Health & Senior Services

In an effort to provide seniors with quality activities prior to the completion of The Community Senior Center, a program has been developed at Epworth United Methodist Church, Middle Level, 5th & Morgan Ave., Palmyra. Beginning Wednesday, September 5, 2007, mega activities will be implemented to entice seniors to come out, play and meet your peers. For examples, there will be various types of board games, bingo, card games, dominoes, walking, singing, ceramics, book club, indoor tennis, ping-pong, basketball, volleyball, exercise, line dancing, training on age appropriate forms, speakers, Defensive Driving Course, demonstrations, computer training, trips, movie and popcorn, and stamp embossing. Whatever we don’ have we will try to get. Being active is essential for good health and well being. The program si set for the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month, 9:00am to 2:00pm, for seniors over 60 years of age and residents of Palmyra or Riverton. Bring a sandwich, a drink and dessert will be provided. Sponsored by The Borough of Palmyra.

ATTENTION SENIORS!!!

Do you have questions about services for senior citizens? Not sure of what services you may be entitled to?

At the Burlington County Office on Aging, we have the answers you are looking for. The Intake Social Worker is available to speak to individuals or groups about all the senior services offered.

If you are interested in a presentation for your senior group, church group, or group of friends, please call us at (609) 265-5069.We look forward to serving you and connecting you with the services you need.

February 22, 2006

Borough of Palmyra, NJ 08065

RE: Health and Senior Services

Dear Borough Resident:

As you may be aware, on January 7, 2006 the members of Borough Council enacted a Health and Senior Services Committee, an autonomous subcommittee of our current, albeit expanded, Board of Health.

The sole purpose of the HSS Committee is to help address the ongoing and sometimes complex needs of our community’s senior citizens.

Last month I had the pleasure of appointing Palmyra’s first citizen members to this new and important committee, with each person carefully selected because they have displayed the leadership, compassion and care necessary to assist one of Palmyra’s most precious resources – our senior citizens. I am grateful for their service.

The following Palmyra residents were appointed to serve on the HSS Committee:

Bud Heflin
Marva Jones
Jim May
Gretchen Myers
Kenneth E. Smith, Esq.
Constance Thompson
Sandy Veitenheimer (Chairwoman of Palmyra’s Board of Health)

The beginnings of the HSS Committee were formulated last year when I realized that too few seniors were taking advantage of local property tax reduction benefits. Combined with recent changes to Medicare (with more federal budget cuts proposed) and the sometimes conflicting and difficult to understand information made available by our state’s Department of Health and Senior Services and our county’s Office on Aging, have dictated the need for this new committee. Among other responsibilities, the HSS Committee will assist and educate our senior citizens about various programs offered by our local, county, state and federal governments.

Fortunately, my own parents are substantially educated about available senior programs (my father is past president of his local AARP chapter and my mother is a legislative liaison for AARP), but Borough Council, the HSS Committee and I recognize that many of our senior citizens may not be. Therefore, the HSS Committee’s first order of business is to identify as many of our senior citizens as possible and determine their respective needs. The HSS Committee is respectfully requesting that you complete and return the enclosed questionnaire to help them identify any specific requirements. If you are not a senior citizen (or don’t have an interest in learning more) please pass this correspondence on to a neighbor, friend or family member who is and encourage them to respond. We apologize for not including return postage, but we feel that it may not be cost effective given the size of this mailing versus the anticipated number of responses. We firmly believe however, that future benefits provided by the HSS Committee will far outweigh the cost of a single stamp and envelope. Responses can also be hand delivered to Borough Hall as well. Either way, we look forward to hearing from you.

Additional information about the HSS Committee will be available soon on the Borough’s website under Municipal Offices and by selecting Health and Senior Services.

As always, if I can ever be of any assistance, please feel free to contact me. Thank you very much.

Very truly yours,

John Gural
Mayor, Borough of Palmyra

PS If you have previously volunteered to participate in the Borough’s Green Thumb Program, Borough resident Tim Kaluhiokalani, Chairman of the Shade Tree Commission, will be contacting you shortly by mail with a scheduled date for the first meeting. Borough Council and I anxiously await “the fruits of your labor” as we move forward with this exciting new program designed to beautify our community by improving and caring for our numerous trees, shrubs and gardens. If you haven’t signed up, it’s not too late! If interested please contact Councilwoman Karen Scheffler at 303-0358 or me at 786-4488. More information will soon be available on our Web site. Thank you once again.

Click here for the Health and Senior Services Questionnaire.