Event Calendar

Bay Ridge Center and Lutheran Family Health Centers Open
Shore-Ridge CARES!

New York State has awarded a $144,000 contract to the Bay Ridge Center, Lutheran Family Health Centers, and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, to develop supportive services for a Neighborhood NORC in the heart of Bay Ridge. “NORC” is shorthand for “Naturally Occurring Retirement Community”. NORCs were first pioneered in New York nearly 20 years ago. But until recently, they operated exclusively in apartment buildings, housing projects and condos, as “vertical” NORCs. Legislation providing funds for “horizontal” or Neighborhood NORCs was introduced by State Senator Marty Golden in 2005. The newly established “Shore-Ridge CARES” NNORC is one of only nine such projects in the entire State.



Dr. Russell Norris, Bay Ridge Center Executive Director, and Pat Ruiz from Lutheran Medical Center, prepare to cut the ribbon at the Shore-Ridge CARES Neighborhood NORC office at Shore Hill

A Naturally Occurring Retirement Community is exactly what the name implies. It is not a planned retirement community such as one finds in places like Florida or the Gulf Coast, which were designed for older adults. A NORC is simply a place where people settled, raised their children, and “aged in place” over many years, so that today their community has an unusually high percentage of seniors. Shore-Ridge CARES was identified from the 2000 Census data as an area with a high concentration of older adults. The boundaries of the Neighborhood NORC run from Bay Ridge Parkway (75th Street) on the north to 88th Street on the south, and from Ridge Boulevard on the east to Shore Road on the west. In this community of single-family homes and low rise apartment buildings, over 22% of the residents are 60 years of age and older. Older adults occupy more than 40% of the homes!

Members of the NNORC Management Team include (clockwise from the left) Sharon Mark, Visiting Nurse Service of New York; Lana Yankovskaya, Community Health Educator; Sister Fran Picone, Services for Older Adults, Lutheran Family Health Centers; Ellen Lauer, Shore-Hill CARES Program Director; Kathleen Hopkins, Director of Community Based Programs, Lutheran Family Health Centers; and Esther Odorisio, office assistant.		 Shore Ridge CARES is sponsored by the Bay Ridge Center, which has been designated the “lead agency” by the New York State Office for the Aging, and will provide the social service dimension of the program. Lutheran Family Health Centers, a division of Lutheran Medical Center, is providing a Community Health Educator, an Americorps community outreach worker, and space for the NNORC office at Shore Hill Housing, 9000 Shore Road. CAUSE-NY, a program of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, will provide an intern and technical support for community outreach. The Visiting Nurse Service of New York is providing assistance for those in need of in-home nursing care. The Shore-Ridge CARES Program Director is Ellen Lauer, LPN, MSW.
Ellen Lauer is well qualified to serve as Program Director for Shore-Ridge CARES. As a healthcare professional with more than 30 years of progressive experience in administration, social work, nursing, and case management, she is gifted with exceptional skills in communication, leadership and project management. Her background in both nursing and social work is ideally suited to the unique character of a Neighborhood NORC. Prior to coming to Bay Ridge, she was Program Director for Horizon Health Corporation, with overall responsibility for a 15-bed rehabilitation facility providing social work, nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapy. She has experience as a social worker and social work supervisor, a drug and alcohol counselor, and a Licensed Practical Nurse. She also served as Director of Social Services at Susquehanna Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Ellen holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Temple University, a B.S. in Social Work from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and an LPN Diploma from the School of Practical Nursing in Northport. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Association of American University Women (AAUW).
The Shore-Ridge CARES staff also includes Community Health Educator Lana Yankovskaya, Americorps community worker Petek Kalaycioglu, and office staff Ellen Murphy and Esther Odorisio. The Jewish Community Relations Council, through its subsidiary, CAUSE-NY, has made available a social work intern, Devorah Winzelberg, to help with community organizing.

Russell Norris to Step Down in June as
Executive Director of the Bay Ridge Center

Dr. Russell Norris, who has served as Executive Director of the Bay Ridge Center since September, 2004, will retire on June 30, 2006. “Ellen Lauer”, as he is known to both staff and clients, plans to move to West Hyannisport on Cape Cod. An ordained pastor in the Lutheran Church, he plans to keep active with consulting work, while indulging his interests in model railroading and wooden boat building.
The Board of the Bay Ridge Center has begun an intensive search process to find a new executive director. If you know of an individual who might have the skills and abilities to lead the Center, contact Gail Topp, Chair of the Bay Ridge Center Oversight Commission. Further information can be obtained through the Bay Ridge Center office at 718-748-0873.

Bay Ridge Center Annual Walkathon on May 6 Kicks Off Senior Citizens Month

On Saturday, May 6, the Bay Ridge Center will mark the beginning of Senior Citizens Month with its annual “Miles for Meals” Walkathon. For the past 10 years, marchers have paraded down the Third Avenue and Fifth Avenue business districts, raising funds for the Center’s Meals on Wheels program. Registration will open at 10:00 a.m., with remarks by community leaders at 10:30. At 11:00 the marchers will move out, walking west on Ovington to Third Avenue, south on Third to 86th Street, east on 86th to Fifth Avenue, and north on Fifth to Ovington.

In 2005, more than 80 children and adults walked the route, raising nearly $5,000 for Meals on Wheels. Local businesses turned out to show their support. The Connors and Sullivan law firm, and Independence Community Bank were among the largest supporters.
The Bay Ridge Center provides Meals on Wheels daily for some 180 frail and homebound older adults. In addition to a hot meal, the program also brings a human face to those who often live in isolation.
Everyone is welcome to join the Walkathon. Call 718-748-0873 for more information and sponsor sheets.



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