 Living Longer. Living Better. 203 1st Ave. SW, Rothsay, MN 56579 PARTNERS Helping to Make Rothsay Elder-Friendly by Gary Wigdahl PARTNERS just may be one of Rothsay's best kept secrets. Organized in October 1991 to help Rothsay area residents age 65 and over live as safely and as independently in their own homes for as long as possible, PARTNERS has succeeded admirably in doing just that, according to feedback from friends and family. PARTNERS is an acronym for People Around Rothsay That Need Extra Routine Services. Among those extra routine services are regular blood pressure checks, grocery call-in and delivery, foot clinics and flu shots. Many of these services are free. Others require a small fee. Most would probably concur that a $5 fee per visit for a registered nurse's health care assessment on a monthly basis, a recent service added by PARTNERS in an effort to better serve the area, to be most worthwhile as well as being cost-effective. More recently, the PARTNERS board has lowered the age of participation to age 60 while expanding the area of coverage to those in the adjacent Carlisle and Foxhome areas, thus enabling more people to share in the widespread benefits of the program. Program Director Tina L. West and Volunteer Coordinator Stacey Lang oversee a dedicated corps of volunteers who provide transportation, visit their neighbors, serve as medical escorts, deliver meals on wheels, offer calls of encouragement and in general are just simply there to provide a helping hand in ways too numerous to mention. Assistance in odd jobs such as raking leaves, mowing the lawn or shoveling snow is also available. But at PARTNERS it isn't all work and no play. For PARTNERS through the years has offered up a most tantalizing array of fun time senior activities ranging from annual visits to area nurseries for flower enthusiasts to bus trips for out-of-town restaurant retreats, transportation to an annual local variety show and frequent monthly coffee klatches. So, PARTNERS helps them get out and about and stay close to friends and family while having a wonderful time doing it. PARTNERS has over the years gained nationwide renown for being a pioneer in a number of pioneer pilot project programs designated to promote elder-friendly communities. PARTNERS has been featured prominently in a number of national brochures featuring special services for the elderly. PARTNERS was organized as a Living at Home/Block Nurse Program, the second of its kind in outstate Minnesota and only the third LAH/BNP program in the state of Minnesota. PARTNERS is also most fortunate in being located in a cluster close to Barnesville, Pelican Rapids and Frazee, communities who also proudly support Living at Home/Block Nurse Programs. PARTNERS works with and alongside the Barnesville HELPERS program, OAKS in Pelican Rapids and Neighbor to Neighbor in Frazee. |
©2009 City of Rothsay, Minnesota
Living Here | Doing Business | Government | About Rothsay | Rothsay A-Z | Contact Us