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Thoughts from
AAA8 Director:
Rick Hindman
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Celebrating the Value of Family Caregivers
If I asked you to value the economic impact of America's family caregivers providing support to seniors, what dollar amount would you guess? If you thought about that value in terms of America's companies, would you guess that it is approximately as much value as the total sales of Wal-Mart ($450 billion) or the three largest publicly held auto companies (Ford, Toyota and Daimler at $439 million)?
The AARP Public Policy Institute released its report Valuing the Invaluable that addresses the economic value of family caregiving. The report notes that the $450 billion estimate in economic value of unpaid family care vastly exceeds the value of paid home care. Its report estimated that more than 42 million Americans provide care for a family member or friend with a chronic illness or is aged and frail during any given year.
So, in November during National Family Caregivers Month, we pause to take time to thank, support, educate and empower our region's family caregivers. To highlight the important role caregivers play in the everyday lives of those for whom they provide care, The Area Agency on Aging 8 (AAA8) recognizes the tremendous efforts of family caregivers.
Serving as a caregiver for a loved one is both challenging and rewarding. To help caregivers with their challenges and to provide essential resources, the Area Agency on Aging Caregiver Advocacy program is available. The Program recognizes the vital role performed by informal caregivers offering support to the caregiver through a variety of services.
Ohio ranks 6th in the nation in sheer size of its aging population and it continues to grow. According to AARP, nine out of 10 people surveyed prefer to receive long-term care services in their own home or community.
The average cost of in-home care is $12,600 a year or $34.50 a day. In a nursing home, it would be more than $35,000 a year or $153 a day. Home care is cost-effective for many basic health care services. Ohio is working to re-balance spending so that the state spends 50% on home care and 50% on nursing home care.
This unified long-term care approach will help contain costs and deliver care where people say they want it most - in their own homes.
Ohio cannot overlook the importance of the family caregiver. Who are these caregivers?
According to the Ohio Dept. of Aging:
- Approximately 60 percent of family caregivers are women.
- The average caregiver is a 46-year-old woman caring for her widowed mother who does not live with her.
- About 1.4 million children ages 8 to 18 provide care for an adult relative; 72 percent of those care for a parent or grandparent. Fortunately, most in this age group are not the sole caregiver.
- Nearly one in three family caregivers caring for seniors are themselves age 65 or older. Another 15 percent are between the ages of 45 to 54.
The AAA8 offers free long-term care assessments those caregivers support. Information and referral assistance, as well as a variety of caregiver resources are available at the AAA8 office. In addition, the Southeast Ohio Aging and Disability Resource Network (ADRN) has funded and developed the SE Ohio Network of Care web resource - it may be accessed from the AAA8 website at www.areaagency8.org.
Our goal is to give individuals the tools they need to age with dignity and to assist their caregivers in the process. The Network of Care site helps people find the right services at the right time. It is a great resource for folks to find information, resources, and even confidentially manage their personal medical information on the free personal health record.
To learn more about how AAA8 can support caregivers, call 1-800-331-2644.
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 AAA8 Office Host to Sept. Medication Take Back Event
The AAA8 office was a site on Sept. 29 for the Medication Disposal Event. It helped folks dispose of 116 lbs. of unwanted, unused or expired medications safely.
Shown from left are
Gary and Eweyn Worstell, RSVP volunteers; Det Sgt Scott Parks of the Washington County Sheriff's Office and Jody Bullman, MSN, RN, of Marietta Memorial
Hospital at the AAA8 location
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Care Transitions Program Continues Efforts
Across Region
Leaders from the Southern Ohio Community Care Transitions Project met with a workgroup from the Marietta area's post-acute care facilities at the AAA8 office this week to begin conversations about how to partner on developing a standardized
practice related to patient transfer.  Back row from left: Alisa Bond, Homestead Care & Rehab; Beth Acree, Marietta Memorial Hospital; Jane Skeen, LSW, AAA8; Marilyn Snyder, Sunbridge; Gayle Delozer, Marietta Care & Rehab; Denise Shample, Marietta Care & Rehab; Pamela Roff, Heartland of Marietta; MaryAnn Troyanovich, LISW, Marietta Memorial Hospital; Sharlyn Scott, RN, Selby General Hospital and Mindy Cayton, AAA8. Front row from left: Charlene McGrath, Harmar Place Rehab & Extended Care; Stephanie Cleland, Arbors at Marietta; Clay Enslen, Muskingum Valley Nursing & Rehab; Sara Smith, RN; Muskingum Valley Nursing & Rehab; Tricia LaBarre, RN, Heartland of Marietta; and Todd Frasher, Heartland of Marietta. Also present but not shown were Rick Hindman, AAA8 Director and Gwynn Stewart, AAA8.  The program's "transition" coaches also gathered at AAA8 last month for a program training and update. Shown above from left - Front row: AAA6- Sharon Levy; AAA7 - Kay Allbright; AAA8 - Carolyn Ditchendorf; AAA7 - Linda Green and AA7 - Joy Polley Back Row: AAA7 - Connie Montgomery; AAA7 - Kathy Lathey; AAA8 - Kerry Nicholson; AAA8 - Kim Steed and AAA6 - Angie Barker |
Southeast Ohio ADRN Launches New
Community Calendar on Network of Care
The Southeast Ohio Aging & Disability Resource Network is pleased to announce a new regional community calendar option on the new and improved Network of Care Resource.
Accessing state-of-art health library resources and local programs, the site helps people find the right services at the right time. It is also a great resource for folks to find LOCAL information, resources, and even confidentially manage their personal medical information on the free personal health record.
