Senior Life Elko Edition December 2020

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Elko Edition Rea Reaching ch Elkhart, Kosciusko, Noble And LaGrange Counties Vol. 33, No. 10

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For many Elkhart County families, 2020’s holiday celebrations will be very different from any other in memory. Some of the most affected will be seniors. For 45 years, Council on Aging of Elkhart County has been one of the only nonproďŹ t organizations dedicated solely to the needs of the county’s seniors and, like everyone else, COA has been forced to adapt to the vexing problems posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those adaptations is a new program, Caring Connections, dedicated to simply calling seniors one to three times per week, depending on the need. “Last year was our agency’s best year ever in servicing the most seniors in our history,â€? exclaimed CEO David Toney. “And remember that was while we were ďŹ ghting COVID, which makes it even more impressive.â€? For example, COA’s activity center, which normally saw almost 70 visitors on Wednesdays and Thursdays has been closed since mid-March. However, even as COA is seeing an increased need, the second spike in COVID cases has led to a shortage of

$ <($5 /,.( 12 27+(5 Âł )URP OHIW WR ULJKW DUH &RXQFLO RQ $JLQJ RI (ONKDUW &RXQW\ RIĂ€FHUV 'DYLG 7RQH\ &(2 7LQD )UDOH\ &)2 DQG .HQGUD 1RZDN WUDQVSRUWDWLRQ PDQDJHU $FFRUGLQJ WR 7RQH\ LQ WKH Ă€VFDO \HDU &2$ H[SHULHQFHG WKH KLJKHVW GHPDQG RI LWV \HDUV LQ VSLWH RI LWV DFWLYLW\ FHQWHU EHLQJ VKXW GRZQ VLQFH 0DUFK GXH WR &29,' ´,W¡V D VWUDQJH \HDU ‌ OLNH QR RWKHU Âľ KH VDLG &2$ DOVR NLFNHG RII D QHZ SURJUDP &DULQJ &RQQHFWLRQV WR VWD\ LQ WRXFK ZLWK FOLHQWV LQ WKH FRPLQJ PRQWKV 3KRWR SURYLGHG volunteers due to fears of infection. At the time of this writing, Elkhart County was third in the state for COVID cases. Caring Connections, on the other hand, is ďŹ nding enthusiastic volunteers because it can be done by phone. The goal of Caring Connections is simply to help keep seniors spirits up, an antidote to the negativity so often found in the media. “They can reminisce, tell stories and, at the same time, we can make sure they feel comfortable,â€? said Toney. “When we were kids they held our hand. Now we’re trying to return the favor.â€? Though the activity center is closed, COA’s other two main services, transportation and in-home services, are already surpassing the recordbreaking activities of the 2019-2020 ďŹ scal year. And a quick look at some statistics gives an insight into the

needs COA meets. Particularly applicable to Caring Connections is the fact only around 30% of COA clients have family in the county. “That surprised me,â€? said Toney. In addition, 56% of COA clients are below poverty level and 96% of clients are dependent on COA ďŹ nancial assistance for transportation, while 99% of those transportation trips are for medical care service. “We are the only organization who will take seniors someplace without money,â€? Toney stated. Toney calls senior transportations COA’s â€œďŹ‚agship program.â€? From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and on a limited basis on Saturdays, drivers trained in CPR and ďŹ rst aid provide transportation to a wide variety of personal care services. During the pandemic, COA’s vans

are regularly sanitized, along with other facilities. These and related precautions have added approximately $40,000 to COA’s bottom line. “Everything is adding up,â€? Toney commented. In-home services provided 7,132 hours of homemaking, attendant and respite care in 2019-2020. Government insurance provided 2,022 hours of service at no fee to clients and Medicaid supported 3,881 service hours. “We cater to them,â€? said Toney. “We clean, cook, go shopping and provide companionship ‌ They’re not watching TV when we’re with them.â€? However, volunteers are currently harder to ďŹ nd even as demand increases. “Its a strange year ‌ like no other,â€? concluded Toney. “It’s taking us somewhere we’ve never been.â€? For information, to request services or to volunteer, visit www.elkhartcoa. org.

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