Senior services swivel to meet demands within restrictions

LACONIA — In concert with government safety directives, gatherings at the Laconia Senior Center are now limited to 10 people, weekday meals at the senior center may be confined to takeout, and Meals on Wheels deliveries to roughly 260 area residents have been cut to every third day, with three days worth of meals delivered at a time.

The center’s bingo, crafts, foot clinics and AARP tax preparation services have been suspended.

And yesterday’s St. Patrick’s Day party was the last time 25 seniors could gather for a festive lunch during the coronavirus crisis – as safety measures increase and worries about exponential contagion continue – especially for the most vulnerable population: people over 60, especially those with chronic health problems.

Marcel Sinotte, 85, came from Belmont – in full-Irish dress as he has for the last 30 St. Patrick’s Days, even though his ancestry is 100 percent French.  To celebrate, he donned an emerald green sportcoat with a matching green silk carnation, a green beaded tie from the dollar store, a leprauchaun handkerchief tucked into his breast pocket, a single kelly-green diamond earring, and green trousers with repeating shamrocks, leprechauns, and “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” slogans.  To cap off the effect, he sprayed his dress shoes emerald green.

“I make it a habit every year,” he said.  He pointed to his crown of white hair and bushy eyebrows, dyed lime green with cosmetic spray paint he bought at a local drug store. “It washes off in a couple of days – in a couple of months, I mean.”

As coronavirus fears snowball, and winter rolls toward spring, seniors like Sinotte are taking things in stride, trying to keep their lives and routines as normal as possible amid growing precautions and restrictions. 

“I don’t know. It’s unreal,” said Sinotte of the pandemic and the resulting shutdowns. Sinotte comes to the center on special occasions. “It’s very sociable and everyone’s very nice.” In warm weather he rides a moped to Laconia and to Shaw’s in Belmont. He was disappointed that the Laconia Senior Center’s gatherings will shrink or temporarily disappear. “What can I do now?  I’ll have to stay home.”

Pat Moody, 72, a lifelong Laconia resident who lives at the nearby Tavern Apartments, walks to activities and meals at the center. “I enjoy the people and they atmosphere. If they switch to takeout, I’m going to miss it.”

“For a lot of people, this is their life. Who knows how long temporary is?” said Richard Bellargeon, 52, of Laconia, who has volunteered at the center since November. “This is what keeps a lot of them active. Their friends are like a family.”

“The social connection is a huge part of people’s lives,” said the center’s director, Tom Menard. “We’re hoping people can stop in to have a cup of coffee, and that we can keep the groups small and do screening” for symptoms and virus exposure at the door, and continue to be a resource for seniors.  But the scope of the center’s activity in this universal environment of vigilance, vulnerability and many unknowns will depend on state and federal requirements, which keep rapidly changing.

Jeanne Agri, executive director of Belknap-Merrimack Community Action Program, which serves meals to 1,700 senior residents in Belknap and Merrimack counties through the Meals on Wheels program, said some towns are opting to close their senior centers and local administrative buildings to avoid unnecessary virus spreading.  As information changes, the community action program is focused on making sure participating elders continue to have wellness checks and the meals they depend on – including through Meals on Wheels and senior centers. “A lot of our elders are not going to be going out to the store.  We’re still going to provide food – even if it’s grab and go,” Agri said.

“It’s a fluid situation. It changes seemingly hour by hour,” said Alain Bernard, assistant vice president for health care services at New Hampshire Catholic Charities, which operates St. Francis Rehabilitation and Nursing Center and skilled nursing facilities statewide. At St. Francis and other nursing homes, group activities, communal dining, and outside visitors have been canceled until the danger passes, said Darlene Underhill, director of clinical services.

“We’re certainly very aware that this is a hardship for our residents” as well as their family members, especially spouse who visit daily and emotionally depend on that interaction, said Underhill. “We’re trying to think of ways people can still be together with social distancing.”

Catholic Charities has purchased tablet with Skype-like visual software so people can see their loved ones while they chat. The nursing homes are encouraging friends and family members to send cards so staff can read them to residents.  Groups activities are being replaced by individual pursuits such as crafts and reading that can be done alone in patient rooms.  Email and phone calls are encouraged.

“Ordinarily, families come in and bring children and pets to visit,” said Underhill.  “We have to find other ways for residents to not become socially isolated.”

“We’re trying more communication and ways to communicate,” said Bernard.

At Laconia Housing Authority’s six senior housing sites – including Sunrise Towers, Sunrise House and the Tavern Apartments in Laconia and Northfield Village in Northfield, which together contain 200 units, mostly for older residents –  community gatherings are on hold, but essential services such as housekeeping, laundry, nursing assistants, and visits from outside medical and mental health providers are uninterrupted.  Residents are notified of changes through a digital voice alert system by phone, and paper notices distributed to rooms.

“We’ve heightened social distancing and not getting together in crowds,” but residents are still able to meet in their apartments, said executive director Tom Cochran. “We’re getting the sense that everybody understands the importance of working together to keep safe. We’ve asked residents to let us know if anyone is sick.”

In the resident parking lot outside Sunrise Tower, Connie Rayno, 78, was brushing snow off her car’s rear windshield on Tuesday in order to drive to a medical appointment at Lakes Region General Hospital. She said she hasn’t felt the need to cut back her chores, activities or local travel.

Ginger Ryan, 85, of Lakeport, a retired nurse who frequents the senior center, says there’s a tendency among many to misinterpret warnings.  “If you’re living in your own house and not going out, you don’t have to keep washing your hands. They said you should prepare for two weeks.  I bought macaroni, spaghetti sauce, a lot of canned things and paper products. I go shopping early in the morning with a friend so there aren’t crowds of people.  A lot is common sense.  You can’t be paranoid and cut out all your activities.  If you usually go out for a walk, go out for a walk.”

John Beland, public health emergency preparedness coordinator for the Winnepesaukee public health region, which includes Belknap county plus Hill, Franklin, Danbury, Northfield and Moultonbrough, said the area is prepared with medical backup facilities in case local hospitals become overwhelmed.  “We have plans to initiate an alternative care site” for anyone who becomes too sick to stay at home, but cannot be treated in a hospital, Beland said. Medical treatment tents or available buildings will be converted into temporary clinics that will offer intravenous and oxygen therapy and other treatments.

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The Sunshine Project is underwritten by grants from the Endowment for Health, New Hampshire’s largest health foundation, and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. Roberta Baker can be reached by email at

Roberta@laconiadailysun.com