A recent Pew Study about caregivers indicates that eight in ten caregivers (79%) have access to the internet. Of those, 88% look online for health information, outpacing other internet users on every health topic included in the Pew survey, from looking up certain treatments to hospital ratings to end-of-life decisions. "Caregivers use the internet to navigate the frontier of home health care," says Susannah Fox, an associate director of the Pew Internet Project and lead author of the study. "Caregivers not only care for their loved one's physical and emotional needs, but their information needs as well, and the internet is a key resource." To submit events, visit the Southeast Ohio Community Calendar directly from the home page of Network of Care at http://SEOhioADRN.oh.networkofcare.org/aging. Please note: events are uploaded and made "live" to the Network of Care server at 2pm daily. To learn more about SE Ohio ADRN programs and services, call 1-800-331-2644 or visit www.areaagency8.org .The ADRN serves Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry and Washington Counties. |
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 Heating Costs to Rise This Winter: Learn More About Ohio's Home Energy Assistance
Experts estimate that Americans will pay more to heat their homes this winter. According to the Winter Fuels Outlook from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration, fuel prices will be relatively stable, but customers will have to use more energy to keep warm than they did a year ago due to predictions of a colder winter.
Last winter was the warmest on record. This year temperatures are expected to be closer to normal which means a 20% increase for heating oil, 15% for natural gas, 13% for propane and 5% for electricity consumers.
Ohio's Home Energy Assistance Programs (HEAP) are an integral part of the social safety net for Ohio's older citizens. Many older adults with limited incomes rely on this assistance, and would not be able to get through the winter without it. This frail population is extremely vulnerable to temperature extremes; they are the first to succumb to respiratory illnesses and other ills due to freezing temperatures or deadly heat. For them, a lack of resources is a health issue as well as a financial one. Eligibility is shown below:
The number of eligible households applying for home energy assistance in Ohio has grown dramatically in the last four years (from 387,000 in 2008 to more than 457,000 in 2011), and demand is expected to increase this year.
To be eligible for HEAP, a household must have total household income for the last 12 months that is no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Details about what sort of income is countable (e.g., social security disability) and what kinds are excluded (e.g. loan advances from a reverse mortgage) are available online, but advocates are cautioned not to try to pre-determine an individual's potential eligibility or ineligibility, which should always be left to the program administrators.
Social Security Numbers will be required for all household members, regardless of age. The Energy Assistance Application requests documentation of citizenship or resident alien status for all household members, but it will only be required for the primary applicant. Consumers also need to include proof of income for the past 12 months and provide a copy of a recent fuel or utility bill.
For more information on these programs, call toll-free 1-800-282-0880 or visit the HEAP web page For a free copy of the Energy Awareness 2013 calendar, stop by the AAA8 office, while supplies last.
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Nominations Sought for Senior Citizens Hall of Fame
Due to ODA by Nov. 30
Senior Citizens Hall of Fame: The Ohio Department of Aging celebrates outstanding older Ohioans for their achievements and contributions to others; for the roles they play in their communities, state and nation; and for what they do to promote productive and enjoyable lives.
Since 1977, more than 350 individuals have been inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame for contributions toward the benefit of humankind after age 60, or for a continuation of efforts begun before that age.
Please let Gwynn Stewart at AAA8 know if you nominate someone from the AAA8 region by calling 1-800-331-2644 ext. 210 or via email at gstewart@buckeyehills.org.
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 Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Ends Season
As the 2012 season draws to an end, the Kudos for Senior Farmers Market Nutrition coupons keep us remembering the value of the program! This season more than that1,500 seniors across the AAA8 region, who met the eligibility guidelines, received some welcome relief from rising food budgets through the coupons.
"Thankful for this program as I live on a fixed income and fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive. This program made a big difference in eating healthy." - Margaret
"To all who make this program possible, I want to sincerely thank everyone for the wonderful program!! Hope it's available in the years to come! - Karen
"Staff at the Pike St. Witten's Farm Market were very nice, kind and courteous." - Lillie
"I appreciate your coupons very much. They came in handy. Thank you for letting me participate." - Flora
"Thank you for providing me with fresh vegetables. It was a real treat to be able to choose from such a variety. You really do take care of our nutritional needs." - Roseanne
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 AAA8 Housing Program Provides Support to Seniors Staying at Home
Home and community-based services are a solution that helps seniors and taxpayers and significantly reduce the deficit. Ohio has historically been an institutionally biased state that has driven its seniors to costly nursing home care instead of allowing seniors to remain at home and in the community where they want to be. This same strategy costs Ohio taxpayers three times as much for each senior being served.
Over the past two years, the Buckeye Hills Housing program completed 100 home repair projects with funding support from The Ohio Housing Trust Fund: $384,400; USDA Rural Development: $141,574 and the Senior Services Block Grant: $ 24,150. These projects used a variety of state and federal resources to address handicap access issues for clients that had mobility needs and minor home modification to provide safer home environments. Support of USDA Rural Development and Senior Services Block Grant funding for housing rehabilitation programs serving seniors across Appalachia is critical. These housing services are paramount to keeping seniors at home and in the community -where they tell us they want to be.
AAA8 can help eligible residents assess the home for other eligible repairs and develop specifications for repair and bid the project to qualified providers to complete the modifications.
Households served under this activity must be at or below 35 percent of area media income and own their home or have a life estate in the property.
"Grants are available to fund repairs for homeowners who are 60 years of age or older with 35 percent area median income level or less and own their home or have a life estate in the property," said Joe Gage, AAA8 Housing Coordinator. "For residents who qualify monies may be used to assist with the costs associated with necessary minor home repairs, accessibility modifications such as widening doorways, wheelchair ramps, and handicap modifications of a bathroom or kitchen."
For more information, call 1-800-331-2644 or visit www.areaagency8.org. AAA8 serves Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry and Washington Counties.
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