Barbara Colella, MS and Art Instructor
The art of caring. The staff and volunteers at Senior Concerns practice the art of giving, and caring with the highest standard of honoring and respecting seniors and their loved ones. When change happens, they are available to help. I am teaching art at Senior Concerns to bolster creativity, confidence and value. The team works together seamlessly and always with a smile.
I made an appointment to see Betty Berry and she and another staffer addressed all my concerns about signing up for Medicare. I was very confused and they made it very simple for me to make a decision. I have also visited the Senior Concerns Thrift Store and was pleased with the selection and the prices. I have been made aware of all their other services and feel alot more confident about having a place to get help if I need it.
Conejo Valley Senior Concerns. These ladies (Betty Berry & Bonnie Olson) are an absolutely tremedous asset to senior citizens in our community. The patience they desplay and services they provide are both excellent and outstanding.
I love Senior Concerns! They are wonderful people. I own and manage a medical hospice in Westlake Village and I see all the good they do for the seniors and their adult children in the Conejo Valley. Affordable day care, senior counseling, meals on wheels to the home bound! it goes on and on. we are a better community because of the work they do.
Bonnie Olson
Buena Vista Hospice
We have been referring seniors and their families to Senior Concerns for o ver 14 years. We know they will take care of and help the families we send there for help. They are a great asset to the Conejo Valley and surrounding areas.
I came to know this facility and its staff thru volunteering with Meals on Wheels, for which the cafeteria at the Senior Concerns facility on Hodenkamp in Thousand Oaks provides a large measure of the food and packaging as well as management of the program.
I had occasion to be in and out, various times of the day and days of the week and always found it a very positive and pleasing environment ... bright and light, looking and smelling clean, and relative to the elderly guests, always communicating, entertaining.. being friendly. Treatment I know I want for my loved ones.
I also have some experience with Senior Concerns as a major proponent of elder and frail awareness and care within our community.
The leadership of Senior Concerns is deeply involved in teaming with many other non-profits, governmental agencies, and local business and organizational leaders, offering the full power of Sr. Concerns, to plan for the future and sustain Thousand Oaks as an 'elder friendly' community.
This organization is meaningful to our community and its residents in many, many ways and is indeed one of many linchpins between people and a quality life.
Each time I walk in the door, I am impressed with how friendly, helpful and loving the staff is at the Conejo Valley Senior Concerns. The people attending the adult day care program are engaged and smiling and you can see how they light up with the personalized attention they receive from the staff. We are so lucky to have such a quality place in Thousand Oaks.
The key to success for any organization is the people who make the program happen. It has been my pleasure to interact with the staff, serve on the program committee, and refer my clients to Senior Concerns for their adult day program, care consultation, educational programs, and advocacy for many years. The staff members are professional, competent, compassionate, and very knowledgeable about elder care and dementia care.
The Conejo Valley Senior Concerns serves several needs of seniors in Eastern Ventura County. They not only have a terrific loving client centered adult care service but reach out with various services to the greater senior commuity in Ventura County. Their Senior Advocate writes a terrific senior issues column in the Ventura County Star that is read by thousands of seniors. She also conducts numerous presentations on a wide range of senior issues including very timely presentations on Medicare and related health care issues.
They also work with other organizations to offer the cutting edge evidence based self management program called "Healthier Living: Managing Ongoing Health Issues". This valuable No-cost to the participant 6 week series helps seniors to gain control of their chronic health condition and improve their health.
What a wonderul organization with a serving mission that is both centered in providing the very best adult day care but also recognize the importance of outreach to the larger senior community.
Conejo Valley Senior Concerns is a GREAT place! They are so dedicated to serving the senior community and especially frail and special-need seniors, caregivers and families. They provide quality programs, appropriate resources and educational outreach. Ventura County is lucky to have them!
I live far away from my aging parents, who are currently living in Simi Valley in their own home. I have met with the Senior Concerns social worker on numerous occasions, when I have traveled to visit my parents. My 89-year old mother has met with her as well. Senior Concerns has helped us facilitate care and services so my parents can continue to safely live at home and receive the necessary support to help them be as independent as possible. The responsiveness and practicality of the visits has been exceptional ---I don't know what I would do without them. Conejo Valley is VERY lucky to have this service and our elders certainly deserve it! I am very thankful for what they do.
I've always wanted to volunteer for a Meals of Wheels program. I am so happy that Senior Concerns is the organization that coordinates this very important program. Scott Porter is my direct contact and I find him to be very organized and easy to work with. First hand I know that my group of Seniors depend on this vital resource. It is also a good way to check in on them on a daily basis.
Senior Concerns exemplifies not only Senior Day Care but also the implementation of progressive projects which support the entire surrounding senior community and their families. Senior Concerns has big city efficiencies married with small town intimacies as a result of a genuine heart-felt operation style.
Senior Concerns has provided meals on a no/low fee basis for many years and is instrumental in keeping many people, in our area, healthy both physically and emotionally. Our house-bound residents really perk up when I, and my fellow drivers, come to the door! For some residents, it's their only day-to-day communication with the outside world.
