Community Listening Forum: Sun City Palm Desert

May 28, 2019 - Meghan Kane

Homelessness:

· Find solutions to reach encampments – some don’t want to go to the shelters

o Many pride themselves on independence

· There have been a few instances with homeless entering the development

· Around 25% of those living in the development are living solely off SSI

· Find more ways to address the at-risk population before our homeless population increases

· Work to address the stigma behind getting help

· Coachella Valley needs a system that is more consistent – people are always getting ready to lose something

· Improve the communication with service organizations to improve efficiency and reduce duplication

· Support programs in place that are working – Friends of Friends

· Help educate seniors on fraud and pressures to reverse mortgages

Primary Care and Behavioral Health Access:

· Increased in-home, affordable caregivers for single seniors with more focus on respite care

· Free onsite, preventative screening programs

· Improve the access to health services and education for the aging

· Provide transportation to and from medical services/appointments

o Increase the SunLine routes across the bridge into the Sun City complex

· Bring in more hospital department staff into Sun City to educate on care

o Eisenhower does come into the community but not frequently enough

· There are no onsite medical services in the community development

· High need for behavioral health specialists especially around cognitive care

o Even with insurance, it is challenging to find specialists in the Coachella Valley

o Sometimes, providers recommend health apps and telemedicine which doesn’t resonate with the senior population

· Increase access to neurologists

o Many senior residents travel outside of the Coachella Valley to receive care as the wait time to see a neurologist is over three months

· Increase services that target depression among seniors

· There is a high need for Alzheimer and Dementia specialists and caretaker/spouse education

o Spouses quickly exhaust savings so there needs to be legal services to improve financial readiness

o Caretaker education around medical trusts, HIPAA laws, healthcare navigation, and how to take care of their partners

· Bring in mobile health units to help improve access to care

· Expand the University of California Riverside residency program to improve the physician ratio

Healthy Eating, Active Living:

· Bring in healthy food trucks with dieticians

· Bring back the farmers’ market but make it more appealing and accessible to seniors – inside

· Host healthy cooking classes – look at bringing in culinary students from COD and the high school

· Bring programs like A Matter of Balance to Sun City residents

Other Ideas:

· Residents advised that when scheduling meetings, consider the targeted population’s schedule

· Bring in documentaries focused on healthy living and well-being

· Bring in organizations from different avenues of care together for collaboration

· Understand organizations in the community that are needed but have limited capacity

o Ex. Alzheimer’s organizations

· Create educational series targeting senior care needs

· Bring in health fairs to the senior communities

Ranking of priorities from Sun City Palm Desert participants [please note not everyone returned the ranking sheet]: