Live from your public media studios wrva presents Keyone addition health a public affairs program that goes beyond the headlines to address issues in north eastern and Central Pennsylvania This is Keystone additionw moderator tanya Vertitus Hello and welcome to Keystone addition health Vertitus Thank you additionw for joining us For many older adults accessing health care they need Has become more difcult Tonight our panel of experts will discuss these issues and what can be done to help But first first wpi is Paul azha has more as we get older any of us need more help managing ourealth but for many older adult accessing health care or the conditions necessary to live healthy lives has become a challenge healthcare can become unaffordable itwenty twenty one The commonwealth fund found wanted 12 older adults in the u s postpone or did not seek necessary care due to cost a countries compounded with costs difficulty accessing transportation or stable housing can also in half the overall well-being of older adults or Keystone addition health 'm Paul the czar joining us tonight We had a sarah but ah director of community health and ageing aunited neighborhood centers and the epa mike older adults isolation manager for united way counties and sarahkawanna and we macdonald acting director of the lackawanna county area agency on aging Thank you all for being here Thank you So sarah I'd like to ask you about that area agency on aging it's a little bit of a tongue twister I tend to think of you all is being in a home services Would that be correct and that all of our services are in home we do assess furlong turk term care placement but our goal is always to start by providing services services in the community and in the homes in the least restrictive environment for an older adults and sarah You are managing a lot of different scene senior center So I think you can see is being kind of the social service provider yes absolutely We offer programs activities education for seniors over 60 in the community and partner very closely with the area agency on aging who provides a large sum of our funds for those programs and Can you tell us a little bit about the adult isolation program Most importantly I know you mentioned it's a pilot No i'm just kind of curious understand why it was developed Yeah so it was it was developed to address older don't lie solution in our community which as many people not to the past past three years has become increasingly popular outside of that it's always been an issue but you know older adults have been asked to stay in their home they've been asked to not into a phone call They've been asked to avoid public situations overall so if somebody was isolated The issue has only gotten extremely worse and the older adults community that we live in now is pointed in an uproar direction so over the next 10 to 20 years that demographic is going to grow significantly and so we'd like to address the issue of isolation now so we have something in place to combat it you know when it gets larger and we have mentioned already at the older adult population is growing might want to be able to tell us what percentage of the population would be considered systems 60 plus I don't have that sort of came prepared I don't have that statistic either But I know it is a large amount of our population I know our office is extremely busy We provide services like in home and community services to a large number of people like I know the average caseload size for a caseworker state agency is 70 So that that's high Yeah yeah And what services do feel that these older adults need st if there's one thing that rises to the top in-home meals always rises to the top for our agency even at times where there's a will waiting list due to funding the in-home meals are always prioritized we contract with meals on wheels to to do that right now And that's you know that's what we've identified as our our priority and you're actually providing meals in the centres as well We do at each of our locations we provide a free lunch every day We also provide take home frozen meals for people who maybe have transportation barriers and can't come in every day but still could use those five meals for the week so they can pick up five frozen meals at the beginning of the week and be set with their lunch until friday and can anyone access those services is there in the eligibility criteria really just the eligibility is for people who are sixteen over We don't have any sort of income eligibility we want to serve seniors and if they're coming to us for whether it's meals activities are both where we're welcoming And how are you actually reaching seniors because I feel like a lot of this service services that you all shared with me I was not familiar with So i'm wondering wondering how many people may be kind of like sliding through the gaps good question I think that's again why why these programs are being created is there's there's a lot of gaps as a lot of holes and it takes a lot more than one organization to fill and so that's what we're doing now in terms of our navigation program is kind of finding those gaps finding those services that are missing or just not complete yet and working with the area agency on aging and with you and see to kind of fill those gaps but it's not as easy as just saying all we need this Or we essentially knows what's missing is just how do we get to the point where we can fill the gap if it's not 100 percent but at least 50 percent Can you explain a little navigation program works Yeah absolutely so as you said it isn't a pilot stage and essentially from start to finish We work with an organization area agents on aging who will perform a very minor screening for an older adults to identify whether or not they are at risk or isolation or already isolated if that individual does pose a higher threat they'll be referred over to the united way where we have navigators on staff and now are navigators are 60 and older They're part of our rsvp