Sorry for the delay. We asked for a microphone, but we don't see enough on and off switch. So, Nicole's going to just speak extra loud um when we get to her. So, welcome to Triad. We have um
programs coming up in May. We have John Sheay from the historic commission talking about the history of Halifax. So that should be a great one. In June we have Steven Solo who's a top administrator. In July we have um it's about an
alternative housing. We have Sierra O'Sullivan from Buildax. And then we just set up through Darlene um Cassie Edmonds in August. She's going to talk about a group called Comfort Keepers and there'll be an elder law
attorney with her that they work together, I guess. So, um, today we're lucky to have Nicole Long. She's the CEO of Old Quality Elder Services and she's going to talk to us about the programs that they have and um, she she's going
to share a lot with you and then afterwards we'll open it up to questions. So, >> welcome Nicole. >> Thank you. Can everybody hear me? Okay. >> All right. If you need me to speak up, just let me know. Um, so yes, I'm Nicole and I represent Old Colony Elder
Services. I have some information that I can present to you all today. But really, I want it to be informal. So, if you have any specific questions, please feel free to let me know and I can um switch gears and and talk about other programs as needed. I really want it to
be helpful for you. and I don't always get a chance to come out and talk to groups, so I'm really um happy to be here. So, Old Colony Elder Services or OCE, we are one of 27 aging service
access points and area agencies on aging. We split up the entire state of Massachusetts and we all have our own individual service areas. So for my organization, we cover greater Plymouth County, 23 communities. So basically
Avon, Stoton, and East all the way down to Plymouth and Wearham and everything in between. Um in that area, we provide over 20 different programs. We have diversified funding where we have some state contracts, we have federal
contracts, and we do a lot of fundraising to offer programs and opportunities that are unique to us based on the generosity of our sponsors and donors. So, we really try to do a lot in the community and meet what the
community need is. Um, of our over 270 employees, we do a lot of outreach where we try to get feedback from individuals, councils on aging to find out what the need is. Covering so many different
communities, we really find that each community in is different in what people need um, and what they want to hear about and what their um, emergency financial needs are, so on and so forth. In terms of who we serve, we really try
to work with anybody that's in need of information andor services. A lot of our programs are specific to individuals that are 60 and older or individuals who are under 60 that have any type of
disability. We're also really proud to be part of two aging and disability resource consortiums where we actually partner with other ASAPs, um, Bristol Elder Services, Southshore Elder Services,
Coastline, as well as independent living centers. In independent living centers, all of their programs specifically are for individuals who are under 60 that have any disability. And what's nice is when you call Old Colony, if you are
looking for a service that we don't directly provide, we can transfer you through the phone system and connect you to the individual or the company that can meet you your needs. We really try to break the barriers of of what can be a difficulty for people in accessing
services by doing a lot of coordination on our end behind the scenes. A lot of times when I talk with people, I'll hear, "Well, I don't need services. I don't need help. I'll call you when when something happens." And we're
always trying to say, "Get the information before you're in a crisis because you can't always plan for when you need help." And a lot of people that we serve, they might have family, but a lot of times it's family that doesn't live by nearby or people who don't have
family. So, a lot of our programs are aimed at providing information for free about all of the services that are available either through my organization or through partnerships. So, one of the programs I like to
highlight is our information and referral line, which you would just call our main number or look at our website and just say, you know, I'm I'm so and so. I live in this area. This is what's going on in my life or what's going on
with a family member. What are my options? And they can provide information and referrals by mail, by email, or over the phone. So, it can be quick and painless, but at least get you instant information. And I like people
to know that you don't need services to get information. So, please spread the word about that. For individuals who maybe they are starting to deal with a lifechanging situation, they don't need services, but they want more information that's
specific to their current needs. and then maybe it's an evolving situation and they want resources for what may next be needed. That's our options counseling program and we do just that. We counsel you on the options that are
that are specific to your situation. And in that program, we actually have an individual, an options counselor that can go out to your home, um, or we could do a phone consultation, hear more about the details of your situation, and then
match you to the the short-term and long-term resources that you could benefit from. That program is also free. A lot of people do look into that service. So, one of the things that's frustrating in a lot of what I do is try
to advocate for more funding. So, right now, we only get enough funds to cover a part-time options counselor because of our donors. We do have a full-time um person, but that's one person to cover our whole service area. So, again, don't
wait till you're in a crisis. you know, plan ahead and try to get the information because there are sometimes weights uh weight lists for some of the services that we provide. Outside of options counseling, we try to spread the word about our free family
caregiver support program. And what's great about that program is it's for the family caregiver, not for the individual that is needing care, but the person who's providing care. Whether it's a spouse, a son, a daughter, a neighbor.