I have seen first hand the great work Senior Concerns provides our community. We have several clients who benefit from the various services offered by Senior Concerns. There are a lot of non-profit organizations that need our support but not many who deserve it more than Senior Concerns. Thanks for all you do!
Dylan Hull
Select Home Care
www.selecthomecare.com
I have been referring to Senior Concerns for over 11 years. One of the challenges of a senior care professional is in finding quality organizations to refer families and clients to. Senior Concerns provides a consistent, loving and professional environment for the participants of their Adult Day program and serves the community in many varied ways.The directors and staff are dedicated to a high level of service, care, innovation and community outreach and education.We are fortunate to have such an upstanding and outstanding organization in the community. The advocacy for older adults is another benefit that they offer to the community and the work that the advocates do makes such a difference in the quality of life of those they serve.
I came across Senior Concerns 4 years ago when a patient of ours was utilizing the services they offer. I was so impressed with the empathy that the staff had for their clients. I have valued our relationship ever since. In addition to this, the expertise and commitment to the SC cause is felt by all who enter the facility. One time they helped us when we had difficulty in transferring our agitated patient to enter our vehicle. The director herself came to assist us and calmed and coaxed our patient. One can see that the staff continually strives to better serve their community. I highly recommend this NP for a rating that exceeds 5 stars.
When I retired from public education I was looking for an organization where I could continue to make a difference. I was so fortunate to find Senior Concerns. The Adult Day Care Center is one of the most amazing and caring places--you always feel the warmth and sincere love for the participants. The Senior Advocacy programs continue to help seniors and their families and Meals on Wheels supports seniors staying in their homes. There are many places for people to volunteer in our community but this is one of the best!
Once a week I bring my dog to Senior Concerns to visit with the various groups in the Senior Day Care Program. She is a 2 year old Cocker Spanial currently in training to be a therapy dog. The staff has been most supportive and the seniors are now beginning to recognize her and look forward to her visits (even the ones with Alzheimers). This is such a wonderful organization, it's a pleasure to be involved as both a volunteer and a board member.
I deliver meals once a week for Senior Concerns. I love it!! The staff is very organized and always has everything ready and organized when I arrive to pick up the meals for delivery. The have great communication and processes in place. For instance if someone isn't home a cooler is left by the front door and must have ice in order to leave the food.
I have met some very nice people on my route as well.
What a valuable service the people of Thousand Oaks have available to them.
Senior Concerns offers a service that is desperately needed, but they go above and beyond just being a "service." The staff is amazing and they take a personal interest in all the Seniors who come there. The Seniors are treated with dignity, respect, kindness, gentleness and understanding. Families can be assured that their loved one will be cared for and nurtured while they are there. Senior Concerns also offers Meals on Wheels and so many other services. I wish more people knew about this wonderful organization. They are so deserving off all our financial support.
Senior Concerns offers a myriad of services to the senior---one of which is a day class. The adult day class allows seniors who maybe otherwise isolated at home, to interact with others. The class involves the seniors in music, current events, arts & crafts, exercise and many other activities. This program is a great resource for the people of Conejo Valley.--Barrie G from Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association
Senior Concerns is the 411 for seniors or their families. Call them.... no matter the question. Starting as a grass-roots organization with volunteers delivering meals to isolated home-bound seniors and has evolved from meeting that basic need to a professional organization still filled with volunteers able to answer and meet any need a senior or their families might present. Through the generosity of the community, businesses and government grants services are offered either without fees or based on ability to pay. No one has ever been turned away. AND more importantly it still is filled with compassion and concern.
Eight years ago my husband and I “adopted” our elderly neighbors and acted as caregivers for the couple as well as financial, legal and medical powers of attorney. Confused, stressed and in need, we contacted Senior Concerns. With their guidance and support we navigated the complexities of caring for an aging loved one. I was so moved by the work of this organization, I joined the board and have been an active member for the past four years. This is a passionate organization tackling a huge problem - our senior population will double in the next 10 years. Whether it’s emergency support, referral assistance, adult day services, dementia evaluations, respite care or help with government programs, Senior Concerns case managers guide families through the maze of choices when caring for an aging loved one. Support does not stop with the senior, but extends to the family, and the family caregiver. Whether neighbor, friend or family, Senior Concerns is the one-stop solution for programs, support and referrals.
I am a physician in Kaiser Permanente with a medical office around the corner of the Senior Concerns center. In our medical facility is a Geriatric assessment clinic that provides care for the elderly with dementia problems or physical limitations that require high level care as outpatients. Senior Concerns is so helpful for our patients with these illnesses. In the Senior Concerns day care, staff and volunteers provide activities that are both fun and stimulating for these seniors to attempt to maintain their mental faculties as much as possible. This also serves the families of these elderly as respite for the constant caregiving that otherwise would totally consume their lives.
Senior concerns also provides the community with Meals on Wheels to deliver meals to those unfortunate seniors that may otherwise not be able to get good nutritional meals.
I have been so impressed with Senior Concerns that I now serve on the Board of the organization. I feel it is a shining example of what a community charity organization should be. Anyone interested in reading more about the nature of their services should go to their website and be impressed.