The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Programs promote successful aging
By 2030, one in three Lake County residents will be 60 years and older, according to the study Lake County, Ohio Senior Citizens: Today, Tomorrow and in the Future.
Lake County Senior Services Coordinator Alyea Barajas said that to prepare for this population shift the county is looking to support programs to help seniors age successfully from the comfort of their homes.
“I think there’s a growing movement to use community-based organizations to support seniors living at home so that they can age well and reduce their hospital stays,” she said.
Barajas manages Lake County’s Senior Levy funds, which she said brings in about $4.5 million every year that the county disperses to 17 different agencies.
The Lake County Council on Aging is one of the programs that offers a multitude of services for seniors. These include Meals on Wheels, The Lunch Place, social work services, homemaker services, a non-medical home healthcare program, options counseling and different forms of assistance.
Some of their programs do have a cost structure and eligibility requirements, like the homemaker program and Non-medical home healthcare program. Others like Meals on Wheels and The Lunch Place ask for suggested donations, but don’t require payment.
Their different forms of assistance can help seniors with data regarding benefits, Medicare and other information.
There are also 10 senior centers throughout Lake County in communities like Eastlake, Fairport Harbor, Kirtland, Madison, Mentor, Painesville, Perry, Wickliffe, Willoughby and Willowick.
“(Senior centers) provide a lot of health and wellness opportunities for seniors and also socialization opportunities,” Barajas said. “Senior centers, in addition to being supported by their municipalities, also receive Senior Levy dollars to support that.”
Starting in 2019, Laketran and the Lake County commissioners began offering Dial-a-Ride transportation to and from any senior center in the county for free for county residents ages 60 and older.
The free service is also extended to seniors who need transportation traveling to and from volunteer activities with the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program.
Barajas said that some seniors might not be aware of the Western Reserve Community Development Corporation Senior Home Repair Program that receives levy funding.
“They provide home repairs and modifications for seniors,” she said. “It really has to be more related to the health and safety of a senior for the program to pay for it, but they’ll do everything from grab bars
and railings in the home, all the way to hot water tanks if it’s determined necessary and the senior meets certain qualifications.”
Other programs Barajas highlighted include Lifeline’s Volunteer Guardian Program, Lake County General Health District’s Matter of Balance program and Adult Protective Services.
“I would say that’s the bulk majority of senior services in Lake County,” she said. “But there are obviously other providers and things we don’t fund that also serve seniors.”
Barajas said she considers socioeconomic factors such as nutrition, income and social support, as well as aging from home and senior caretakers with the Lake County Senior Levy funding.
To guide these decisions, Barajas referenced a National Academy of Reference study that found 80 to 90 percent of health outcomes are driven by healthrelated behaviors, socioeconomic factors, and environmental factors.
“There’s the growing senior population and there’s limited funding,” she said. “So, it’s just looking at ways to apply the funding we have to make the biggest impact for seniors as they age.”