COA Articles

COA articles written by the COA board

Please find below articles which are part of a series and which will continue to be added over the next several months celebrating the work of the Council on Aging (COA) staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and the important role they play in so many lives in the Concord Community. These articles have been written by the COA Board, snippets can be found below along with a link to the full article.

Article 1: FoodJulie Melly - Article 1

The Council on Aging (COA) provides Concord 
seniors with a multitude of services and assistance, much of which were severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the early days of 2020, COA staff confronted the beginning of a series of challenges: how would they continue to serve the needs of their senior clients? How would they function during a pandemic that was forcing residents apart for their own safety?

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Article 2: Canasta Class – A COA Service and a Key Canasta for Two: Deal 15 cards to start. Score threes, red/black canastas, card values.to Friendship

Among the many activities offered 
by the Council on Aging (COA), the opportunity to learn how to play games, such as bridge, backgammon, chess, or Mahjong is particularly important for many seniors who live alone. Mental challenge and new companionship are sought even more than a winning score as reasons for learning new games.

In October 2019 Pat Grainger offered a course on playing Standard American Canasta at the COA facility in the Harvey Wheeler Community Center. Eight seniors signed up to take the course – Joy, Ruth, Carol and Carl, John and Phyllis, Faye, and Teri. This pre-pandemic training course was a success

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Article 3: Vaccination ClinicsPharmacist Diane Briner of West Concord Pharmacy prepares a COVID vaccine dose at one of the vaccina

In 2020, many Concord seniors celebrated their birthdays alone in their homes, isolated from friends and family for their own protection from Covid. As the Covid pandemic spread across Massachusetts and the country, some may have wondered “Will I ever be able to celebrate again with my friends and my family?” 

Fortunately, covid vaccines were developed successfully and became available in early 2021. However, some of Concord’s seniors – members of the population most vulnerable to Covid – urgently needed vaccinations but were not able to navigate the complicated process of finding a vaccination site and securing a highly coveted appointment to obtain them on their own.

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