Elder Services Celebrates More Thann 50 Years While Navigating Federal Challenges
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Elder Services of Berkshire County celebrated 52 years at its annual meeting Friday.
Guests gathered at the Country Club of Pittsfield to honor service members and hear about healthy aging in the county from keynote speaker Beth Dugan, a gerontology professor at the Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences at University of Massachusetts at Boston.
Executive Director Chris McLaughlin welcomed everyone and recognized community partners and board members. He said the agency is supported by 135 employees and 260 active volunteers who help bring the nonprofit's mission to life.
"As the Aging Services Access Point and Area Agency on Aging for our 32 communities, Elder Services is the trusted resource for older adults and their caregivers, supporting their desire to remain at home safely," he said. "Whether it's a referral to a community resource or to one of our many programs, it's our job to meet people during some of life's most challenging times and to help them find solutions that enable them to remain independent," he said.
McLaughlin said he thought back on last year's meeting where they worried about cuts in federal funding and programs associated with the Trump administration's dismantling of the Administration for Community Living that never materialized. While that did not affect them he raised concern about Medicaid changes expected to take effect in January, including projected reductions in federal funding to Massachusetts and loss of Medicaid eligibility for some consumers because of the implementation of Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill."
"These changes will remove $3.5 billion in federal funding for Massachusetts and Medicaid eligibility for many, including some of our consumers, with disastrous consequences," he said.
Another challenge for the agency was a cap put in place on their enrollment for their home care program.
"Our state Home Care program, our agency's largest program, deploys homemakers, home health aides, and companions to the homes of Berkshire older adults and continues to grow at unprecedented levels," McLaughlin said. "The implementation of a cap on the number of Enhanced Community Options Program consumers we can enroll has basically cut in half the number of individuals we can service in this program. These individuals qualify clinically for nursing home level of care. This cap will remain in effect for the near future."
But they are still looking up for the future.
"We understand more than ever before that in 2027 there will be changes designed to limit state spending for older adults and this will be compounded by even more older adults becoming eligible for our services. We look forward to learning more about how the Rural Health Transformation Program will benefit older adults in Berkshire County. We are of course worried about how MassHealth changes will impact our consumers and whether the Commonwealth will reduce our funding to support those who will lose Medicaid eligibility," McLaughlin said.
"Despite these challenges we remain optimistic about the future and will respond to them as we always do, with purpose and resilience."
The nonprofit also highlighted its successes through the Hospital Liaison Program that works with local hospitals to help older adults return home rather than enter a nursing home. Although its original funding had ended, Berkshire Medical Center secured a grant expected to support the program for another 30 months.
Volunteers also helped more than 4,000 Berkshire residents make Medicare and other health-insurance decisions. One volunteer helped a woman undergoing chemotherapy qualify for assistance with co-pays and find grants to address an outstanding bill and was able to complete her treatments without the added stress.
The lunch also awarded Elder Services employees. Lauren Larison, Laura Sexton, Jillian Tatro, Christine Barcus, Lisa Jamros, Nichole Pervere, Janet Richardson, Fred Minkle Jr., Karen Decker, Larry Belanger, Diane Cote, and Mary Moran were recognized for five years with Elder Services. Linda Gilardi, Judith Desjardins, and Sara Dastoli were recognized for 15 years with the agency and Bill Marsh and Deb Aldrich-Jegtvig were celebrating 30 years of service.
The meeting included a change in the board with new President Kalee Carmel taking over for Barry Kriesberg, while recognizing Teresa Caldwell on her term ending.
Dugan's presentation was "Healthy Aging in Massachusetts: A Call to Action." She discussed the rise in the number of older adults managing four or more chronic conditions, the differences in healthy-aging measures by gender, race, and geography, and more statistics with the goal through their reports to encourage communities to become places that are good to grow up in and good to grow older in.
Tags: annual meeting, elder services,
