Judy Kramer
County Reporter
Harbor Village, located at 17571 N. Dam Access Road in Warsaw, celebrated its tenth anniversary on May 18 with an open house, and received a Proclamation signed by Warsaw Mayor Eddie Simons in honor of the event. The celebration took place from 9 A.M. to 2 P.M. with presentations, a meatloaf lunch, information booths, exercise classes, bingo, and blood pressure checks. The facility is home to the Warsaw Senior Center/Village Café, Katy Trail Community Health, and Compass Health Network.
Marge Heatherington, Senior Center Coordinator, took care of much of the planning and hosted displays and information booths provided by Americorps Seniors, Care Manager Dee Locke, Family Caregiver Coordinator Tammy Wilkey and other leaders of Care Connection for Aging Services, Katy Trail, and Compass Health.
“My main focus is to get the word out about what we are all about,” said Hetherington. “I want people to know that they can come here and get what they need.”
Harbor Village opened its doors in October 2013 and 150 people attended its Open House the next month on November 1. Visitors included Benton County residents as well as out-of-towners, and many dignitaries such as Missouri State Senator Mike Parson (now governor), State Representative Warren Love, and Mayor Eddie Simons. Mike Mais, Chairman of the Harbor Village Board of Directors addressed the assembly thanking supporters and contributors who made the Harbor Village dream a reality. Tours were conducted and the most popular place was the dining area.
One of the residents attending the first open house, Bob Hare, was quoted as saying “It is the best thing that has happened in this area…I come here once or twice a week because there is good fellowship and games. Another visitor, Dani Stanton, said that she came to see how her mom might benefit from the facility and stated “It is close by and convenient for Mom, and she might like to use the computer lab and cafeteria services. My niece lives with my mom and has two small children who might also benefit from the services offered by Harbor Village. It is good to have all ages together. That way grandparents can be with their grandchildren at the same place.”
“The intent of Harbor Village was for all of us to be in place,” said Chris Steward, CEO of Katy Trail Community Trail. “Compass and Katy Trail help and work with the Senior Center to provide screenings to try and coordinate help at home. We started providing primary care and dental care from the start, and now provide behavioral health in partnership with primary care. We have contracted with Health Tran to provide transportation for folks who need rides to healthcare, or who want just to come to Harbor Village. We provide some funding so volunteer drivers can be reimbursed for mileage. We help people from littles to senior citizens as well as local prisoners. Our plans are to address more of the social drivers of health. Now our organization is trying to help people who have barriers such as transportation, housing, literacy, and food, which can keep them from achieving optimal health. We are starting to do an HIV protection program and are starting with one provider at a time to prevent HIV. Benton County has the highest incident of HIV out of all the 13 counties Katy Trail serves. We also deliver health care in a mobile unit once a week to the Warsaw School District and have a licensed social worker with an office in one of the schools.
Kay Fair, Public Information Officer of Care Connection for Aging Services, said that the organization has expanded its services in programming and care management. She said that the number of meals has expanded at the Senior Center, many that are home delivered to people who are homebound. The Senior Center is part of Care Connection where a variety of services are offered including nutrition, care management, family caregiver support, in-home services, health education, fitness, recreation, disease management, falls prevention, long-term care ombudsman program, benefits counseling and Medicare information and counseling, as well as enrollment assistance in the Health Insurance Marketplace. Many classes are held at the center, as well as special events.
“At this point we are trying to make the Senior Center a place to have a good meal and maybe stay for bingo or other activities,” said Fair. “The senior housing located near Harbor Village is also a great service and we hope there will be more housing in the future. Physical fitness is offered and if it is hard for someone to stand up and do exercises, they can sit down and still exercise leg muscles. I sat in on the Joint Friendly Exercise class during the Open House on May 18 and the ladies were having the best time. They were laughing and singing which is what they need – socialization.”
Fair said that the Warsaw senior center ranks among the nicest facilities in the counties in West Central Missouri served by Care Connection, and said at the Village Café, the food is good. The biggest draw is fried chicken on Fridays when as many as 120 people show up for lunch. The Warm House, in Warsaw, is partnering with the center to provide this end of the week meal.
In 1977, the senior center operated in Warsaw on 704 State Street. In 1979 it moved to 1050 Jackson Street in a strip mall. The center then moved to Gunstock, near a small park in 2012 before becoming part of Harbor Village.
Since the move to its current location, the senior center has been able to serve more seniors because of building space and a larger kitchen. In 2012 the center served about 22,500 meals. That number increased to about 32,000 in FY 2023.
The Senior Center is open five days a week. Many of its exercise and wellness programs are offered on Zoom as well as at the center. To find out more, call the center at 660-438-3300 or email warsaw@goaging.org.
