Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Dianne Alexandroni, the kitchen manager for Hurley Senior Center, smiles at senior citizens arriving by car on Tuesday as she prepares to hand them congregate meals via a drive-up and takeout lane. The meals are not being served inside until further notice due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
HURLEY, Wis. - With the spirit of the drive-in restaurants the staff of the Hurley Senior Center are enjoying the switch to takeout lunches.
On Monday the Iron County congregate meal sites in Hurley, Saxon, Iron Belt, Mercer and Springstead were closed until further notice. The kitchen staff instead are brown-bagging the lunches and handing them off to seniors as they driving into the parking lots for the takeout orders from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
"It's just our second day and our numbers are holding good," said Dianne Alexandroni, the kitchen manager of the Hurley site. "It hasn't really deterred a lot of people. The numbers are the same as if they came in the dining room to eat."
Homebound residents who were already getting home delivered meals did not see any change in service. The option is also there now for some of the seniors who dine at the congregate sites.
"We have a really good home delivery base," Alexandroni said.
Nobody is falling between the cracks, she said.
Nope, we won't let 'em," Alexandroni said. "It might take a while for everybody to acclimate to the change for a bit."
The decision to close congregate dining came from the Aging and Disability Resource Center of the North which manages the congregate sites. The agency works closely with Iron County Health Department and UW Extension, two agencies that are monitoring developments of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
The health and safety of the staff, volunteers, program participants and community is a priority, said Trista Olson, director of Hurley Senior Center, Inc. on the dining hall closing announcement. Older adults and individuals with serious chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, are at increased risk of getting sick from the illness.
Related closings at least through April 10 include the Strong Bodies programs and after dinner activities such as cards and bingo. The senior and disabled transportation services to casinos and other recreational activities are also canceled but transit for medical appointments will continue.
