Senior Beat
by Carol Higgins Taylor
Special to The Weekly
Have you ever had this experience? You need some help, could be anything from heat assistance to handicapped accessible transportation to finding an adult day program for a disabled loved one. You’re not really sure who to call, so you get out the phone book and start flipping through pages.
It can be like a scavenger hunt, but usually without the prize at the end. And often people give up
the search in frustration.
Well, the Aging and Disability Resource Center in Maine (ADRCMaine) is available to help. It’s
been around for several years and is designed to improve the awareness of and access to long-term support systems for older adults, adults with disabilities and caregivers, and to make it easier for them to navigate the variety of community services that are available to help support their independence in the community. The ADRC is located at Eastern Area Agency on Aging.
“The ADRC means that these individuals will have one place to call to get help finding the services they need. No longer will they make a variety of calls to different agencies hoping to hit the right one, in the search for help,” said Dyan Walsh, director of family caregiver and community services at EAAA. “The ADRC Maine is able to give people a list of services based on what their exact needs are.”
No doubt having to make only one phone call when help is required is much easier than making
many calls and being passed around from agency to agency. The ADRC was designed to improve the lives of seniors and adults living with disabilities.
But sometimes you may find it hard to fully explain exactly what you need. Problems often have
many facets that go together so breaking it down into specific pieces that need services can be
challenging. ADRC has already thought of that.
“We have trained resource specialists who are able to discern a person’s particular need and then help them,” said Walsh. “We’d also like them to be involved by providing feedback about what services they need.”
EAAA does an annual survey to determine what services are deemed most important to seniors
and their caregivers. What better way to get this information than to simply ask the people who need the services? In the next couple of weeks, you may receive a survey in the mail from EAAA. There are questions about your demographics and about tasks you may have needed help with in the past year; for example, managing medications, transportation, paying for fuel or utilities, help with household chores, understanding Medicare.
The responses to the surveys are completely anonymous. The information gained by EAAA is
critical as they develop their plan of service for the next four years. This is your chance to be heard.
“We want the survey to identify gaps in available services and then we will work to address those gaps,” said Walsh.
ADRC is funded through the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal
Administration on Aging and is being administered by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Aging and Disability Services.
Don’t throw out your phone book, but for a social services referral, call ADRC at EAAA. Help is
just a phone call away.
If you did not receive a survey in the mail but would like to have your opinion heard, call EAAA
and ask to have one sent to you.
And don’t miss the ninth Annual Senior Expo, held this year in partnership with Bangor
Daily News. The event will take place 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, May 22, at the Cross Insurance Center. There will be educational sessions, screenings and more than 100 vendors. As always, admission is free.
Carol Higgins is an advocate for seniors and owns Bryant Street Public Relations, LLC, in Bangor. Email her at seniorbeat@gmail.com.