through to become enacted as an amendment to the Older Americans Act. We appreciate the privilege of testifying in this hearing. Our prayers are with you as you continue to work for the best interests of this great Nation of ours. Mr. BRADEMAS. Thank you, Mr. Weaver. Mr. Hansen. Mr. HANSEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I particularly appreciate the points you made. It has come up many times in the course of this hearing that there is great psychological value in serving and eating a meal in an atmosphere where older people can participate in group activity. Would it be your observation then that to the extent possible a program such as this should be administered in the way that it provided the maximum incentives to people to come to some central location? Mr. WEAVER. I feel that this is correct. It seems clear that not everyone could be reached in this way. I definitely feel wherever a person is able to come to a central location and share the meal with other people this is much to be preferred. Mr. HANSEN. Could you make any estimate as to the number of persons who might be served by a program such as this that would be necessary in order to make it a feasible operation? Mr. WEAVER. No, I could not. We have not advertised. Those who have come to us have come of their own volition and inquired whether it would be possible for them to receive meals there and we have received them. Because of a limited space we feel we really can't expand with this type of a program. We are just not in a position to do it. Mr. HANSEN. I understand Greencroft is a facility where people reside. Mr. WEAVER. Right. Mr. HANSEN. Also take their meals in a central location. Mr. WEAVER. Yes. Mr. HANSEN. How many are there? Mr. WEAVER. For the meal? Mr. HANSEN. How many live there? Mr. WEAVER. 109 at the present. We have a number who come in regularly for the noon meal. Mr. WEAVER. In the community, not on our premises, yes. Mr. HANSEN. What distance would they come in an average? Mr. WEAVER. One is quite close within approximately six blocks. A number of others are about a mile away and they drive there. Mr. HANSEN. Do they pay the entire cost of the meal? Mr. WEAVER. Yes, they do. Mr. HANSEN. What does that run? Mr. WEAVER. We sell them a week's ticket for $8.25 which provides seven noon meals for the week. Mr. HANSEN. Do you have occasion to utilize the services of any volunteer help in the course of the preparation of the meal? Mr. WEAVER. No, we do not. Our help is all paid help. Mr. HANSEN. So, the amount you are speaking of covers all the cost you would have to pay for it? Mr. WEAVER. Up to this point it does. Mr. HANSEN. They come for the noon meals? Mr. WEAVER. Yes. Mr. HANSEN. Do you find that one good nutritionally balanced meal meets the essential needs if they have one during the day? Mr. WEAVER. Yes, it does. I notice the bill calls for one-third of the daily required need per meal. I think where one meal is provided it should be increased to more than a third, probably so one good nutritionally meal is provided and the rest is not too difficult for them. Mr. HANSEN. Thank you. Mr. BRADEMAS. Your statement was very helpful. Can you give the subcommittee some judgment on the number of the population 65 and over in Elkhart County? Mr. WEAVER. The national average is 10 percent as I understand. I am under the impression Elkhart County is just about the national average. Mr. BRADEMAS. That would mean approximately 11,000 people? Mr. WEAVER. Yes. Mr. BRADEMAS. You say there are many persons in the community, are you referring to Elkhart County or the Goshen community? I have been trying to get some more specific picture of how many persons we are talking about and/or what the needs are. Mr. WEAVER. We have been in operation 3 years and we have filled our facility to its limits. We have applications for enough to twothirds fill it again. Through my interviews with these people I learn what some of their needs are. As a result of this contact with them I have come to this impression. I have not made a survey or anything of that type. Mr. BRADEMAS. I should think it would be rather useful if one were able in a given community to make some judgment, when one is making an inventory as it were, of community needs in education, health, and problems of the aging, for example. One would surely want to get as accurate a judgment as possible on these matters so we could get a clear picture of the dimensions of the problem. I was also struck, and I take it Mr. Hansen was also, by your statement that you could provide seven hot meals a week for $8.25 and do so with paid employees; is that correct? Mr. WEAVER. Yes. Mr. BRADEMAS. In the Meals-on-Wheels program, who we just heard testimony from this morning, charges people I believe $1 for each meal that is served, but it is provided by volunteers. That is really quite impressive. I think it is a great tribute to you. I was impressed also, as was Mr. Hansen, by your appreciation of the central points in this bill, not only the provision of a nutritional meal but also a concern to do so in an atmosphere that would be helpful psychologically, and emotionally make their lives richer. Finally, I think you are the first witness to call attention to section 703 of the bill which makes possible direct funding of the program. If the State does not want to participate, there ought to be no reason, and I believe it is the philosophy behind that section, why a given community should be penalized because the State isn't interested. As you know, Indiana only this year was one of the last two States in the 50 in the Union to agree to participate in the Older Americans Act programs. Our people had been denied, the older people had been denied the benefits of the Older Americans Act program because of this failure to participate. I have one other question, Mr. Weaver. We have discussed with other witnesses the problem of educating older persons to an awareness of a need to eat nutritionally balanced meals, and I know that this is something that must give Mrs. Atwood a great distress, and Miss Showalter. |