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District 11 Agency on Aging leads state in innovation, official says
By Ed Runyan
NILES
Stephanie Loucka, director of the Ohio Department of Aging since August, heaped high praise on the people who work for the Niles-based District 11 office of the Area Agency on Aging.
She spoke Friday at AAA 11’s annual meeting, which took place at Ciminero’s Banquet Center, about the ongoing issues facing the elderly: transportation, nutrition, isolation and the effects of the opioid crisis.
She said the work that AAA 11 is doing to monitor the work of agencies that provide services to senior citizens and people with disabilities “is leading the state.”
“You are taking on the hard work of making sure people are safe in their homes, and that’s a really big lift, and we can’t thank you enough for the work you are doing,” she said.
AAA 11 oversees the use of senior-citizen-related federal, state and local funds by agencies in Mahoning, Trumbull, Ashtabula and Columbiana counties.
Loucka said Joseph Rossi, CEO of AAA 11, who is also president of Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging, is “an amazing advocate for this area.” AAA 11 is located in Eastwood Mall.
Rossi also has been willing to try innovative programs.
“We’ll typically say ‘Hey, Joe. We need a favor.’ Sometimes he will say no, wait. You are way off on this one. But other times, he says, ‘We’ll get it done.’ And that’s what we really appreciate about this area and the staff at the Area Agency on Aging.” She said Rossi’s mantra is always, “What would you do for your mom?”
AAA 11 was the pilot site for the Give Back/Go Forward Program, in cooperation with Youngstown State University. It encourages senior citzens to volunteer in the community.
“It was a really unique program that we’ve never done in the state,” Loucka said. “Youngstown State was quick to jump on. It is up and running, and in fact, Ohio State just announced that they will be the second school to join. It is spreading to other universities.”
“We have our elders getting involved, which we know keeps them healthy and engaged in their communities as well as then the opportunity to get involved in lifelong learning and or pass that along to a family member.”
She also praised John Saulitis and his regional ombudsman office located in Niles, which advocates on behalf of residents in long-term care programs.
“John and his team are really on the leading edge in the nation in the work they do,” she said.
As for the future, she told the large group of AAA 11 workers, “We have a lot of challenges coming forward, as we have an aging population, but we also have a lot of opportunities. The aging population is a very rich resource for us to make a lot of changes.”
She said transportation and nutrition continue to be major issues in the field, but also social isolation.
The opiate crisis also affects elders
“We have more and more grandparents raising grandchildren. We also have concerns with chronic disease and elders using opiates,” she said. “We’ve taken a real direct response to that with a lot of our chronic disease management courses.”