The Title III Program is administered through the five multi-purpose senior citizen centers and six nutrition sites located throughout FIVCO's couties. Serving as a single point of entry, senior center directors receive daily inquiries regarding the services available in their area. These services include congregate meals, education, friendly visiting, outreach, information and assistance, recreation, transportation, legal assistance, ombudsman, benefits counseling, home delivered meals, homemaker services, personal care and respite. To continue an emphasis on health and wellness, health promotion/disease prevention programs, as well as fitness programs, are also offered.
Services are provided through a network of sub-contractors that includes FIVCO Senior Agency, Northeast Kentucky Lecal Services and Northeast Area Development Council.
The FIVCO Area Development District's Homecare Program is a social program that provides social and nutrition services in the homes of persons 60 years of age or older who have difficulties managing normal daily activities. Eligibility is limited to those individuals that are at risk of entering, or seem likely to enter, a long-term care facility for which in-home services can be more appropriate and cost effective. The average Homecare client is approximately 85 years of age, female, widowed and physically frail. Eligibility for the program and for services is determined by a formal assessment and a reassessment at least every six months. Homecare provides the following in-home services based upon the needs of the individual:
The Homecare program continues to see an increase in the number of Homecare clients that require more intensified case management services. As a result of serving this type of client, case managers are expending more hours coordinating services with a variety of agencies to provide essential services for Homecare clients. The Homecare Program provide case management services for approximately 250 clients.
The FIVCO Area Development District's Adult Day Care/Alzheimer's Respite Programs are community based group programs designed to provide social and related supportive services for older persons and those diagnosed with Alzheimer's or other related disorders. The Alzheimer's In-Center Respite is a program designed to assist, not to replace, the role of the primary caregiver. This program is accomplished by coordinating services with the FIVCO Homecare Program, Title III Program, area hospitals, home health agencies and other agencies or individuals involved in providing quality care and services to senior citizens.
Eligibility for attendance to an Adult Day Care/Alzheimer's Respite Program includes persons who are 60 and over and are:
The FIVCO Area Development District has three Adult Day Care/Alzheimer's Respite Programs:
Northeast Kentucky Legal Services, a division of Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society, Inc. provides the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program Services. The Ombudsman, Angela M. Starks, has assisted residents in long term care facilities by receiving and investigating complaints and problems troubling residents. An advantage by having the program in Legal Services is that the Ombudsman has automatic access to an attorney.
The Ombudsman Advisory Council assists the Ombudsman by reviewing and advising the program on policies and procedures and providing ongoing support and leadership. The Council is composed of individuals who represent the legal and medical fields as well as consumers with family members and friends in long term care facilities. The program has been involved in recruiting and training community members as volunteers. These volunteers, called "friendly visitors," are responsible for spending two hours per week in a nursing facility and visiting with residents especially those who do not have visitors on a regular basis.
In the five counties there are nine nursing facilities, six personal care homes, and eleven family care homes.
Caregivers dedicate, on average, 20 hours per week to provide care for older persons and even more time when the older person has multiple disabilities. Caring for an older person with disabilities can be physically demanding, particularly for older caregivers, who make up half of all caregivers.
More than seven million persons are informal caregivers providing assistance to older persons who live in the community and have at least one limitation on their activities of daily living. These caregivers include spouses, adult children, other relatives and friends.
Nationally, more than 2.4 million families are maintained by grandparents. Grandparents raising grandchildren face a multitude of problems, including guardianship, medical and educational decision-making, conflicts with the parents, financial demands and physical stress.
The program focus is to educate and assist older adults in making informed decisions based on their circumstances and needs. Examples of issues that can be addressed include:
If any of these situations sound familiar, SHIP can help you.
The SHIP Program recruits and trains volunteers across the state to become SHIP Counselors. The SHIPs provide older Kentuckians individual, one-on-one, assistance with the often complicated and confusing red tape of Medicare, Medicaid, and other public and private programs.
Medicare beneficiaries and anyone 60 years of age or older are eligible for the SHIP Counseling Program.
There is no charge for the service. The Kentucky SHIP Program is funded through a grant from the Health Care Financing Administration and the Older Americans Act.