The Council on Aging for Southeastern Vermont
(COASEV) provides case management and advocacy services
for seniors over sixty and their families and caregivers.
Vermont certified case managers in Windsor and Windham
counties connect elders with community services that can
solve problems and improve their lives.
Clients may need help with a broad range of problems,
such as prescription drug coverage, fuel assistance,
landlord issues, transportation, lack of housing, insurance
and Medicare issues, financial distress, or respite
care for a sick spouse.
"What's unique about this agency is that we're
client directed," says Paula Fellows, Case Management
Program Director for COASEV in Springfield. "They
come to us and we sit down with them, explore the need,
then lay out the options available in the community.
Case managers educate and inform clients so they can
make their own decisions, maintain independence, and
sometimes avoid nursing home placement."
COASEV partners with many community agencies and programs,
among them Adult Day Services, Meals on Wheels, Visiting
Nurse Alliance, RSVP and SEVCA. It is as if the Council
on Aging stands in the center of a wheel with a client
and helps them reach the different spokes that can provide
assistance.
There are seventeen very active case managers in southeastern
Vermont whose mission is to listen to elderly clients
and provide them with options. By letting older adults
know what's available, they empower them to make good
choices.
If a senior lives in a rural area and cannot go food
shopping on their own, a case manager can link the client
to the COASEV Senior Companion Program to take them
shopping, or get them hooked into a local van system.
A senior suffering burnout from being a primary caregiver
for a sick spouse may find they are eligible for a caregiver
support grant from the Council on Aging.
Every case is different and presents a case manager
with a unique set of problems. What may be a good solution
for one senior and their family might not work in another
situation. Active listening and knowing how to ask the
right questions help case managers clarify the needs
of clients as well as their wishes and desires for how
they want to live.
One of the keys to the Council on Aging's success in
helping clients confront problems and maintain independence
is that the agency knows its community and the resources
in it. This enables the council to identify local funding
and how the funds can match needs. The agency also taps
into local volunteer programs and maintains good working
relationships with area officials and agency providers.
After nearly twenty-six years of advocacy the Council
on Aging is a strong and visible presence in the community.
With a ballooning over-sixty population, the need for
assistance have multiplied. COASEV is part of a national
network that assists seniors. If an older family member
lives in another part of the country COASEV can help
that person by linking with another Area Agency of Aging
where they live.
Through teamwork and community building, Council on
Aging programs make significant differences in the emotional
and financial well-being of elders. Case managers can
keep them living independently in their homes, save
them money, and provide useful information that affects
how they handle problems. In the end, seniors get the
help they need to rise above some of life's difficulties.
RESOURCES
Senior Help-Line (800-642-5119)
Council on Aging for Southeastern Vermont (885-2655)
