Senior center copes with new restrictions
Still managing to deliver 700 meals a week
The Taos County Senior Center has been trudging through the pandemic as it maintains as much community outreach as possible.
With the recent spike in COVID-19 cases shutting down nonessential businesses throughout the county, senior centers were on the list of businesses or organizations that needed to close.
Mike Trujillo, executive director of senior services for the center, said that they have been forced to take even more precautions than they had been already, and decided to cut transportation for seniors and stagger the meal delivery staff – adding an extra burden to a staff already spread thin.
The new senior center complex – located at 200 Albright Street – was only able to open from December of 2019 to February of this year before it was forced to shut its doors to the public. The doors have been shut ever since, so in one sense Trujillo said that “not too much has changed.”
However, with a staggered Meals on Wheels delivery crew, seniors need to prepare to have meals delivered differently, with drivers bringing hot meals Tuesdays and Fridays, and frozen meals for Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Trujillo said in a statement that they respectfully ask that seniors “leave a chair, table or cooler out by the front door for the driver to drop off. Drivers will honk after the meal has been dropped off. They will then wait to see that you have come out for the meal.”
As for grab-and-go meals, the center will be providing frozen meals on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in order to minimize contact and the number of trips taken.
Along with a different food schedule, the senior center’s transportation service for elderly residents around the county has also been cut, and is limited only to emergencies or to drive patients on dialysis.
One ongoing struggle at the facility is the lack of staff. Before COVID, Trujillo said they used to have volunteers come and help with meal preparation and delivery, but recently it’s been a struggle trying to get enough help.
“We never had enough help as it was,” he said. “And now with the coronavirus you have to be more cautious. We don’t really allow any other volunteers into the building because of COVID. Now it’s only immediate staff.”
Despite the small staff, Trujillo said that they were able to deliver 1,800 meals last week in the town of Taos alone. The other sites in Taos County delivered 415 meals last week. Along with the delivered meals, they provide grab-and-go meals by request and have been averaging between 20 and 25 meals a day at each site: Taos, Amalia, Questa and Chamisal.
The employees of the senior center have also been performing wellness checks – calling seniors to make sure they are doing well. “The seniors are very grateful,” said Trujillo of their services. “They know what we’re dealing with and they’re very grateful that they are still able to get their meals.”
He also said that he and his staff get “a lot of calls with people thanking us. Many of them say it’s a blessing for them.”