PROGRAMS AND SERVICES FOR OLDER ADULTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Montgomery County and its many community partners offer a wealth of programs and services, as well as information materials for older residents--both the active and healthy as well as those needing more support. To inform Leisure World residents of these programs and services, the Center for Lifelong Learning has scheduled a program for Tuesday, April 30, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon in Clubhouse 2 Auditorium featuring representatives from Montgomery County’s Commission on Aging. The speakers for this program will be Marcia Pruzan, Retired, Senior Fellow and Program Manager, and Odile Brunetto. Ed.D. February 2024, Retired from Montgomery County Government in June 2023 as Chief, Aging and Disability Services. 

Residents interested in attending the program should register with Lifestyle (E&R) in Clubhouse 1 or 2 or by calling Lifestyle at 301-598-1320. For more details about the class, contact the Center’s website at https://www.cllmd.com. Registration begins on Tuesday following the Friday class publication in the Leisure World newspaper.

Marcia and Odie will be discussing, and distributing materials, about:

·       Recreational, lifelong learning, and intergenerational programs

·       Volunteer opportunities

·       Employment and training opportunities

·       Access to computers and technical support

·       Programs to support caregivers, and those in need of in-home care, health and mental health services, food, transportation, or housing

·       Tools to help plan for the many life transitions we encounter as we grow older.

The Commission on Aging’s (CoA) Ambassador Program serves to educate older adults about the CoA and the huge range of services and programs Montgomery County offer them. CoA Ambassadors also want to hear from residents’ about their own issues and concerns. The Ambassadors deliver an approved presentation to groups throughout the community, including at Senior Centers, congregate living facilities, libraries, and other locations where older adults gather.

Marcia Pruzan is a member of Montgomery County’s Commission on Aging’s (CoA) Communication Committee and the Health and Wellness Committee.  From January 2017-January 2023, she served as Senior Fellow and first Program Manager for Montgomery County, Maryland’s Age-Friendly initiative. In that capacity, she coordinated quarterly meetings and the work of County government staff and community leaders across 10 Age-Friendly domains.  She acted as liaison with the 10 domains, the CoA, and other Age-Friendly jurisdictions to foster information sharing and cross-collaboration in areas of common interest and focus. She also has overseen writing and production of numerous Age-Friendly documents, including Montgomery County’s initial Three-Year Action Plan, a Progress Report at the Three Year-Mark, and the latest Action Plan, Age-Friendly Montgomery County: 2020 and Beyond; and its most recent Age-Friendly Progress Report 2022.

Odile Brunetto. Ed.D. Retired from Montgomery County Government in June 2023. She served as Chief, Aging and Disability Services from April 2020 to June 2023; and Acting Chief, Aging and Disability Services, from September 2018 to April 2020 and Director, Area Agency on Aging, from January 2008 to December 2020, Montgomery County, Maryland, Department of Health and Human Services/Aging and Disability Services and from 1999 to 2008, Chief of Aging and Disability Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Arlington County, Virginia. From 1988 to 1999, served in different managerial and professional capacities, in Montgomery County, Maryland, with the Department of Health and Human Services, Aging and Disability Services. 

Please join us to hear the two representatives from Montgomery County’s Commission on Aging speak to us about these program and services, hear your concerns, answer your questions, and provide you with the many ways you can find more information. They also will offer a variety of materials for you to take home.