BRIDGEWATER – The Board of Chosen Freeholders recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new senior wellness center that will be located on East Main Street, adjacent to the Adult Day Center.
“We are looking forward to the completion of this brand new Senior Wellness Center for the benefit of all residents, age 60 and above,” said Freeholder Director Patrick Scaglione. “Building next to the Adult Day Center will allow us to form a campus that is focused on helping county residents age in place safely.”
“The goal of our Senior Wellness Centers is to provide lifelong enrichment opportunities not only for the people who participate in our programs, but for the community as well,” said Freeholder Zaborowski. “Our centers are not just places where people can socialize and eat lunch. We offer educational programming, demonstrations, computer labs, intergenerational activities and evidence-based exercise programs for all skill levels.”
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One of the advantages of the new facility is that it will accommodate multiple activities simultaneously, satisfying diverse interests. The 14,000-square-foot Senior Wellness Center will share a driveway entrance with the Adult Day Center. The $5.5 million dollar contract was awarded to KM Construction Corp. The center will include a kitchen, dining room, computer room, boutique, exercise room, activity room, health screening room and a pool table. Completion of the building is expected before the end of 2015.
Once the new building is operational, the Somerset County Office on Aging and Disability Services will close its Raritan and Manville centers, which have been operational since 1975, and encourage people to visit the brand-new facility. The county will continue to operate its other five centers, located in Bernards, Hillsborough, Montgomery, Franklin and Warren.
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The focus of the Office on Aging and Disability Services is to continually plan ahead to determine program needs, develop enhancements to available services and help people remain in the community as long as they can.
Somerset County senior centers offer a wide range of experiences designed for lifelong enrichment in a social and uplifting atmosphere, intended to positively impact overall health. Choices of four lunch menus (with and without meat) are served daily at centers, which are funded in part through the Older Americans Act and the county Board of Chosen Freeholders. Many of the programs and activities are made possible through partnerships, volunteers and the generosity of donors who pay instructor and presentation fees.
For more information, contact the Somerset County Office on Aging and Disability Services at (908) 704-6346 or toll-free at 1-888-747-1122.
CAPTION:
The Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Senior Wellness Center, which will be located adjacent to the Adult Day Center on East Main Street in Bridgewater. Freeholder Director Patrick Scaglione (center) and Freeholder Robert Zaborowski, human services liaison (standing next to Scaglione), led the ceremony. Also participating were, from left to right, Jeanne Perantoni from SSP Architects, Mrs. Joan Biondi on behalf of Assemblyman DiMaio, Office on Aging and Disability Services Executive Director Joanne Fetzko, Bridgewater Councilwoman Christine Rose, Bridgewater Councilman Allen Kurdyla, Nutrition and Wellness Program Administrator Angela Dubivsky and Freeholder Peter S. Palmer.
