Seeking Help for Older Residents

By Ann Hardie

Dionne Lovett knows that the Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) is often a lifeline for families caring for relatives or other loved ones.

“Our counselors end up spending anywhere from 25 minutes to two hours on the phone with families who just don’t know what to do,” said Lovett, director of the Coastal Area Agency on Aging in Darien. “We’re really helping families not feel so stranded. Our job is to help them sort through what is going on and understand what their options are.”

Georgia’s 12 area agencies oversee the ADRC, which served 91,000 people statewide last year.

Many callers are at their wit’s end when they dial the toll-free number (866-552-4464) to talk to counselors, who provide referrals and information on pressing issues such as caregiving, obtaining home-delivered meals and technology that assists users.

When the General Assembly convenes in January, advocates for Georgia’s older population will urge lawmakers to approve an additional $4 million so that ADRC sites can hire more staff, update technology and better market their services.

Boosting funding is a top priority of the Coalition of Advocates for Georgia’s Elderly, or CO-AGE, which includes AARP Georgia.

A varied agenda

Other priorities include:

• Creating a registry of people convicted of abusing, neglecting or exploiting older and disabled Georgians. The registry would be a tool for families and providers hiring caregivers.
• Allowing Medicaid funds to be used to support residents of assisted living facilities, which can provide help with meals or everyday tasks such as bathing and dressing. In Georgia, Medicaid primarily covers skilled nursing home care.
• Increasing penalties for personal care homes that break the rules, sometimes putting residents in harm’s way. “Some of the sanctions are just a slap on the wrist,” said Kathy Floyd, executive director of the Georgia Council on Aging, which oversees CO-AGE. “This would make sure that when problems are identified, the homes suffer the consequences.”

Three decades ago, advocates formed CO-AGE to present a united front at the legislature.

“This is a way to talk with one voice about the issues affecting older Georgians,” Floyd said. “Legislators have told us that they appreciate the CO-AGE approach. They know we represent a broad range of interests from across the state.”

CO-AGE has over 800 members, including providers, college gerontology departments, social workers, citizens and organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association Georgia chapter and AARP Georgia.

Throughout the year, members and non-members submit issues that they want pushed at the General Assembly. The membership then votes. “We are one of the few groups that has a totally democratic process to determine their priorities,” Floyd said. The group also lobbies every year for increased funding for services such as home-delivered meals and house modifications.

“CO-AGE members decided to make home and community-based services a perennial issue because people always say that they want to remain independent as long as possible,” Floyd said. Currently, more than 9,000 Georgians are on the waiting list for these services.

In the 2017 legislative session, CO-AGE supported a measure to allow dental hygienists to clean a patient’s teeth without a dentist on the premises. The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, will make it easier and cheaper for residents of nursing and other facilities to receive treatment.

The Family Care Act, a longtime CO-AGE priority, also was approved during the past legislative session. Effective since July 1, the law requires employers to allow employees to use accrued sick leave to care for a parent, spouse or child.

To learn more about CO-AGE and its 2018 priorities, go to gcoa.org/issues or call 404-657-5343. —Ann Hardie

Ann Hardie is a writer living in Atlanta.