If you're a caregiver, this program is for you. And this program, we have family caregiver specialists that again meet with you at a a location in a time that's convenient to hear about the care that you're providing, to hear about the
life changes you've had to make to accommodate for the care and then providing the resources to help you do that in the the healthiest way possible for you. Because caregivers are always caring for others and often neglecting their own health, their own care. they
have stress through the roof, they don't know where to go, and they're so caught up in helping that they forget about themselves. So, that program really tries to bring the attention back to the caregiver, meet some of the needs, and help them just really circle back to
like what you need as an individual to maintain your caregiving. the statistics, you know, often show us that the caregiver ends up getting sicker or passing away before the person that they're caring for because they tend to
neglect themselves. Uh so it's so important that we talk about what we need as a caregiver to help sustain what you're doing. I'm always partial to that program because when I started at Old Colony over 20 years ago, that's the program I started in. So, that's one
that's near and dear to my heart, and we do a lot to try to spread the word about that program, to offer caregiver support groups, and to offer various wellness programs to help the caregiver achieve their self-care needs.
So, I'm going to pause because I just went on quite a rant. Does anybody have any questions about any of the programs I've talked about thus far or other questions? I don't have a question. I just want to tell you I'm on your board and I can't
get over what you guys do. They're fantastic. I've also had to deal with you guys because I have problems with my children. You come to the house and you help me out a lot. You help my family out a lot and I I I tell people about
you guys all the time. >> I think it's wonderful what you do. I I couldn't believe it when I got on the board and I couldn't believe what the people with. It's amazing. It's amazing. I can't pray enough and I I can't
because they really the whole you call them up your answers by the way and you're good. I just want to tell you that. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
Thanks. And a prior board member, too. Yes. >> How does a caregiver program work? Is it a group thing or is it on a phone or not? What how do you give that information? >> Yeah. So, initially when somebody calls and says they're a caregiver wanting
information, we will have a specialist meet with that person one on- one. A lot of times it is in the home for a home visit, but sometimes people say, "I can't talk in front of my loved ones." So, we've met people at coffee shops, at libraries, um we've done it over the
phone, we've done it over Zoom, but we really try to have that one on-one with the caregiver so they can feel comfortable to talk freely about their situation. And then that's when we would put together the the personalized written materials to to support the
caregiving needs. But with that being said, we do try to partner with local organizations to offer support groups as well. Um, so for a while we had a really large group that was caregivers caring for somebody with Alzheimer's or
dementia and that we met in person in Brockton, but we also partner with councils on aging when they want to host a caregiver support group. So that's an option, too. And we will at times, we don't have one right now, but we will offer evidence-based caregiver training.
Um, so it would be a one-time um, training opportunity to help people either learn more about their loved ones needs and or self-care options to help um, keep the focus on them. Hi Darlene. Any other questions?
Yes. >> Do you have to qualify to receive the options counseling or is that available? So, options counseling, you have to be 60 years or older and live within our service area. I do want to point out I brought a few brochures with me, but I
also brought a handout. This is one of my favorite handouts. It's double-sided and it lists all of our core programs and it has a snapshot of the primary eligibility criteria and the services that are offered. So, I printed this out
and it's on that back table and again it goes over all of our um our core services. So, it's a great handout to keep, give out, do what you need. >> Yep. >> You have a program that deals with uh fall prevention.
>> So, we do have a healthy living program where we have uh staff that are trained on a variety of different health and wellness classes. We do have a matter of balance and a falls prevention um course opportunities.
