The Office on Aging offers a variety of services to assist in the physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being of elderly clients and people with disabilities. The OoA continuously provides a number of supportive services and activities that include:
1. Multi-Purpose Senior Center
The Office on Aging has established Multi-Purpose Senior Centers on Saipan, Rota, and Tinian where elderly individuals and people with disabilities can gather together and participate in various activities offered on a daily basis. Our elders have full access to the Senior Center, a public building with modern amenities. These centers provide a supervised venue where elders can congregate according to their needs and interests. The Senior Centers on all 3 islands are open Monday thru Friday from 7:30am to 4:30pm and are closed on weekends and holidays. In meeting the basic needs of elders, the center provides nutritional meals, physical exercise, health check-ups, and accessibility to stores, payment offices, social service offices, and more. It also provides an opportunity for seniors to socialize, have new experiences, and share lessons learned. “Bingo” is the most popular activity among the elderly, however other recreational activities such as arts and crafts, sports, and music are also offered. Off-island guests and school children frequently visit the centers to spend time with and learn from our Man Amko’.
2. Transportation Services
The Office on Aging provides transportation services for the elderly and people with disabilities over the age of 60. OoA staff transport the senior citizens to pick-up their bi-weekly pension checks, monthly food stamp coupons from the Nutrition Assistance Program, and Social Security and SSI checks. They are also afforded transportation by OoA staff to make utility payments, bank transactions, market runs, library visits, and other routine errands as necessary. The Office may provide an escort for medical and other appointments as requested. Transportation Services are offered to the elderly Monday thru Friday from 9:30am to 2:00pm and are closed on weekends and holidays.
3. The following Recreational and other services are made available to seniors such as:
• Computer Literacy – There is no doubt that knowing how to operate a computer is a useful skill in today’s world. It is our goal at the Office on Aging to introduce basic technological efforts to the elders and people with disabilities. The CNMI Office on Aging offer tutorials on how to operate a computer. By providing access to computers and the internet, our elders are able to remain intellectually active as well as cater to their social and emotional needs by keeping in touch with friends and family members living abroad via email and social media.
• Music – There are many opportunities at the Senior Centers for the elders and people with disabilities to engage in musical activities. The Saipan Senior
Center has formed a Senior Citizen Band, complete with a lead singer, guitarist, bass man, and drummer. There is also a separate area designated for karaoke. During gatherings and performances, our Man Amko’ are always given the opportunity to perform in front of an audience.
• Arts & Crafts – Cultural Arts & Crafts is highly regarded among the elderly and people with disabilities. Our Man Amko’ are encouraged to stay creative and maintain the island custom of weaving, carving, beading, and more. Our elders often act as presenters to school children, teaching them the art of these traditional crafts.
• Morning Stretching Exercise – Every morning, we begin our daily program with a simple stretching routine that allows our Man Amko’ to become physically ready and energized to take on the day. We encourage them to take part in this activity every day to help them stay active and healthy.
• Recreational Activities – We provide various games and activities that are available daily to allow our elders to remain active while at the Senior Centers. Such activities include bingo, billiards, board games, foosball, softball, basketball, ground golf, gym, karaoke, movies, gardening, and more.
• Movie Production – Our elders are given the opportunity to act in locally produced feature films. The most recent production was entitled “The Forgotten Island” which was used as a fundraising mechanism for the Saipan Seniors Advisory Council, a non-profit organization that uses its funds for the benefit of the elderly clients and people with disabilities enrolled at the Office on Aging.
• Cultural Tutorial – The Office on Aging provides opportunities for the elders and people with disabilities enrolled at the program to visit schools to do storytelling, dancing, singing, arts and crafts, and more. These cultural tutorials also enable opportunities for the elderly and people with disabilities to teach our language, history and the use of traditional crafts.
• Cultural Variety Shows – Each year the Man Amko’ showcase their talent at the Annual “Cultural Variety Show” that takes place during the Older Americans Month celebration in May. During this performance, they perform traditional dances, musical acts, dramatic interpretations, and more.
• Man Amko’ King & Queen – The “Man Amko’ King and Queen Fundraiser” takes place every year during the month of May to help raise funds for
upcoming off-island trips and/or other celebrations.
• Gardening Project– Our seniors are growing their own vegetables. This particular activity increases levels of physical activity and helps mobility and flexibility. It also encourages use of all motor skills, improves endurance and strength. Gardening also helps prevent diseases like osteoporosis.
• Spirit Week– The purpose of Spirit Week is to help lift the spirit in our elders at the Senior Center by promoting cohesiveness and participation.
• Fun Fridays– Every Friday, clients at the Senior Centers compete in contests and other form of competitive games. This activity helps keep senior citizens stay active and healthy.
• Man Amko’ Cook Book– A book of recipes and traditions. The title of the book is ISLAND TRESURES “Recipes and Memories from the Man Amko’ of Saipan”.
• Cooking Show– A youtube-based cooking show called “Cooking with Grandma” featuring elderly clients. The show features cooking demonstrations, health topics, nutrition and traditional cooking.
Nutrition Services Program
Adequate nutrition is essential for healthy aging and the prevention or delay of chronic disease and disease-related disabilities. Congregate nutrition services improve participants’ health and prevent more costly interventions. Home-delivered nutrition services enable older adults to avoid or delay costly institutionalization and allow them to stay in their homes and communities.
To help meet the nutritional needs of elderly persons and those with disabilities in the CNMI, the Office on Aging provides hot packaged-meals under its nutrition services program. There are two types of meals available: Congregate Meals (C1), which is for active clients who partake in the activities offered by the Senior Centers; and Home Delivered Meals (C2), which is for homebound clients whose circumstances hinder their full participation at the Senior Centers. Meals are served five days a week, excluding holidays. In Saipan, the nutrition program is outsourced to a private company. This company is tasked to prepare and deliver lunch to all active and homebound clients on Saipan. On Tinian and Rota, meals are prepared by the office cooks and distributed to active and homebound clients by OoA personnel. The OoA nutrition program provides a minimum of 33 and 1/3 percent of the current daily recommended dietary Allowance (RDA) as established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. All meals are approved by a registered dietician, and special menus are made available to clients with renal failure, clients with allergies, and those with dietary restrictions due to religion. Meals and ingredients are vigilantly supervised to ensure utmost quality and freshness.
The objectives of the OAA Nutrition Programs are to provide the opportunity for older adults to live their years in dignity by:
• Providing healthy, appealing meals;
• Promoting health and prevent disease;
• Reducing malnutrition risk and improve nutritional status;
• Reducing social isolation and increase social interaction;
• Linking older adults with other community-based services such as physical activities programs, community health, or case management services; and
• Providing an opportunity for meaningful community involvement such as through volunteering.