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Area resident Cathy Shupe was struggling to live at home. She had recently suffered a stroke with right-sided weakness and was finding it difficult to regain her strength to stay safe and independent at home. Cathy was at risk for nursing home placement, though she was hesitant to give up on her dream of remaining at home with her beloved cat, Marmalade. Cathy eventually enrolled in Mountain Empire Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Unfortunately, within two weeks of enrolling, she had several falls and no longer felt safe living at home alone.

As MEOC’s kitchen services manager, the late Ron Maddox helped serve hundreds of thousands of meals to the elderly in need in Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the City of Norton. Maddox was kind and generous. He was also funny, quick witted and had a smile for everyone he encountered. “If you knew Ron, he made you laugh. He was a friend to all,” said MEOC Executive Director Michael Wampler, who knew Maddox since Ron began working at MEOC in 2009 as a transit driver. Maddox passed away on July 26 after battling cancer. When it came time to […]

MEOC Executive Director Michael Wampler (second from right) accepts a $10,000 check for the Mountain Laurel Cancer Support & Resource Center from The Slemp Foundation trustee Nancey Edmonds Smith. Accompanying Smith to present the check on June 21 were son and daughter Jim Smith and Melissa Jensen (far right), also foundation trustees. MEOC Director of Wellness and Insurance Counseling Tiffany Jacobs, who coordinates Mountain Laurel services, is also pictured. The money will buy liquid nutrition supplements for cancer patients and gas gift cards for cancer-related travel. Visit The Slemp Foundation website here to learn more about it.

The 12th Annual Harold Lester Memorial Golf Tournament raised about $12,500 to assist local cancer patients and their families. The June 16 event at Lonesome Pine Country Club in Big Stone Gap benefited the Harold Lester Memorial Fund of the Mountain Laurel Cancer Support and Resource Center. Mountain Empire Older Citizens, Inc., the local Area Agency on Aging serving Lee, Scott, and Wise counties and the City of Norton, operates the center. Nineteen teams participated in the tournament.

METGo!, Mountain Empire Transit’s free on-demand bus service in the Wise-Norton area, has received the 2023 First Place Best Practices Award from the Virginia Commonwealth Council on Aging. The 24-member CCOA advises the governor and General Assembly on aging-related issues. The award, which includes a $5,500 cash prize, was judged on criteria including community impact, potential for replication, innovation, outcomes and promotion of aging in the community.

Mountain Empire Transit earned the top team award for the third consecutive year at the annual Community Transportation Association of Virginia’s Paratransit Roadeo. The team has won the competition’s top honor for eight of the past 10 years.

Mountain Empire Older Citizens is accepting applications for the 2023 Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program from those at least age 60 in Wise County and the City of Norton. Recipients must be at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level. For a one-person household, the monthly income limit is $2,248; for a two-person household, it is $3,040.

A friend asked Lee County resident Dorothy “Dot” Carter (pictured above, second from right) for a simple favor about 35 years ago: Would Carter walk in her place at the Mountain Empire Older Citizens Walkathon? Carter was happy to help. She went to the Walkathon, which raises money for a program that provides emergency heating assistance to older adults in Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the City of Norton, and fulfilled her friend’s commitment to participate.

Does a good family health history, consistent exercise and a healthy diet make colorectal cancer screenings unnecessary? Judy Willis thought so, but she was proved wrong. In her role as director of care coordination at Mountain Empire Older Citizens, Inc., Willis promotes cancer screenings as a presenter of Understanding Cancer workshops, which provide education on cancer prevention, screenings, treatment and resources to groups and individuals in the community. She also encourages her friends and family to get screened.