Highland County commissioners recognize Older Americans Month

Highland County commissioners Terry Britton, David Daniels and Brad Roades proclaimed the month of May as Older Americans Month in Highland County during their Wednesday, May 6 meeting.

Accepting the proclamation were Area Agency on Aging District 7 Executive Director Jamie Herrmann, Director of Community Outreach Jenni Lewis and Community Outreach Specialist Emily Blagg; Highland County Senior Citizens Center Director Mechell Karnes, Executive Assistant Lin Packard, board members Alex Butler and Robyn Coomer and numerous Senior Center members; and representatives of Highland County Community Action, including Deputy Director Valerie Williams, Senior Nutrition Program site manager Amy Faulconer and outreach specialist Barbara Jackson.

Representatives from all three organizations addressed commissioners, beginning with the AAA7 group.

According to their website, “The Area Agency on Aging District 7 provides services on a non-discriminatory basis to help older adults and those of any age living with a disability live safely and independently in their residence of choice through services paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, other federal and state resources, as well as private pay. We are available to help anyone in the community learn more about long-term care options and what programs and services are available for assistance.” 

In addition to Highland, the following other counties are served by District 7: Adams, Brown, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton. For more information, visit aaa7.org.

Herrmann spoke about changes that are taking place effective June 1 for the AAA7 region, as that is the date the Next Generation MyCare program takes effect for those 10 counties.

“Anyone who in the state of Ohio is dually eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare will be put on a Medicaid MyCare plan,” she said. “Basically, what that means is that with Medicare and Medicaid in the state of Ohio, we're not introducing the managed care plans into those equations. That's really going to change the way that we do business when it comes to our PASSPORT consumers.

“PASSPORT is the program that we manage for Ohio Department of Medicaid to coordinate services in the home. Basically, an individual would get a waiver that says that without services, they would have to go to a skilled level of care, so that helps to keep them in their homes. In essence, what will happen now is that the Area Agency on Aging will still go out and do those assessments. We’ll still make the determination of, yes, we think that you need this kind of services, but then we have to make those recommendations to the managed care plan.”

Herrmann continued that the state has options for managed care plans through Anthem, Buckeye, CareSource and Molina, and the state will make recommendations on which plan individuals should be enrolled in. 

“With Medicare, an individual will always have the option to choose their Medicare plans, their Medicare Advantage plans,” she said. “With Medicaid, they use the data from their systems and claims data to recommend that you be enrolled in a certain plan.”

According to Herrmann, clients will be notified by the state about which provider they have been assigned in June, after which clients will have 60 days to opt out and choose a different provider.

“The good thing about the Medicaid part of it is that if you enroll in one of the Medicaid plans, then maybe in two months, say they're not covering a doctor or something like that, you do have the option to switch from month to month, which is very different than what we're used to seeing,” Herrmann said. “It’s going to be a big change. It’s going to be a change for our providers, because in the past, we've been able to approve services through the Area Agency, and we actually issue the payments, so it's going to be a big change for our local providers, along with the consumers.”

To learn more about the MyCare program, visit https://medicaid.ohio.gov/families-and-individuals/citizen-programs-and….
 
Karnes discussed the Senior Center, which is in its 56th year of providing fun activities, health screenings, essential services and more for area seniors. To learn more about becoming a member, visit https://highlandseniors.com.

According to Karnes’ newsletter, some of their recent activities include their 10th annual Elvis tribute show, free tax preparation, a dish soap derby and an Easter egg hunt. Ongoing activities include chair volleyball, billiards, puzzles, live music, a gym, bingo, corn hole, euchre, art groups, bunco, line dancing and blood pressure, mental health, weight and blood sugar checks. 

“We host the AARP to do tax services,” Karnes said. “The Ohio Department of Medicare comes down to do Medicare counseling. Area Agency on Aging makes a monthly visit to help our membership and folks from the public.We offer our home-delivered meals program, so we serve private pay and PASSPORT clients. 

“It really is a friendly place, and I think it's a great place to be. I appreciate it, and it's a privilege to work there, and so I really enjoy my time.”

Herrmann added that in the AAA7 region, Highland County is “the senior center everybody wants to be” and credited Karnes. Roades added that his mother “really enjoys it” and thanked Karnes as well. 

“It was a strong foundation when I got there, and all of our members, they roll up their sleeves and they volunteer,” Karnes said. “They really love and appreciate their senior center, so we want to make sure that we're there 55 more years and beyond.

“Our board of directors also put in a lot of work and effort for our Senior Center as well.”

Commissioners heard testimonials from several Senior Center members, all of whom spoke passionately about their involvement. Diana Combs, who told Roades she is “besties” with his mother at the Center, said that since becoming a member, she has been able to sing with a band in “20 different places.” (At Daniels’ urging, Combs sang a verse of the gospel song “There's A Record Book,” for which she received a round of applause from the crowd and a standing ovation from Roades.) She also enjoys art and exercise at the Center, as well as the many friendships she’s made.

“It's been a very wonderful blessing to have all these people here,” Combs said.
 
Member Rosetta Williams said she has enjoyed joining the art groups at the senior center. “I love doing oil painting and colored pencils,” she said.

Juanita Kelley said she has been a member of the Center for nearly 26 years and “loves every day of it.

“I love working with Mechell,” she said. “We need a lot more volunteers. We need a lot of help with all the programs that she comes up with.

“I love everything we do, and I just think it's a wonderful place.”

Karnes’ mother, Cindy Frost, said that she is “proud” of her daughter and thanked everyone for the love and support they’ve shown Karnes.

“I see all the activities that go on, and I see how everybody enjoys it, and just the communication and socialization,” she said. “I think it's an awesome place.”

Another member, Addie Brown, said the center is based on “helping people.

“It makes a world of difference,” she said. “You see people having depression issues and just having a hard time, and as soon as they make a friend there, you see the smiles come back. You just see the change.” 

Williams spoke about Highland County Community Action’s Senior Nutrition Program, which offers hot meals in Greenfield. For more information, visit hccao.org.

“We offer a lot of the same things that they offer here in Hillsboro [at the Senior Center],” Williams said. “We do home-delivered meals, and then we also have a congregate site there in Greenfield. 

“I love that we also aren't just providing nutrition for seniors, but that we're also providing the social aspect for them as well, for them to get out and talk with their peers and just interact and have fun, playing games and doing special activities with them every day, too.”

Britton thanked the crowd for their services to the community before reading the proclamation.

“We’re very, very fortunate that we have the strong support throughout all these agencies and all the people that go to the center,” Britton said. “It’s just amazing to me, the support that we have here, so kudos to all of you.”

Britton then read the proclamation recognizing May as Older Americans Month and “encouraging all residents to recognize, celebrate and support older adults as they champion their health and continue enriching our community.” 

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