Future Age – March/April 2010 - 24

problems as clients interface with your system.” Iona Senior Services delivers community-based programs and services to seniors and caregivers. Based in Washington, D.C., Iona has a helpline that fielded over 4,000 calls in 2009. Licensed social workers not only tell callers what services are out there, they also provide consultations, walking seniors and caregivers through what they will need to know when considering care options for themselves or their loved ones. “You often cannot just hand people information,” says Iona Executive Director Sally White. “You need professionals with expertise to help consumers figure out what’s best for their individual situation.” Sometimes there’s a serious situation that requires assessment. “We had a gentleman call in whose wife had become confused and was having a hard time walking,” says White. “Our specialist learned she had not seen a doctor in a year and counseled him to have her examined. It turned out she had a brain tumor that fortunately was benign and taken care of. But the point is that sometimes caregivers become so overwhelmed with the day-to-day that they need an

outsider with expertise to help identify problems.” In addition to the Helpline, White credits strong partnerships for strengthening Iona’s position as the trusted “go-to” source in the community. By joining forces with organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association, it can offer support groups, educational series and other needed resources not always found in the traditional aging-services model. “We have to be creative and reach out to each other as providers if we’re going to not only survive in a tough economy but, hopefully, thrive,” says White. Friendship Village of Schaumburg in Illinois recognizes family caregivers as an integral part of its market. Friendship Village tried to gain insight into their needs by inviting them into focus groups. Through their outreach, staff made an interesting discovery. “The focus groups turned almost instantly into support groups. People connected and recognized in each other that their roles as caregivers were heavily burdening them and they needed help,” says Cathy Ritter, vice president of marketing and planning for Friendship Senior Options.

To help, the organization developed HappierParents.com. It’s a Web resource guiding adult children in determining when their parents need assistance and advising on how to support them. Components are living options, caregiver information, links to resources, and a checklist to affirm if an issue is present. “It’s hard to determine if there’s really a problem. Sometimes families need someone to say, ‘It’s OK that you are worrying about this, and you may very well need to make a change in your life and in your parent’s life.’ That’s what HappierParents. com is about. It’s there to get family caregivers through difficult times,” says Ritter. To stay competitive, organizations continue to become more open to changing their business models and service offerings. A big question management is asking along the way is: How can we stay in front of seniors and caregivers as both stellar providers and trusted advisors with expertise? Put simply, what can we do to stay ahead of the game and make consumers’ lives easier?
Arlene Karidis is a writer who lives in Mt. Airy, Md.

Resources
Iona Senior Services, Washington, D.C. Contact: Sally S. White, executive director, SWhite@Iona.org or (202) 895-0246. Lutheran Services in America, Baltimore, Md. Contact: Jill A. Schumann, president/Ceo, jschumann@lutheranservices.org or (410) 230-2702. Friendship Village of Schaumburg, Schaumburg, Ill. Contact: Cathy Ritter, vice president of marketing & planning, Cathy.Ritter@Friendship.Village.org or (847) 884-5109. Masonicare, Wallingford, Conn. Contact: Susan J. Costanzo, senior Helpline consultant, (203) 678-7745. Western New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging, Buffalo, N.Y. Contact: Kathy Nyquist, president, info@wynahsa.org or (716) 810-7303.
Masonicare

Susan Costanzo (seated), Susie Kulas and Patti Cascio staff Masonicare’s HelpLine, guiding callers to services available from Masonicare or elsewhere in the community. Callers needing more one-on-one assistance can arrange for home visits.

Connecticut Center for Healthy Aging, Southington and New Britain, Conn. Contact: Marc levesque, case manager, levesqueM@cthealthyaging.org or (860) 276-5293. AAHSA 2010 Consumer Research Digest

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Future Age – March/April 2010

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