Are you trying to juggle kids, a career AND caring for an aging loved one? Let the Area Agency on Aging 8 help. A free in-home consultation can direct you to caregiving services for a loved one.
Simply call the Area Agency on Aging at 1-800-331-2644! Help at home for aging parents is just a phone call away. We can help YOU help the ones you love!
Whether you need immediate assistance or simply want to start a long-term care plan for you or a loved one, we can help.
The Area Agency on Aging administers programs and also refers to a wide variety of regional offerings all with the goal of helping older adults stay in their homes - where they tell us they want to be.
Check out the new AAA8 Video and please "Share" it with others who need to know about our programs and services. Seniors Enjoy Shopping Farmers Markets
Seniors are enjoying fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers' markets around the region this summer as part of the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP). AAA8 caught up with a few shopper at the market in Monroe County.
At nearly 91 years old, Lola Geldmacher enjoys fresh potatoes and more each week when she comes with her friend Arlene Winland who drives them.
"My name Geldmacher means money-maker, but I just don't seem to have a lot of that any more. This program is just a great help to me," said Lola.
Becky and Doug King who live on a fixed income like the market too.
"We really appreciate the coupons," said Becky King. "It is a great help when you have a limited budget."
The program provides income-eligible senior citizens with special coupons worth $50 to enjoy locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Seniors Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) is a USDA and Ohio Department of Aging program for income-eligible seniors. Grant funding is limited and coupons were distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. There are currently waiting lists in all of the 8-counties served by AAA8. The program will end Oct. 31.
"The program benefits local seniors and local farmers," said Buckeye Hills Asst. Exec Dir. & AAA8 Director Rick Hindman. "We continue to advocate to state and federal legislators for additional funding for the program because year over year we have waiting lists and more could be served if additional resources were available."
An 80-year-old retired truck driver, Richard Bland said it best, "This program really helps people and they enjoy being able to get farm-market-fresh goods." He added, have a good day and keep up the good work!
Regional Care Transitions Program Learns National Best Practices
Leaders from the Community-Based Care Transitions Program (CCTP) sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the region met last month with counterparts from 101 programs across the nation to share best practices.
Locally, the unique multi-county, multi-hospital collaborative effort among five hospitals and three Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) is designed to make the transition from the hospital to another setting as seamless as possible.
The program provides transition assistance to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries who are discharged from one of the five partnering hospitals. It works to further reduce unnecessary readmissions and achieve a reduction in Medicare costs. This program focuses directly on improved patient outcomes such as reduced readmission to hospitals; decreased emergency department visits; discharging patients to the most appropriate, cost effective setting and streamlining access to quality long-term services and support.
"Care Transitions is a program that has been tested in other states and proven to be effective in helping prevent folks from returning to the hospital," said AAA8 Director Rick Hindman. "We are very excited about the regional partnerships it is creating across health systems serving the region."
"There is an obvious underlying goal to reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions and reduce Medicare costs, but more importantly, the goal is to empower people to be an active part of their health care. It provides proven supports for individuals to help them heal," added Hindman.
Since its inception, leaders from are hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies have met to enhance or create methods and supports for patients to learn more about their illness and healthcare needs as well as encourage patients to ask questions, to know their medications, and to communicate and follow up with their doctors.
The program has brought about systematic changes with a renewed focus on the individual patient. Education tools have been developed, additional resources have been committed to support discharge planning and enhanced communication methods between practitioners and facilities have also supported the program.
AAA nurses and social workers will provide the evidence-based Care Transition Intervention (CTISM) program developed by Eric A. Coleman, MD, MPH at the University of Colorado, Denver Health Science Center. This consumer-centered intervention tool is designed to improve quality and contain costs for individuals with complex care needs as they transition across settings specifically from the acute setting back to the home and community.
In the Southern Ohio initiative, participating Area Agencies on Aging include Buckeye Hills AAA8 - Southeast Ohio (Marietta) as the lead agency, AAA6 - Central Ohio (Columbus) and AAA7 - Southern Ohio (Rio Grande). The hospital partners include Fairfield Medical Center (Lancaster), Memorial Health Systems (Marietta), Adena Regional Medical Center (Chillicothe), Holzer Medical Center (Gallipolis) and the Southern Ohio Medical Center (Portsmouth). Learn more at http://www.areaagency8.org/services/care-transitions.