program at united way of so they're all volunteers most of whom have been there for a while And so once they receive the referral they'll reach out to the individual perform another screening a little more in-depth just to get a little better understanding of what it is they're going through what it is that we can help with and if we can connect them at all and so once that conversation is had they build somewhat of a rapport they'll do a little research on their end after finding out okay here's where I think they can use help And here's what we can help them to connect to and so they'll reach back out to the individual and try to make those if those bridge that gap organization itself and the referral because like you said there's a lot of organizations and programs that a lot of folks don't know exists and that's just one hurdle The other hurdle is you know it exists but you don't want to reach out because you're apprehensive doing things by yourself is scary at any age doesn't matter how old you are how young you are being the new kidney classes never fun and so the navigation program is really there to bridge that gap and be that like first step toward getting to that referral or to that organization whatever it may be people dealing with health issues are often told to advocate for themselves in the medical system wdia one person who did that And now tries to advocate for others well maneuvers herald cameron and I am by name association the people's advocate in the voice or people who need a boys or people will have a voice but don't know how to use it My career was sales and marketing however that took an an abrupt change in 2006 having to diagnose for two two brain tumors I had advocate for myself to get the help the carrot the benefits what I needed I do want to say I went to a period depression I went through a period of anxiety a whole miller of emotions which medications helped with you are what you think Keep thinking down depressed life sucks things you said that's that's what you get yet However if you start to change the way you think you'll start to change the way you feel And as I learned was successful other people's that we've been saying hey I got a problem Can can you help So what I do is I go to the top All right of the ceo of the cfo whoever is about Nice it could be a person that needs medical care and can't get it It could be a person that needs benefits they don't have money they lost your job The key is you go to the right people with the right attitude you present correct information that's irrefutable and you ask the right questions What are you going to do to help The money is there The resources are there Why do people have to go through that to get what they should have gotten in the first place I don't understand it That's why we see on the news what we see happening If it doesn't break your heart The failure of people on the systems that should be helping people if i'm emotional you better believe I am I love helping these people there doctors whoever if they would have the information so on the way out of the office Here's a sheet or two With phone numbers not web sites that a lot of people are elderly I'm one of smart phone with a dumb guy A lot of weight technology Yeah just very simple information that says you have this problem Call this number That would be a big help minus don't give up jumped quit You make another phone call you knock on another door you are greatly love somebody out there loves you I believe fight for yourself and you need help Yeah yeah that was a great story from the herald obviously his experience with your agencies has given him more meaning for his life I know that we talked a little bit about the navigator is that work at the senior centers I would love it if you could share some of what they do but then also some of your programs because I believe that's adding quality of life for older adults We talked a little bit about social determinants of health and how you're trying to cover all of those buckets So we were seeing the same thing that harold with seeing people were going to their medical appointments and and you know the physicians often have a 10 minute timeslot that you have to kind of squeeze in all your questions and all your comprehension into that those 10 minutes and we were finding that people were leaving not understanding their diagnoses not understanding their list of medications and then from a social service standpoint we were seeing that maybe they also couldn't afford the medications They didn't have transportation to the pharmacy to fill those medications and you know how motivated as a person to take medication they can't afford for a health care condition that they don't understand So we have health navigators as part of our older adults team to support seniors in taking control of their health managing their chronic illnesses understanding their chronic illnesses are health navigators will often go with them too appointments to make sure that they have the time and the space to ask the questions of the provider We also make sure that their access in the specialist care that they need the preventative care behavioral health providers that sometimes it's hard for seniors to navigate that that world in health care so we really want to see them take control of their their own needs for their health I know that there is the p a many program which is not your area of expertise but it helps with some of these issues and helping people understand what their medicare options are Can you talk a little bit about that especially how people can get involved so that they can get out Yeah absolutely So the permitted program is really just an unbiased insurance counseling right they're not brokers are not selling you insurance It's just an opportunity for you to come in and learn about what options you have and its simplest calling us and shuddering an appointment it's really that easy And i've watched hundreds of people leave We better off than they came