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Healthy aging center to hold virtual town hall on COVID-19 for seniors
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Gainesville's Big Lots location on Browns Bridge Road has signs posted Monday, March 23, 2020, telling customers the first hour of each business day is for senior citizen shoppers only. - photo by Scott Rogers

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Older adults seeking information related to COVID-19 will have the perfect opportunity to ask questions next week. On Tuesday, May 19, at 2:30 p.m. the University of North Georgia’s Center for Healthy Aging will be hosting a virtual town hall meeting, featuring a panel of three experts prepared to answer a host of questions submitted by the senior community.

“The Center for Healthy Aging was created to provide a community-based center to offer education and services to our older adult community,” said Pamela Elfenbein, director of the center. “This is just one way we’ve found to stay in alignment with our mission.”

Elfenbein said the town hall was originally planned to accommodate around 100 participants, but interest has been much greater than expected. By Thursday afternoon, Elfenbein said she had already received over 70 questions from older adults in the area. 

She expects participants to tune in from all around North Georgia. 

“We’re hoping that community members in our region will consider this their opportunity to listen to experts and ask questions,” Elfenbein said.

The panel for the town hall will be manned by Abby Cox, director of the Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services, Pat Freeman, CEO of Legacy Link — an area agency on aging — and Pam Clayton, vice president of quality advancement and regulatory affairs for the Georgia Healthcare Association. 

The panel will answer questions on everything from health and sanitation recommendations for older adults to the economic and policy effects of COVID-19. 

“The goals at the Center for Healthy Aging are wellness and disease prevention, leadership and partnerships, to foster an environment for healthy aging and to impact healthy aging in older adults through innovative programming,” Elfenbein said. “This meets all of the missions and goals of the center.” 

Participants can tune in to the event through the link provided on the Center for Healthy Aging’s website. Questions can be submitted via email both before and during the event at healthyaging@ung.edu.