Forum to offer answers about long-term care

BOARDMAN — A forum targeting long-term-care planning for Ohioans will be conducted from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday in the multipurpose room in the Community Center at Boardman Park.

Own Your Future, is presented by the Ohio Department of Aging, Ohio Department of Insurance, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Area Agency on Aging 11 Inc. and is free to the public. Local and state experts will be on hand for discussion and to answer individual questions.

The Own Your Future campaign was launched earlier this year by Gov. Ted Strickland and targets Ohioans between age 45 and 65 to start planning now for the future need of long-term care.

The majority of Ohioans age 65 and older will need long-term care at some point. In addition to the high cost of long-term care, people mistakenly believe Medicare will cover the costs. The forum is educational and is not an opportunity to promote specific products, companies or individuals. Packets, including a free CD that explains options for long-term planning, will be available at the forum.

“When it comes to long-term care planning, people have questions,” said Barbara E. Riley, director of the Department of Aging. “The answers to those questions can vary depending on the resources available in each community. So, it is important that we give Ohioans a chance to get the answers to their questions from others in their communities.”

The presentations will begin with an overview followed by informational tables on each of the key planning areas, which are designed to provide more in-depth information. Issues to be covered: Healthy lifestyle planning, advance directives and role of the long-term care ombudsman, long-term care consultations, financial planning for long-term care, long-term care insurance and the partnership program, and reverse mortgages.

More information can be obtained by calling the Area Agency on Aging 11 Inc. at (330) 746-2938 or the Ohio Department of Aging at (614) 728-8643.