CLAREMONT — Senior centers throughout the Upper Valley are making plans to welcome older adults back to their facilities
But all those plans are contingent on direction from leaders in the Twin States, COVID-19 rates and the ability for staff to get vaccinated.
There will also be restrictions on the number of people who can be at each center, as well as masks and social distancing requirements.
Beginning April 27, the Claremont Senior Center will open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Tuesday nights for game night from 6 to 9 p.m.
“In a couple weeks the board will re-evaluate,” said Denise Liveston, who chairs the center’s board of directors. “They will look at adding one or two more days until we can reopen.”
Dining-room service and congregate meals will not take place for the time being, though the goal is to resume sitdown meals in July or August. The Claremont center will continue to offer drive thru meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The Acer Heights Road center was able to open briefly last summer for small in-person group activities but closed a few weeks later.
In September, it reopened but had to close down again in December. It has been open for one-on-one appointments, including foot care clinics.
Among the activities that will resume are knitting groups and other games.
“The pool players are just chomping at the bit,” Liveston said.
While the board will not require people to be vaccinated to come to the center, the mask mandate will remain in place.
“It’s going to be hard to enforce, I think, and you know some people aren’t, some people can’t,” Liveston said. “Most of the people I have talked to have gotten vaccinated so there are very few that haven’t which is one reason we’re still requiring the masks.”
The center regularly gets calls from people asking when it will reopen and eager to take part in activities again.
“Everyone is anxious and I’m concerned about people we haven’t seen and heard from. I just hope they haven’t isolated so much they’re afraid to come out, especially those who have been living alone,” Liveston said.
Staff at the eight senior centers in Grafton County, which are run by Grafton County Senior Citizens Council, have been discussing how to reopen safely, but do not have a set date as to when that will be.
“To say that there would be a grand reopening on a specific date, we just can’t do that right now. We want to be data driven,” said Kathleen Vasconcelos, executive director of the council. “We’re obviously having those conversations and we will reopen when we can, but we’re not able to right now.”
The nonprofit recently restarted its transportation program, where one person can be on a bus at a time. Staff are also continuing grab-and-go meals, putting on virtual programs and brainstorming ways for small group activities to be held outside as the weather gets nicer.
“I really want to avoid a situation where we reopen and then have to close again,” Vasconcelos said.
In Vermont, the Bugbee Senior Center in White River Junction and the Thompson Center in Woodstock are targeting late May or early June to resume small group activities. They were able to reopen last summer for small group activities, with many events taking place under a tent outside.
When cases started climbing again last November, they shut down except for one-on-one activities like foot care clinics and tax preparation assistance, said Deanna Jones, executive director of the Thompson Center. Once they reopen, people will still be required to wear masks.
While many older adults are participating in virtual or telephone programs such as phone bingo, they have also been eagerly calling the center to ask when they can once again gather in person.
“They’re counting the days, really,” said Jones, who said a big issue is getting senior center staff vaccinated. They were not given priority in Vermont.
The Thompson Center plans on continuing some remote activities and drive thru meals will continue until the dining room reopens.
Mark Bradley, executive director of the Bugee Senior Center, is hopeful the center will be able to reopen after Memorial Day. Like the Thompson Center, Bugbee officials are also waiting for staff to get vaccinated.
“We were able to have small groups for a brief time in the fall, but then the restrictions got tight again, they actually got tighter than they were last summer,” Bradley said, adding that one-on-one foot care clinics have continued.
Due to the square footage of the center, only 10 people in addition to four staff members will be allowed in the building at a time. Social distancing and mask wearing, including for those who are vaccinated, will continue.
“People are definitely ready to start hanging out with their friends again and we’re really doing our best to make sure they can do that, but make sure we do it safely,” Bradley said.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
