Area Agency on Aging:

Improving life for seniors in Northwest Arkansas

Each day there are hundreds of our senior citizens who have no one checking on them or looking in on their health and welfare. The Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Arkansas (AAANWA) is a private, non-profit agency dedicated to improving the lifestyle of people 60 years of age and older in Northwest Arkansas. The Agency provides an array of services designed to help seniors remain independent and in their own homes until they need the skilled care of a longterm care facility. They are a non-profit organization that has been providing services for seniors in our community for over 30 years.

The services provided by AAANWA include case management, in-home services, long-term care advocacy, personal emergency response system, senior center services, incontinence supplies, family caregiver program, home delivered meals, housing and adult day centers.

Case Management

Case managers often help the elderly with forms and paperwork that will help them access various services and programs. The agency’s case management services are available, free of charge, to seniors from all economic levels and are an important resource to help them plan for and face the challenges of aging. This includes help with Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, Veteran’s benefits and other services.

In-Home Services

As seniors become elderly, and sometimes earlier if a debilitating disease strikes, there may be some jobs around the home that they just simply can’t take care of anymore. To help seniors meet this challenge, AAANWA offers a program in which a trained personal-care assistant comes to the home and helps with light housekeeping, personal care, shopping, cooking and laundry.

Personal Emergency Response System

Another service that the AAANWA provides is to help seniors remain independent and at home is the Personal Emergency Response System (PERS). It is an electronic device that operates through the phone line to give an immediate, hands-free connection with a “real live” person in case of a personal emergency. The system also has a silent panic button that an elderly person may push if they are afraid, the operator will come on the line, monitor the situation and call emergency personnel if the situation dictates. This is a great service for frail elderly who are at high risk for a medical emergency or for any senior who lives alone.

Senior Activity Centers

The AAANWA partners with the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District in Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Marion, Newton, Searcy and Washington Counties and partners with Office of Human Concern in Benton, Carroll and Madison Counties to operate senior activity centers, designed to meet the needs of seniors from all socio-economic groups. Instituted by the Older Americans Act and funded through a combination of federal, state, and local contributions; the senior center program provides older Arkansans with an opportunity to get together, enjoy each other’s company through common interest and activities; to get a nutritious hot noon-time meal; to stay physically fit through use of exercise equipment and classes; and to enrich their lives through participating in educational programs. According to Nadean Raney, director of senior center services, “These programs are not limited to low-income seniors. These are services that all seniors need – staying active and alert, enjoying the company of one’s peers, getting a hot nutritious lunch, and stretching both physically and mentally.”

Other services provided through the senior centers include scheduled transportation and a home-delivered meal program for frail seniors who cannot come to the centers for the noontime meal.

Housing

AAANWA also works to assure that seniors have access to comfortable, affordable housing. The agency currently offers attractive one - bedroom apartments in Baxter, Benton, Carroll, Marion and Washington Counties in Northwest Arkansas. The ground-level complexes offer seniors many of the amenities that they would find in their own homes. AAANWA has the following complexes: Ozark Meadows I and Ozark

Meadows II in Berryville, Oak Hills in Green Forest, North Arkansas Senior Housing of Bull Shoals, Willowbrook in Mountain Home, Fallen Ash in Flippin, Flint Creek Apartments in Gentry, Billy V Hall Senior Complex and North Arkansas Senior Housing of Gravette in Gravette, Osage Heights Apartments in Bentonville, Dixieland Gardens and Miller Place in Rogers and White River Senior Complex in Elkins. The rent for the complexes is based on the income after medical expenses have been deducted and preference is given to seniors with an extremely low income.

Long-Term Care Advocacy

Even after the elderly have found it necessary to enter a long-term care facility, AAANWA is there for them. The agency provides an ombudsman who will advocate for their individual rights with family members or the facilities in which they are housed.

The services of AAANWA will continue to evolve as the needs of the senior population change, but the agency will continue to be the foremost advocate for the older generation in Northwest Arkansas. For more information, visit www.aaanwar.org.