Program presents resources, services for area seniors

August 25, 2017 at 12:05a.m.

LIBERTY

Plenty of resources and services are available to ensure Liberty Township’s senior citizens stay safe and have essential needs met, but the overriding thrust behind a seven-year program for those purposes can be distilled to one goal: helping them feel empowered.

“Empower yourself to be your own advocate when it comes to your health,” Lisa Solley told a few dozen seniors who came to Thursday morning’s annual Liberty Senior Watch breakfast at St. Mark Antiochian Orthodox Church, 3560 Logan Ave.

Solley, communications director with the Niles-based Area Agency on Aging 11 Inc., outlined a series of offerings for senior citizens geared toward everything from caregiving to home repairs to medication management to avoiding being a victim of elder fraud.

Also addressed at the breakfast were fire-safety tips.

Solley detailed two resources administered by the Social Security Administration, one of which is a Medicaid savings plan that pays income-eligible senior citizens’ monthly premiums. The other, titled the Extra Help program, can reduce seniors’ medication costs and ensure they do not fall into the so-called Medicare “doughnut hole,” the coverage gap in which some people pay all out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions after their drug-coverage plan has spent a certain amount for covered drugs, she noted.

Those interested in the programs can call the Area Agency on Aging at 330-505-2300, or go to www.ssa.gov, Solley added.

Too often, older people fall victim to scams, especially from callers who claim to be a grandchild in trouble with the law and in need of money, or those claiming to represent the Internal Revenue Service. The first thing to realize is that the IRS sends official letters with bar codes to people and does not make unsolicited calls, Solley explained.

“If someone’s calling you, hang up. They’re very sly; they can be demanding and try to scare you. If they get you talking, you’re in trouble,” she warned, adding that many victims are too ashamed or embarrassed to report the fraud.

It’s also imperative that seniors keep an updated medication list so that doctors, family members and emergency personnel are aware of what a person is taking. The main reason for hospital readmissions is medication mismanagement, she continued.

A long-term ombudsman program is for those who need advocacy services, extra assistance or may have been victims of abuse or neglect. The program also can help seniors with their bills, Solley noted.

“They will advocate for your needs,” she said.

Discussing additional safety tips were Capt. Cathy Macchione of the Liberty Township Fire Department, who stressed the importance of having address numbers clearly visible for firefighters or in case of other emergencies.

Macchione added that about one-third of fires her department has handled in the past year have been cooking-related.

The department also has partnered with the American Red Cross chapter on Belmont Avenue and is distributing free smoke detectors designed to last 10 years, noted Capt. Robert Catchpole of the fire department. To receive one, call the department at 330-759-0363.