Santa Fe County and City of Santa Fe launch April survey to guide senior services
Summary
Santa Fe County and the City of Santa Fe will run a bilingual survey April 8–25, asking residents age 50+ and caregivers about needs such as home-delivered meals, transportation and dementia care; the project is a partnership with UNM's Center for Applied Research and Analysis.
Santa Fe County and the City of Santa Fe will run a countywide senior-services survey from April 8 through April 25 to gather needs and priorities from residents age 50 and older and their caregivers, officials said on a county podcast.
Matilda Byers, administrative program manager for senior services for Santa Fe County, said the survey is intended to help plan services for the next 10 years in partnership with the Center for Applied Research and Analysis at the University of New Mexico. "We will be rolling out the senior survey April 8 through April 25," Byers said.
The survey will be available online at santafeecountynm.gov/seniorsurvey and as a hard copy at senior centers; officials said it will be offered in English and Spanish. The county and city will hold outreach events at senior centers and in community locations, and officials listed a health fair at the county fairgrounds on April 21 and a dance at the fairgrounds on April 24. Officials also said they would do community outreach at shopping malls, grocery stores and McDonald's locations; specific outreach dates and some phrasing in the recording were unclear.
Officials described rising demand for basic services. Manuel Sanchez, City of Santa Fe senior services director, said the two agencies frequently coordinate events and services and that many seniors use both city and county programs. "We communicate all the time... If something comes up, if we have an emergency or something in one of the centers, we're talking to each other to see how we can help each other get through it," Sanchez said.
Matilda Byers and other staff described several service areas with high demand: congregate meals and home-delivered meals for people who cannot travel to sites; transportation to medical appointments, pharmacies and grocery stores; and growing needs related to dementia and Alzheimer's care. "We're receiving calls for new services for seniors who aren't able to prepare a meal, or they don't have a caregiver to prepare that meal for them," Byers said, noting that transportation requests have stretched existing capacity.
The county listed five senior centers where paper surveys and events will be available: Edgewood Senior Center; Chimayó Senior Center; Benny J. Chavez Senior Center; Eldorado (referred to in the recording as "Ed Rancho"); and a site referred to as Ruffina/Rufina (recording phrasing unclear). Officials also said surveys and assistance will be available at the Marietta Gonzales Center and meal sites at Pasatiempo and Luisa.
The University of New Mexico's Center for Applied Research and Analysis will analyze census and survey data to produce a scientifically driven plan, officials said. The podcast emphasized that caregivers' and seniors' direct input is needed so staff do not assume needs without hearing from residents.
Officials encouraged participation during the April 8–25 window and said the county communications team will promote the survey via the county website, social media, radio and the podcast. The county provided the URL santafeecountynm.gov/seniorsurvey as the primary access point.
No formal votes or policy enactments were recorded during the podcast; the segment was an outreach and information presentation.
