Featuring the Pennington Life Center

by Ginny Dugan -- In June of 2017 the Churchill County Senior Center officially became the William N. Pennington Life Center (WNPLC) when it moved from its location on the corner of Court and South East streets to a newly constructed, grant- and government-funded building at 952 South Maine in Fallon. Since it opened 17 months ago, the Life Center continues to fulfill its purpose as it provides assistance and support to seniors and their families, friends and caregivers, and, in general, all ages within the local community. The last two-and-a-half years, however, have not been without its challenges. “It’s been a wild ride,” said Lisa Erquiaga, WNPLC Executive Director, “but very busy. We’re finally breathing more easily (since the Life Center’s opening in June of 2017), and we’ve done so much.” According to Bus Scharmann, Chair of the Coalition for Senior Citizens, the seven-member governing board of the facility since 1991, the Life Center’s most significant challenge has been the budget. “We really had to grow the budget in order to maintain the building and be able to feed the people,” Scharmann stated. While grants from the State of Nevada help with additional expenses incurred by operating a newer and larger facility, the City of Fallon and Churchill County, both of whom have regularly contributed operational funding to the senior center over the years, needed to provide extra dollars. “The move from the old senior center to the new life center was a big transition,” the Coalition Chair added. “We did not know how much we would need.” For example, the number of staff required to run and maintain the 15,000 square foot building was an early issue. Employees often pitched in with routine chores, in addition to their specific job responsibilities, in order to keep the place in operable condition. Staff also scrutinized weekly menus to ensure waste was minimal. One source of relief has been the hiring of a part-time custodian from Churchill County’s Parks and Recreation Department to clean the windows and bathrooms, vacuum the carpeting, and take care of the trash. This arrangement “has worked out pretty well,” Scharmann said. Another asset has been volunteerism originating from the local community. These volunteers come to the Life Center one or two days each week to assist with wiping down dining room tables and mopping the dining room floor. Despite the challenges that needed to be faced and overcome, the positive outcomes from the transition are also noteworthy. Erquiaga is especially proud of the increase in the number of both congregate (dining room) meals and Meals On Wheels servings. During the WNPLC’s fiscal year of October 2018 through September 2019, 21,000 meals were served in the dining room, an increase of approximately 38 percent from the previous year, and 55,000 Meals On Wheels, averaging 180 daily, were provided, according to Erquiaga and also Buster Pierce, WNPLC’s Program Services Director.   Daily attendance in the dining room varies from 100-130 and depends upon the menu for any specific day, weather conditions, and other factors.  Soup when available is served from 11-11:30 a.m. followed by lunch from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays except for observed holidays.  Meals On Wheels are delivered during the week to homebound seniors by four drivers between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and within a 10-mile radius of the Life Center. “We see new people coming to the Life Center every day,” Erquiaga asserted. “The most important thing to understand is that, although seniors are the focus of our operation, anyone can eat lunch here for $6.00.” The suggested donation for senior citizens, 60 years or older, to eat at the WNPLC is $3.00. “Anything going on here is open to the local community,” Erquiaga added. That includes the WNPLC’s activities as well as meals. Among the Life Center’s popular activities are exercise and yoga classes, Bingo, arts and crafts, bridge club, Mexican train dominoes, line dancing, and crocheting/knitting. The Flying Artists consists of a group of local artists who get together once per week to socialize and help each other as they work on artwork within their chosen medium. In addition, WNPLC offers opportunities for weekly blood pressure checks and monthly appointments with attorneys from Nevada Legal Services. A new and welcoming feature is the on-site beauty salon that is open for service every day at the Life Center. “It’s been a real hit,” Erquiaga announced, with seniors able to have their hair done at discounted prices. A grant from the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Las Vegas, will bring a nine-week nutrition program to the Life Center in the future, and, in January of 2020, a diabetes class, provided by Dignity Health, has been scheduled.  Founded in 1986 with headquarters in San Francisco, Dignity Health, according to its website, delivers “excellent, affordable health care” with compassion to diverse communities in 21 states and is the fifth largest health system within the nation.  Still another grant will provide Meals On Wheels seniors with food for their pets and care of the animals if the seniors have to be hospitalized. The WNPLC also operates a homemaker program in which approximately 80 homebound or disabled seniors are assisted by six individuals hired to perform requested tasks such as grocery shopping, running errands, transporting to medical appointments, light housekeeping, and similar needs. Finally, the grant-funded Nevada Care Connection Resource Center, housed at the Life Center and under the direction of Resource Specialist Sherri Herringshaw, has become a starting place for older adults and their families or caregivers to obtain information about various kinds of available government or community assistance. With a paid full- and part-time staff of 20, including the kitchen crew, the Life Center has “a really good team” that “gets the job done, “ observed Erquiaga who also credited its volunteers for much of the WNPLC’s success. “We cannot do what we do without them.”  The volunteers, at the Life Center from opening time to an hour or two after lunch, get the dining room tables prepared, help serve soup and beverages, assist those with disabilities in getting their meals, pick up trays with the dirty dishes, and clean the tables for the next day’s lunchers. Scharmann expressed his thanks to the Coalition board members, who served at the time plans for a new senior center were researched and developed, and funding, including the $2 million grant from the William N. Pennington Foundation and monies provided by the City of Fallon and Churchill County, was secured to make the dream a reality. “The (WNPLC) is a beautiful center,” Scharmann reflected. “We couldn’t have wished for anything better.”       Sign up to receive updates and the Friday File email notices. Support local, independent news – contribute to The Fallon Post, your non-profit (501c3) online news source for all things Fallon.