Senior Agenda Coalition connects Rhode Islanders with resources
Warwick Beacon
November 5, 2010
by Meg Fraser
If there’s one thing that seniors attending the third annual Senior Conference and Expo could agree upon, it’s that the issues facing aging Americans are not easy.
Presenters throughout the daylong event on Oct. 22, however, said that finding resources can be.
“We have, in Rhode Island, a wonderful array of services out there,” said Kathleen McKeon, the supervisor of Community Services and Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Providence who previously worked for the state’s Department of Elderly Affairs for 31 years.
The expo, which is hosted by the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island, took place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and brought together senior service agencies and businesses specializing in elder care. There were exhibits of various programs, as well as a series of workshops covering such topics as how to have difficult conversations about care for older relatives, spirituality in later years, implementing health care reform and senior employment in a recession.
The keynote address was given by Paul Nathanson, Esq., the executive director of the National Senior Citizens Law Center. He believes that the central component to improving the lives of seniors is to ensure they know about what resources are out there.
“We need to be thinking more about communication strategies,” he said. “We need to concern ourselves more with the grassroots education. It can’t just be for each election cycle.”
Nathanson, also the former president of the American Society on Aging, recalled how his law students at the New Mexico Institute of Public Law overwhelmingly said they supported Social Security, and yet thought it would not be available for them when they became eligible.
“That second part has to be changed,” Nathanson said.
He says many seniors, and the men and women charged with caring for them, do not know how to get started when it comes to creating a long-term care plan.
“They don’t know where to turn to a lot of times,” agreed Jenny Fogel-Miller, who was at the expo representing both Senior Care Concepts and JennaLine. “Because they’re in that sandwich generation, they’ve got their own kids, their jobs and now they’re caring for their parents.”
During her caregivers’ workshop, which she ran along with Elizabeth Morancy, McKeon touched upon the five tools that caregivers should be in tune with.
The two women agreed that, in order for a senior to live independently, they must be armed with information on the resources available. They must also have good primary care and access to meals and an emergency plan. Local resources, such as a city or town’s senior center, are also important tools, especially in terms of socialization.
Most important, McKeon said, is information.
“We call that the hammer in the toolbox,” she said.
She stressed that adult caregivers, or seniors looking to plan for the future, should start by contacting The Point, Rhode Island’s one-stop resource for seniors.
When choosing an agency for senior care, Morancy said that customers must do their homework. Morancy served as the executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association of Rhode Island for 18 years.
In her capacity with the Alzheimer’s Association, she discovered that not all agencies are inspected in the same way. For example, emergency response buttons are not regulated by the Rhode Island Department of Health, but nursing homes are.
“The health department has a tremendous challenge on their hands,” she said.
She also said that caregivers should not confuse in-home care from a licensed CNA with companion care. Companion services are ideal for an adult caregiver who needs respite from their in-home duties and just needs a person to sit and keep their elderly parent company.
“They do a wonderful job, especially for a person who does not need a high level of service,” Morancy said.
At information booths and in breakout workshops, the expo covered financial services for seniors. The Point remains a good starting point, and seniors should not assume they are ineligible just because they don’t qualify for Medicaid. There are other programs, such as DEA co-pay, that can help.
Beyond health care, there were agencies targeting older Rhode Islanders for volunteer purposes like Serve Rhode Island or Rhode Island Mentor Shared Living.
Representatives from Mentor’s programs for children and adults with disabilities were both available to give attendees information on caring for a person in need.
Both said that retired individuals with some extra time on their hands make ideal foster families.
“We see a lot of older children that are really in need of care,” said Program Recruiter Lisa Fenna, who works out of Mentor’s Smithfield office.
While she specializes in care for children through age 18, the Warwick Mentor office places adults with disabilities. The two offices have a 24-hour on-call system that caregivers can turn to with questions or emergencies.
“We give our foster parents a great deal of support,” Fenna said.
As someone who has worked in health care for 15 years, Fogel-Miller said that seniors and their caregivers are faced with a great deal of challenges, but is optimistic for the future. She believes that the resources available and awareness of them are improving.
“I think today’s senior is so much more educated and they’re saying they know what they’re looking for,” she said. “They are really starting to put together plans for the future.”
For more information on senior services in Rhode Island, call The Point at 462-4444 or visit www.ThePointRI.org.