in there because you know dealing with brokers can be really tough and again just to your point There's a lot of misunderstanding is words that are thrown around that are just I can't comprehend them so I can't imagine that somebody who is fairly new to it can So again just as easy as calling making an appointment We do have a specific time frames throughout the year where there's like an open enrollment season but getting counseling can be done at any given point point sarah We've been talking about caring for older adults that we now have this epidemic will say older adults caring for grandchildren and I knew that you have some programs to help with the grandparents who are raising grandchildren we do our caregiver support program has a grandparent caregiver support program built into it So if you're a grandparent and your provide you know you're raising your grandchild We have services to the area agency on aging that can that can help it can help with respect it can help pay for first look at things like clothing summer camps There's usually like a six hundred dollars a month cap too like what you could spend but everybody has different needs so the service plans are different That we also have through the grandparent caregiver support program we have ah support group it's called past parents a second time we work we contract with outreach for community and empowerment ta ta runner support group I'm really really proud to say it's like one of the most successful support groups I think we have in the county we have about fifteen grandparents that that come in a tent and bring you can bring your grandchildren with you on a regular basis that runs once a month month at the troop civic center and you know we're always looking for new members and ways to reach new people so thank you And then you also have a caregivers group to save her people who are actually caring for older adults yes So that's the caregiver support program and it's actually a service provided that two older adults but the arc client base is caregivers so that's the same through the same program the caregiver support program our numbers over the past 10 years have have doubled in this program There's definitely a need for it So we're always looking if you're already providing care to somebody It's not a supplemental service it's it's it's not a service to replace what you're doing It's a supplemental service and it provides reimbursement for things that you're probably already paying for Yeah I would imagine those A lot of people who are caring for older parents and especially if you're an only child And now you have this extra added responsibility having a support network like that is probably the Yeah and then you're centers where people can leave their house if their mobile to do so And you offer all different sorts of programs can you talk a little bit about some of those programs share we have fitness classes such as yoga taichi we have yoga for all levels so we have chair yoga as well as matt yoga fitness We have chair exercise and a pretty robust exercise and aerobics class We have strength training as well We have some really amazing art classes that are led by professional artists in the area and actually we partner with the area agency on aging to offer an art class for caregivers some caregivers attend just on their own as something to have just for themselves and some caregivers attend with their care recipient because that relationship is one that can often become very strange So it's kind of something creative that people can do together and restrengthen that relationship we have tons of educational programs we have presenters from the community come in to talk about physical health behavioral health fall risk prevention chronic disease management nutrition we have pet therapy that travels throughout the center We have actually at one of our sites in carbondale our fallbrook healthy aging campus We have a brand new golf simulator which we are booked every day that we have to offer that so that's really exciting too We're always looking for new activities to offer that we've not thought about before because we're always looking to meet new people that we've not met before How many locations are you talking about So we have three main locations are hillside healthy agent campus and clark summit are often oppenheim campus in scranton and fallbrook campus in carbondale those locations are open Monday through friday full time We also have to satellite locations one in jessup are mid valley satellite site that's open two days a week and then in jefferson township we have activities one day a week there And i'm thinking about herald again which made me think about your friendly color program I believe it's called tell us a little bit about that And also how people can volunteer Yeah absolutely And speaking of therapy I'd love to have him as an average just like the perfect so yeah you know we talked about earlier that you know through this by the program we're starting to kind of on earth other opportunities that are branching out from it One of them being what we noticed was that individuals who may not have been isolated are still lonely and there's a difference between the two right but often they're they're mascots same thing and so for those individuals that are not really seeking any services or support groups or anything like that The friendly call the program is just an opportunity for volunteers volunteers to give them a call once a week and just touch base Right So a lot of people don't have that support system to just call and say hey how are you and so right now that's that's somewhat of a pilot as well We do have a cup of volunteers but it's as easy is stepping down to the office given us a call working with our rsvp director to get you signed up and you can do it from home which is really cool It doesn't have to be done in in an office It can be but again just a really great way to connect with people without having to go through You know this