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Learn About Community Resources

Eldercare locator

When looking for services that are available in your or your parent's community, it's a good idea to start with the Eldercare Locator, a toll-free phone line that will help you find your Area Agency on Aging (AAA). AAAs are local agencies that are known by various names, depending on the community, making it difficult to find them in phone books. That's why the Eldercare Locator was established. Simply dial 1-800-677-1116 from anywhere in the country and ask for the local Area Agency on Aging.

AAAs are funded by a federal law called the Older Americans Act of 1965, and they coordinate a variety of social service programs. AAAs provide general information and referrals on local eldercare services, and in some cases, can give you information on the quality of services provided.

AAAs can offer you information about nursing homes, in-home care, adult day care, hospice, transportation, housing, Meals On Wheels, and other community services. These programs are briefly described here.

Community services

Meals on wheels

This is a non-profit service in which volunteers deliver hot, nutritious meals to people whose frailty or disability prevents them from cooking for themselves. These programs operate nationwide, five days a week, and have sliding fee schedules based on ability to pay.

Transportation programs

Most communities have volunteer transportation services that arrange to take frail elderly people to physicians, grocery stores and important appointments. Transportation may be provided by bus, taxi or specially-equipped vans.

Telephone reassurance

This is a free service that may be offered by church, civic, or fraternal organizations and is designed to help older people who live alone or who are alone during the day. The senior calls a phone number each day at a predetermined time, or a volunteer calls the senior. If the senior fails to call or can't be reached, someone is alerted to check on the situation.

The National Association of Letter Carriers offers a variation of this program. Seniors place a special sticker on their mailbox. If mail starts to accumulate in the box, the letter carrier alerts authorities that the senior may be ill. Another variation is the Friendly Visitor program, in which a volunteer checks on seniors at regular intervals to make sure they're okay.

Senior centers

Senior Centers are community drop-in facilities for generally self-sufficient older people. They have professional administrators and offer a variety of activities (usually free of charge, but not necessarily supervised) ranging from craft classes to card parties to exercise programs. Many operate as nutrition sites -- providing lunch to seniors for minimal fees -- and many provide transportation services for those who can't get to the Senior Center on their own.

Adult day care

Similar to child care centers, adult day care programs watch over the frail elderly when families are at work and school. These programs usually operate five days a week, from 9 to 5, and often provide transportation to and from the participant's home. They provide a range of activities for participants that are designed to keep them alert and engaged. Most are able to administer medication and some provide physical therapy and other professional services. Some programs operate on a sliding fee schedule according to income. Medicaid may cover costs for eligible low-income seniors.

Housing for independent or semi-independent living

There are numerous housing options designed specifically for older people, depending on their needs. Here are some of them.

Retirement community

This is a large, residential development for self-sufficient older people. It may consist of renter or owner units, and it may or may not offer support services, meals or recreation.

Congregate housing

This is a multi-unit rental facility with apartments for independent living. Congregate housing facilities also provide support services which may include meals, housekeeping, transportation and/or social activities.

Assisted living facility

This is a residential facility that provides residents with a room, meals and help with activities of daily living (such as bathing and dressing). Residents are frail, but generally require less supervision than those in nursing homes.

Board and care home

This is similar to assisted living, but on a smaller scale, emphasizing personal care. It is generally licensed.

Continuing care community

This is a housing development for seniors that provides all levels of living, from totally independent to assisted living to nursing home care. Residents can move from one level to another as needed. A variation, called a Life-Care Community, requires the resident to enter into a legal agreement that guarantees lodging and nursing services (if needed) for the duration of the senior's life. A significant entrance fee is required.

Care options

Home care

If an older person requires post-hospital or long-term care, but needs less than round-the-clock supervision or has family caregivers available, home care may be more appropriate and less costly than care in a nursing home.

Private home care agencies offer a variety of services, ranging from skilled care by nurses and physical therapists to housekeeping and chore services provided by homemaker aides. These services are available on a regular basis, or on an occasional basis to provide "respite" for families. AFSCME represents a growing number of home care workers who are employed by private agencies.

Note: In the case of a hospitalized Medicare beneficiary, the hospital is required to provide the services of a discharge planner who will coordinate post-hospital care as needed.

Nursing homes

Nursing homes are facilities that provide round-the-clock care. They can be non-profit, for-profit, or run by public jurisdictions -- usually counties (in many of these facilities the workers are AFSCME members). Nursing homes may offer skilled health care services for recently hospitalized persons, or "custodial" care for people with chronic disabilities, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, or for survivors of paralyzing strokes.

These institutions are very expensive, with costs averaging $40,000 a year.

Hospice

Hospice represents a philosophy of care for the terminally ill that addresses both the physical and emotional needs of these individuals. The care can be delivered in a person's own home or in a hospice center and is designed to make the person as comfortable as possible in a supportive and life-affirming atmosphere. Hospice services are covered under Medicare.

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