JD's Story
Added October 2024
JD is a 60-year-old man living alone in Aurora, IN, where he has resided for 20 years. In September 2023, he contacted Lifetime Resources due to frequent falls and unexplained weight loss. Facing eviction because he could no longer maintain his apartment, JD was initially hesitant to start services. He reported feeling racially profiled by people in the area as he is African American. JD has several health conditions, including Chronic Kidney Disease stage 3, chronic pain, Lupus, Hypertension, Arthritis, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, and Lymphoma.
These conditions cause him extreme pain, dizziness, unsteady gait, weight loss, short-term memory loss, and fatigue, making it difficult for him to complete household chores such as laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and transportation. JD has limited informal support, with an aunt and a daughter who live out of state and rarely visit.
His home was cluttered and generally untidy, leading to an increased number of falls. The Case Manager was able to build rapport with JD, providing education on fall risk, durable medical equipment for bathing and transferring, reviewing common safety habits, and encouraging a safer environment. JD had several falls before starting services, often occurring when transferring from a seated to a standing position.
Although he still experiences occasional falls, their frequency has drastically reduced. He feels more comfortable in his home with his PERS button. JD frequently contacts his case manager for help connecting with resources such as SIEOC, George’s Pharmacy, and doctor’s offices. He now feels more comfortable letting people into his home and socializing. Overall, JD’s quality of life has improved significantly thanks to the help of non-waiver funded services, and specifically a case manager to assist in the coordination of and referral to external resources.
Sentry Services Client Story
Added July 2024
At the time of intervention, TB, a community resident, had been placed in a nursing facility under a court order following intervention by Adult Protective Services. TB was discovered unconscious at home, suffering from malnutrition, raising concerns of possible exploitation. During the guardianship assessment, it was revealed that the individuals purportedly caring for TB had taken out a $10,000 whole life insurance policy with themselves as beneficiaries. TB was paying the $26.90 monthly premium, which significantly limited their access to personal funds – leaving only $25. 10 from the monthly Medicaid allowance of $52 for personal expenses.
The Sentry Services Case Manager worked with Tran-America Insurance Company and Stratton/Karsteter Funeral Home to liquidate the policy. The funds were used to establish a burial trust for TB, fully paid. As a result, TB now receives the entire $52 monthly Medicaid allowance for personal items, ensuring improved financial stability.
Fredia's Story
Added May 2024
Fredia is a 60-year-old female with a hearing impairment. She has used Catch-A-Ride since 2010. She has had to use an interpreter service for years to schedule her rides. There were situations in the past where the rides were not scheduled to the correct locations or times. This caused Fredia to miss appointments or wait longer than needed due to those scheduling errors. When investigating those issues, it was difficult to determine if it was a translation error or dispatcher error. While working with Fredia to resolve the issues, she was offered the capability to use our WebRides feature. WebRides allows preapproved individuals the ability to request rides through an online portal. This feature provided her with the independence to request rides for herself at any time and she could then see what her ride times were for all her trips. This solution has been a tremendous help. In 2023, Fredia used Catch-A-Ride to take 228 trips to work, 28 trips for Medical appointments, and various other trips for shopping and personal business as well. We are grateful our service allows Fredia to maintain her independence.
Names have been changed
Virgie's Story
Added March 2024
Virgie is a 76-year-old woman who lives by herself and called into the ADRC wanting options for some help with household tasks such as cleaning, laundry, and transportation. She has the support of a long-time neighbor and a son who lives out of state. She is diagnosed with COPD, Arthritis in her hip, and blindness in one eye and is currently working through some vision issues in her other eye. She experiences poor vision and fatigue, tires very easily, and gets short of breath. She is on oxygen 24/7, uses inhalers, and takes nebulizer treatments. Phone Options Counselor (POC) and Virgie discussed using the private hire list and/or seeing if her Anthem Medicare Advantage Plan would pay for help at home. She wanted to first check with her Anthem policy about the home helper and if that didn’t work, she would utilize the Lifetime Resources private hire list. POC agreed to mail out the private hire list along with information on Catch-A-Ride and the SNAC in her area. She was invited to call back if she has questions or other needs arise. Virgie did not come to funded services but got the information and resources she needed to meet her current needs and knows who to call again in the future.
