But the petition signed by more than 20 seniors led the city to keep blood pressure screening at Town & Country, according to Mary Azbill, Kettering’s community information manager.
“The petition prompted the city to establish a plan for seniors who walk to nearby Town & Country each week for services such as blood pressure screenings,” Azbill said in an email.
“As we continue to develop and enhance senior services being offered from the government center, we will plan accordingly, which might mean providing transportation to the government center for those who need it.”
The Kettering Connection is moving to the Fraze Fanfare Store, Azbill said. The Kettering Connection will be open Thursdays from 8-11 a.m. starting this week. All other appointments will be made with Natalie Storms at the government center at 937-296-3356, she added.
The lease on the space the Kettering Connection has occupied ended in May and the city continued to rent on a month-to-moth basis, said Kettering Assistant City Manager Steve Bergstressser.
The city’s decision follows neighborhood resident Sally Carls telling city council recently that moving senior services from the shopping center would create “a barrier for older adults who live” nearby.
The weekly “blood pressure clinic within walking distance while you’re shopping at the center is a plus for seniors,” Carls said.
Kettering Mayor Peggy Lehner told Carls “we’re looking if there’s any feasibility at offering blood pressure checks in a way that people can access them. We know that’s important.”
The Town & Country location “allows many of us an accessible place where we can get our blood pressure monitored while we also shop for groceries and other items,” the petition states. “Also, there are seniors who no longer drive or don’t have transportation.”
The petition asked the city to “reconsider keeping this valuable service … especially for Kettering seniors as a way of maintaining our health.”
Kettering’s estimated 57,400 residents include nearly as many people 65 or older (18.4%) as it does under 18 (21.4%), according to recent U.S. Census figures. In 2000, 18.3% of the city’s residents were 65 and older while 24.5% were 19 and under, data shows.
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