SMOKEY POINT — The Stillaguamish Senior Center’s Health and Social Services Fair made its return to the facility Oct. 6, after a three-year hiatus.
Adele Erbeck, a registered nurse who runs the center’s Health and Wellness program, coordinated the event to help connect seniors and other local community members to support services they might need, especially in the current economic climate.
“We’ve had a really good turnout,” Erbeck said. “I’d estimate we’ve gotten a couple of hundred people, not only from Marysville and Arlington, but also from Everett, Stanwood and Lake Stevens. Next time, I’ll have them include their ZIP codes when they sign in,” she laughed.
Representatives of the departments of Social and Health Services, Social Security and Veterans Affairs were on hand to provide information on their programs, while a number of area assisted living centers for seniors likewise had staff present to tout their features, including Regency Care Center in Arlington and Merrill Gardens in Marysville.
Erbeck herself had recently completed Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisor volunteer training and was answering visitor questions, along with health seminar hosts such as attorney Steve Peiffle, of the law firm of Bailey, Duskin, Peiffle and Canfield, who spoke about estate planning and other legal issues.
Seniors such as Joyce Spaulding received flu shots from Arlington Pharmacy, while Sea Mar Community Health Center members Anayelle Lopez and Jennifer Barajas explained how they provide care low-income and uninsured patients.
“We’re also there for those on Medicare and Medicaid,” Lopez said. “We serve people regardless of their ability to pay.”
“The wife keeps pressuring me to lose weight,” laughed Arlington resident Jim Cummins, an AARP member, as he spoke with a Weight Watchers representative. “This whole thing is a great idea. A lot of people just don’t know all the services that are available to them. This center gives seniors some independence. We come to events like this, and we can talk with other seniors who understand. I like coming out and seeing my friends.”