stringent process of like a screening and worrying about referrals and all that it's just hey we're just gonna check in Yeah area agency on aging Do people have to register and advance for programs I guess I would ask the same question the senior centers as well or can people just show up Well anybody could show up to two our office Eight We're open eight thirty to for 30 monday through friday friday but most people contact us first by telephone and we have our care managers are changed and information and referral so they you know they provide a lot of that service just over the phone or you know in person if they come to our our office but there is a registration process and first services that we require an assessment be completed and the assessments include health information and financial information that's just part of the state requirements So that's the process that we have to go through and then we develop care plans based on the needs that are identified in the assessments and and that our location really the only thing we like to have a day heads up would be if someone wanted the lunch just so we can order enough but for any of the activities people are and we would do a quick intake just to have a record of the person in our system so that we can contact them for maybe additional services they would be eligible for but we have people I just was at our oppenheim location today and had someone walking by looking up and saying what is this place What do you do in there so we have people walk in all the time I will say two that's been a great outsource for or navigators two point people to the healthy edgy campuses and they love them I myself got to sit in on bingo and a golf simulated and lunch at the barber campus and it was tough to leave so so knowing having been there and knowing that these places are exactly what they sound like it's it's really awesome and again just a really really great resource for our navigators to appoint people to make you proud share your success story of the referral we sent to you from the aging to the navigator that ended up connecting right with the senior center Yeah yeah yeah yeah there was an individual who who has a hard time hearing nobody is a little bit of memory loss as well was having car troubles just really just not in the greatest position to be in but work with our navigators consistently for a couple of weeks it wasn't just a one call okay here's what you need and took a couple of weeks ago again they build that rapport and they really get to know the individual in terms of like what they're looking for and what it is they can help with and after a couple of weeks of consistent phone call we agree with a hook him up with the oppenheim center in scranton and he loves it absolutely loves that he said he was there a couple of times a week before we that was really cool and in addition to that too He was really interesting volunteer with you know the way and so again we talked earlier about there's two sides to the volunteer work right there's there's decide where you're helping somebody and then there's the side where you're also getting the benefit from volunteering and helping somebody so I like this kind of full circle process someone comes in for service and then ends at providing a service for someone else do you will provide transportation and that that's something i've been thinking about because not everyone is able to drive maybe or has a cover our area agency on aging partners with colts and they have a shared right program and they they have their own like registration process but if you're a 60 I think it's sixty five ivan older and your registered with them there's no cost to using the transportation and the meals are good I'm just saying you can activities in the meals are great I can vouch for 100 percent Yeah and if someone were interested in the Arts program I for one am pretty tied to the Arts and wanted to do a program for the area agency on aging or the senior centers How would they go about offering their services they can contact me We have people contacting the center's directly contacting me or contacting the agency on aging we all work together to build that network of providers So really anyone at this table they could context So you keep each other on speed dial definite if i'm not there is transportation I think for oppenheim correct I know there's some form of free transportation vehicles right That is through the sheriff bad right Ok That's what I figured navigators and the program coordinators at the healthy agent campus locations can help seniors apply for that And it's a very simple application and really the turnaround time of when you submit it to when they say ok You're ready to be picked up on the van is really only a couple of days so we can help seniors as well ok And if you could just for our viewers share how people can contact you We're done There's an 800 number or short so can contact me directly and my office number is five seven zero three four six six two zero three I'm extension one one one and I would be the person to contact for information about the healthy agent campus locations or our health navigation services our web site is also u n see an epa dawg And you can follow unsee nbpa on facebook as well where we have our calendars of events that each location and she can point you in your direction or do you have specific information well I mean so for volunteers I guess they can call me directly at our office which is five seven zero three for three one two six seven and i'm extension three one one and I can kind of trash You know where they would go in terms of whether it's for medicare it's for volunteering it's somebody who is isolated and they can also visit us on the web at uw elsie dot net and again follow us on facebook and instagram as well for some some up to do it so much I'd like gas for their insights this evening and all of you for joining us on Keystone in addition health I'm teen game Vertitus Have a good evening