By Abigail Allen

Peggy Dimmick has worked at Katy's Fussell Senior Center for 13 years, but she has made helping senior citizens her job since she was 24.

For 20 years, she worked as a nurse then transitioned into administration for a nursing home after getting her degree in health care administration from what was then Southwest Texas University, now Texas State University. Dimmick began working with the senior center in 2002 and now is director of social services.

"I want to provide the seniors with programs and activities that stimulate their hearts, minds and their physical well-being and to encourage them to maintain an independent, productive life," Dimmick said.

Katy has seen an increase in the number of senior citizens in recent years.

"Our senior population is growing," she said. "A lot of this is due to the baby boomers. In 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau gave a report that said the baby boomers are made up of people who are born between 1946 and 1965. They'll be turning 65 for the next 18 years."

The center offers activities and chances to socialize, but it does not offer meals. However, people age 60 or older who qualify and who live within Fort Bend County can go to the Woodsland Park and Community Center for a warm meal Monday through Friday.

Dimmick said knowing that first responders are available and dependable is important to senior citizens.

"They're right on top of things: the police, fire and emergency medical services departments," she said. "They're 24/7. They're trained professionals, and they care and value the overall well-being of our seniors. If needed, the seniors can rest assured they're going to be there for them, you know, promptly."

Dimmick, a senior citizen herself, lives in the Katy area with her husband, George. The couple has five grown children and five grandchildren who range in age from 9 to 24.

Is Katy a good place for senior citizens?

Absolutely. I think there are a lot of seniors who are moving to Katy, for one reason or another. Their children and grandchildren are here, some of them are moving back to retire, some of them have said they move here because the cost of living is less than where they were living, speaking of Florida, California areas. And we're here. The senior citizen center is here.

What is Katy doing to attract more senior citizens to the city?

I don't know if it's an attraction per say, but in 2012, we moved into this center. It's a 6,000-square-foot senior citizen center. We have scheduled activities for mature, active adults. We take trips, we have all kinds of games and they're done here at the center as seniors socialize. Our facility is not something that they're just going to come in and sit. We're not a day center, we're not a medical facility, but we are geared for seniors who want to have a social life with seniors their own age. We have wonderful, state-of-the-art medical facilities. In seniors, the older you get, it helps you to be a little bit more secure whenever you have your medical needs met and these facilities are within driving distance without having to drive, you know, all the way into Houston.

What is the most pressing need for the city's senior citizens?

Transportation sometimes can be a challenge, like it is all over our nation right now for seniors, especially those who are living in rural areas. Transportation to medical appointments—or even to a senior center, grocery shopping, the pharmacy, doctors—all of those things are important. And sometimes the children have their own lives, and they may not be able to be there to take parents to these different places that they might have appointments at or whatever the need is and why they have to get there.

What is the best thing Katy offers senior citizens?

We are—our senior citizens center. What can I say about us? We have a terrific center. We're centrally located. I've heard people say it's a home away from home. If you're a senior citizen who wants to—we don't want you sitting at home by yourself. We want the seniors to be active in our community. Actually, we have just a great schedule of activities.

What is the one area Katy needs to work on to help its senior citizens?

I think that we're providing about the best service that a senior could ask for. We are not a day care center ... we've had a medical-facility type day cares, you know, for ... adults who are not independent adults, and I think that one of the things that happened was [it] did not have enough seniors so [it] could stay here in this area. This has been a few years back. ... That might be something that I would say would be, not a need, necessarily, for Katy, the city of Katy to provide, but someone might want to come in and do that one day.

Fussell Senior Center, 5370 E. Fifth St., Katy, 281-391-4837, www.cityofkaty.com