Uh right now we are getting people trained and I think chronic disease self self-management not the matter of balance but if you call our information and referral line uh you can ask to be connected with somebody in healthy living and they can get you their
schedule. We do try to keep our website updated with uh course offerings as well. So you can check out there if you have access. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Hi. >> Yes. >> So when you say state funded and sliding
scale, can you explain that a little bit? So sometimes people say that they don't want to participate because they can't, you know, they they're overqualified and how they would handle. So if I made a referral and then the consumer calls and they you information
and thermal intake that you do an analysis of basically think about. >> Yes. Yep. So in terms of so before I get to that I'll talk a little bit about the program. So sometimes people do actually need the services in their home and you
have a few options. You can get information on our home care department which is a statef funded uh program where we would connect an individual to one of our contracted providers who actually employs the workers that go
into your home. In that program, you have to be 60 or older and you would meet with one of our case managers to understand your home life situation and what your physical needs uh for assistance are. And then we also partner
with a nurse who does the medical assessment. What happens at that point is the case manager and the nurse we have formulas that are given to us by the state that say based on your functional needs assessment and what your uh home situation is whether you
have caregiver support or not. The formula tells us how many hours a person is eligible to receive under that state home care program. Once we have the hours, we look at another formula that's given to us by the state and we look at
a person's annual income to determine what their co-ayment is. That's the sliding scale, Darlene. So based upon your income and how many people are in your house, we can say for X number of hours, it's going to cost you a monthly
co-ayment of whatever dollars the formula tells us. that's given to us by the state and when you're meeting with your case manager, we can share with you that actual the the formula so you can see the breakdown. It does change every
year based upon federal poverty guidelines. So if your cost of living goes up and your income changes, that's going to change the cost. What's really tricky about that is people often talk, right? So, your neighbor might be
getting services and maybe it sounds like you're getting the same type of services, uh, the same number of hours, but they might have a different co-ayment. That could be because maybe, you know, you're not fully aware of their income. Or there are instances
where somebody is going through a financial hardship, we can put in a request to reduce that co-ayment by a certain amount. That's on a case-byase basis and it's going to take into account what your financial hardship is
to see what flexibility we can offer you. So there's a specific state given framework that we most of our surf services are offered by and then there are times where we will take in that financial hardship consideration. I also
want to point out sometimes people are dealing with like a one-time medical situation and they only need services for a short period of time. Maybe visiting nurse can't come in. You're not eligible for that. Maybe you can only cover a certain amount of your services,
but you need more. Because we do a lot of grant writing and have such amazing donors, there are certain scholarships that we can look at to help. So again, that's a situation where if somebody is is having a a financial situation or a
health crisis and they need more, we do try to take that into consideration. So I always stress to people, don't assume. Don't go off what your friend's situation is. Have that one-on-one conversation with a case manager to find
out what we can do for you and whether or not we can partner with anybody else. It's also important to note that if a person is on Mass Health, they might not have a co-ayment. So, you might have the same services, but if they're on Mass
Health, that's going to to change what if any co-ayment they have. In addition to home care, we have a variety of contracts with senior care option organizations. So if a person is on Mass
Health and if they're on Medicare A and B, they could be eligible for a senior care options program or SCO for short. So in those programs, you can access the inhome supportive services, but there might be other benefits like certain
transportation options um or prescription benefits. So that's another scenario. It's like a health insurance where a person could be offered more than somebody on the basic home care program. So that gets a little bit a
little bit tricky cuz there is those those are the two main routes for the inhome either the the state funded home care or the senior care option. And the other thing with the senior care options programs because it's Mass Health and Medicare funded, it's like they pull all
their benefits. And so your case manager on that program can help you access a larger array of services because it's looking at Mass Health and Medicare together. So, there's lots of ways there could be deviations and and why we
always say don't don't go based off of what your friend's getting or what your neighbors getting because your personal situation really does count. Any questions about those inhome services? >> Okay. >> Yeah.
>> So, where do you think the state is? Then you probably see an increase with the home care support at this point, right? >> And so what did you notice in the last 5 years? Let's just say you know like increase in terms of like it's 62% or
you know what is the percent it seems to be like we're the front line to the community in terms of the COA the senior centers. So the front line to the community and then we make the referral over to OK services actually we need to say OCE right? >> Yes.
OCE are independent associates. So, you know, that referral, we all work together to make sure that we us, you know, provide you the services to stay at home as long as possible. That's what that's what the goal is. >> So, I mean, I'm sure that there's an increase of of what you're seeing over
time. >> Absolutely. Yeah. The the population accessing service services has drastically increased over the years, especially after CO. So during COVID things got a little bit quieter. People didn't really want other people coming
into their home and a lot of our service the number of people accessing services declined. But we're seeing well over 10% increase on a year-to-year basis. Some programs more than 20% of an increase. And in terms of the state, it's really
caused quite a crisis for the state in terms of how they budget because the utilization has exceeded what they have budgeted for. And so when that happens, the state has to institute weight lists
for certain services which causes a delay. Um, and the way they manage weight list really could vary by program. So when there's a weight list, like right now for example, we do have a weight list. So if you're an individual that has some support in the home,
whether it's family or otherwise, and you only want a homed delivered meal, you might have to wait to be able to receive that meal because based on the state guidelines, they're going to rely on that caregiver to fill that need because there's not enough funding to
match the true need. So, a lot of what I do in my position, it's a lot of fundraising, a lot of advocacy. Uh, we try to meet with local senators and local representatives to to show them the numbers um specific to our area to show how the utilization is drastically
increasing. this state right now because there is no money they can pull from. Um they're really looking at the overall structure of home care and how it functions and who we're serving because they don't see a way for the the state
budget to adequately match not just the true need but the increase on a year-to-year basis that we're dealing with. So, it really is a hard time right now and we're really trying to work with the state to give them information on what we're seeing on the front on the
ground um and giving them ideas for how they could do things either more efficiently or just differently to try to meet the need. So, every year it's it's getting harder and harder. um this year they they are are meeting the need
of who's in services currently, but again they're really struggling to find out how they're going to meet the needs of the increase that is building up for the next the next fiscal year. I would say the last three four years my
job has been way more focused on the fundraising and advocacy because the utilization is so much greater. It's it's really causing the whole state to pivot. >> So what can we do as a senior center to support our efforts in terms of home
care support? And I know that, you know, we're trying to keep people healthy >> and trying to offer fitness classes and that easier and trying to make sure that people are conscientious of the medications and what they take and what they, you know, are eating and so on. So
what can we do as senior centers to support OCE as well as independent associates and and that whole uh coordinated care? Mhm. You know, I think it's getting the word out about services and really helping us with the
prevention piece, but getting the information out before services are needed in case there's ways we can provide care before someone needing the home care piece. So, letting people know, get the information, find out what the options are. Maybe there's community
organizations we can partner with or scholarships we can offer, but we need to know what the need is ahead of time. Once you're in crisis, it does limit your options because if you're in crisis, let's say you're you find yourself in the hospital and you're getting discharged. The hospital's going
to try to discharge you as soon as they can, right? I think, you know, we've all heard stories or experienced stories where you're in the hospital bed one day and they're ready to discharge you all of a sudden that night. Um, in those instances, you're really relying on your
doctor authorizing a visiting nurse, but that doesn't often provide a lot of the wraparound care you need. So, then you're relying on inhome services. those services are meeting the need of a lot of people and so it can be difficult for
the providers we contract with to get services in the home as quickly as it's needed. So that that prevention piece getting into the the network before your situation is evolved to a a great or high-risisk need is really important.
And when we're doing advocacy with the senators and local reps, they want to hear from the people in their community more than they want to hear from me. When I go to talk with them, they say, "Well, where's your testimony?" I want a testimony of somebody who's getting the
care or who's on a wait list. Um, so if you have those stories and you have people that are willing to work with me to share their story, even if it's anonymous, that is a huge help to me and really can bring to life. um you know what what we're dealing with. So that
would be very helpful. And I want to just touch on as well because I know this came up in some of the emails when we were planning um sometimes it's not a need of services but you come across friends and family that are are isolating because either
they have a situation that they don't want to be made public whether it's a hoarding or cluttering situation or maybe they're dealing with some type of abuse or neglect. We do have a lot of programs that work on decreasing
isolation and helping people with mental health or behavioral health needs. So, I'm really um proud that we can offer behavioral health uh programming to individuals. Depending on where you live, we can put a counselor match you
to a counselor to provide inhome uh mental health um counseling. So, a lot of a lot of the mental health services that are available, you have to get out and get into an office to be seen and a lot of people don't have the ability to do this or they have the ability, but
the wait lists are way too long. So, we do have counselors that are licensed therapists that are able to go to people's home to provide mental health counseling for a short period of time to overcome the crisis and connect them with long-term services and supports.
We also have programs that work specifically to overcome any obstacles a person is dealing with to get services in their home. Maybe it's short-term counseling to help remove some clutter so we can get a homemaker in there. It really could vary. A lot of these
programs do work with our protective services department. And the protective services department works with people to understand if they're dealing with an abuse or a neglect, maybe a financial um scam situation to help overcome those
crisis points to get them to access care. Sometimes it's working with a caregiver who just doesn't understand the complexities that they're dealing with when somebody is declining in their home. So, we do offer a lot of layered supports to help people who are dealing with isolation, whether it's due to a
protective services situation or a mental health situation. Um, and that's newer for the area and not all ASAPs offer behavioral health support. So, um, I do have some information over there as well about that and volunteerism.
So, I think that's another way that we can do work with the Councils on Aging when you have the ability to help people, whether it's um providing money management support, um which could be helping somebody write their checks, um or working with a council on aging for
friendly visitor programs, uh delivering meals on wheels. Those are all opportunities that we can help you access if you're interested in helping somebody else and you have the ability to do so. I think a lot of people um look at the Meals on Wheels program just
as a way to get a healthy meal in the home, but for a lot of people it's a safety check and a friendly visit. I can't tell you. I would say almost on a daily basis, we will get a call from somebody who's delivering a meal that
has intervened when somebody was either had fallen or having a medical situation and we're able to get them help because they're home, they're isolated, they're alone. Um, so if you're able to deliver homed delivered meals or if you know somebody that could use a meal and a
friendly visit, spread the word about the the nutrition program and how we can help in that regard. Any other questions? I don't want to go over time. >> I didn't know we went over they had a big referral or suggestion. Maybe we
have the nice flyers over there. But actually, I have to introduce Ken. Ken was he was his kind. He used the he was our president of the triad and he requested you come to the speech with us today. Right. >> Well, the first time I left my house in
three months because of the ice and ice and snow and it everything else. This is the first time I met I told Je that I would come to all of the triad meetings because I even though I wasn't
going I still want to be with it and I missed three of them in a row after I told her I'd be here. I missed three of them. >> Well, we're glad you're here today. I know. >> Well, on the way up here, just so you
didn't know, on the way up here was an ice storm. because I stopped running down the line of road >> just for you. >> I enjoyed it for years and she I know she
know she has different things that she has. >> I was doing it for 12 years and I decided I got up my younger daughter. Thank you for your years of service. We need we need more volunteers in all all aspects. So
>> you volunteered for a long time. So but it was interesting because he came to me and said can you have this person can you get this girl to come and speak to look at this article. It was December of last year. >> And I was like absolutely and so he got
the article that you wrote written the December issue of the um senior news. >> Yep. >> And so it was all about the holidays and isolation of the holidays and so on. So I said it would be wonderful to have you come this week and I I'm so honored that
you you were able to come today. >> Yeah. I appreciate the opportunity. >> We're very we're very happy that you were able to accept it. So >> thank you. Absolutely. And to make a referral, it's really easy. You can just call that our main number. It's on all of our brochures. And like I said, just
ask to talk to somebody in information and referral. Or you could just tell the receptionist, I need information. I don't know who to talk to. They will connect you to information and referral. And then it's just providing your basic information and a brief synopsis of what
you're looking for. And then they will match you to the programs that are available. there is at times going to be a little bit of a wait for that visit because although we have over 270 employees, utilization is up and so you
know there we need a little patience sometimes depending on the program but we will get somebody out there. Um and we have information online too. So if you'd rather go through the computer, there's an online form. You fill out the form with the same information and that
gets right into the queue as well. Anyone else? >> I know. >> Well, thank you, Nicole. >> Thank you. >> This was really informative. Thank you so much for coming. That's great. I wanted to thank um Jennifer and Connor
and Brandon from North Collaborative for coming. They've been setting up the chairs and helping set up the refreshments for scouting. Spring scouting um had written the grant through the DA department, right?
>> So that provides the refreshments for triad each week, which is wonderful. And Darlene's given us a lot of the referrals for gives me a lot of the ideas and the connections for speakers that we have. So that's really helped a lot.
I'm thinking that's good and thank you all for coming. So enjoy the refreshment and >> Oh, sorry. >> That's okay. That's fine. I I did mention that the girls from the outreach
department and the sheriff's department, there's been some some reduction. So, they wanted to say that um they appreciated their time here. Um, and so going forward, there's going to be some cutbacks for on that department from the sheriff's department. So, we got the
letter last week and they noted that that was going to be Yeah. So, they said they had an amazing um we were amazing group and they were so pleased to to come and and you know, provide the outreach to us. So, um, we're thankful
and maybe if you want to even sit and write a letter to the sheriff's department and to the girls, I'll give you the information as to how to reach out to them and say thank you. Um, we do have some programs coming up in May. I want to remember the spring fling. It's
going to be at Metobrook again and that's going to be with Tommy Rule of April. And it's going to be a different uh gig because instead of the December, he's going to be in the spring edition. So come, don't forget to sign up. I'm
looking forward. >> We're going to have finger sandwiches. Yeah, it'll be fun. It'll be fun. So hopefully you'll all join us. Um, so we have a lot of changes happening going forward. We do have some social working interns that are a social worker intern that's going to be joining us at some
point um as soon as it's been approved and so on. But um they'll be coming in 16 hours for the week uh to support our senior center. So we're lucky and very fortunate to pursue that and to actually be awarded it actually. Um and again the
district attorney's office always supporting us in terms of our grants and you know provide refreshments and so on and even entertainment at some point. We want the district attorney to paint have the art class with paint by numbers.
>> We'll bring the DA in for that. too relaxing to stay, right? So, it brings I just thought it would be kind of fun and interesting to to bring something like that in to watch them paint. Um, everybody's an artist at some point and so it's wonderful and um so I I want to
say thank you to everyone and again, thank you so much for coming and we're so appreciative. >> Great. Thanks, Charlie. >> Anything else? I think we're all done.