Nathalie Stephan
Phone Options Counselor
Lily's Story
Added January 2024
Lily is a 72-year-old female living in Ripley county. She attends the Senior Nutrition and Activity Center 5 days per week to eat a meal, socialize with others her age and participate in crafts, cards and other activities. In August of 2023 a program was started for the Senior Nutrition and Activities Centers called Produce for Better Health. This program provides 7 to 8 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables bi-weekly to each participant that signs up for the program and agrees to have their weight and Blood Pressure monitored monthly for the duration of the grant funded program. Lily has participated in the program since it started in August 2023 and has shown improvement in her weight and Blood Pressures since starting to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in her diet. Lily reports that because of the lunches that she eats at the Center and the produce received bi-weekly her monthly food budget is lower, she is eating healthier and isn’t buying as much “junk” food as she had been buying. She is happy to have more healthy choices and enjoys the Nutrition education that she receives every month. Lily, and all Produce for Better Health participants, receive 2 recipes in each bag of produce that utilizes the produce included in the bag. Lily reports that she is excited to see what kind of recipe is going to be included and trying them to see if she likes them. Lily reports that she and the other participants talk about how they are preparing the produce and share recipes of their own and/or how they have tweaked the recipes provided to meet their own tastes. Lily reports that she is trying food that she would never have bought for herself due to cost and not knowing how to prepare it, and that this program has opened her up to trying new things and stepping out of her comfort zone as far as food preparation and trying different foods is concerned.
Lily is not a current Home and Community Care client and the only services that she currently receives from Lifetime Resources is Senior Nutrition and Activities Center participation and Produce for Better Health Participation.
Lily lives in a Senior Low-income housing apartment. She has no formal caregivers but she receives assistance from friends and family when she needs it. Lily likes to continue to be as independent as she can and the Senior Nutrition and Activity Center helps her be able to do that.
SR's Story
Added October 2023
SR was born on August 10, 1958, in Bartholomew County. SR’s dad passed away in 1980 and his mother in 1990. SR had 5 brothers and 4 sisters. According to Sentry Services records, SR’s mother was very active in his care until she passed away. At that time, a referral was made to Sentry Services. However, two of SR’s sisters agreed to be his advocate and SR moved from MSH to a group home in Dupont Indiana. Sentry Services was contacted in 2005 when SR’s two sisters stopped contacting him and would not respond when ResCare staff reached out to them. Sentry Services was able to reach one sister who had moved to Florida and felt she was too far away. The other sister never made contact back to Sentry Services after several attempts were made. Sentry Services was granted guardianship over SR in 2005.
Ethel's Story
Added September 2023
A driver was dropping Ethel, who is blind, at home, when Ethel realized that she did not have her keys with her to get into the house. The driver asked if he could call someone, but her husband works far away so he could not come to let her in. The driver offered to take her to a neighbor to wait for her husband to get home, but when they arrived at the neighbor’s house there was no one home there either. So, she asked him to take her back home and told him she would figure out a way to get into her house. After arriving back at her house, the driver called his supervisor for suggestions on what to do to help her.
ZS's Story
Added July 2023
ZS is an 86-year-old female who lived on her own in an apartment in Osgood. ZS’s landlord found her walking around the apartment complex completely naked. Upon landlord inspection of ZS’ apartment, ZS was found on the floor, surrounded by medication. At that time, ZS was transported to Margaret Mary Hospital. While at Margaret Mary, she made suicidal statements, therefore, she was transferred to Harsha Behavioral Center where she stayed for 3 months. Due to her declining health, her inability to follow instructions while at the nursing facility, and ZS’s reports of unfounded elder abuse and exploitation, she could no longer continue to live on her own. ZS’ diagnoses include Type II Diabetes, Brief Psychotic Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Alzheimer’s Disease with Late Onset, Dementia, Macular Degeneration and Significant Hearing Loss.
Arthur's Story
Added May 2023
Arthur began his journey with Lifetime Resources in June of 2022, starting out on CHOICE, non-waiver funding, as he did not yet meet Waiver Level of Care (LOC). Arthur’s primary diagnoses include COPD, hypertension, osteoarthritis, and acute respiratory failure. Arthur was set up with 3 hours of Homemaking per week to assist with upkeep of the home, a Personal Response System (PERS) unit to monitor frequent falls, and Case Management (CMGT) to oversee services and ongoing needs.
In February of 2023, Arthur had a severe fall at his apartment while home by himself. Arthur was unable to get himself up and knew he was injured. Luckily, Arthur was able to utilize his PERS unit and press the button to call for EMS assist. Arthur was then taken to the hospital and then to Shady Nook Nursing Facility (NF) for short-term rehabilitation. Arthur and the social worker at Shady Nook remained in contact with Arthur’s Home Care Manager (HCM). Arthur knew that it may not be safe for him to return home alone due to his frequent falls. The social worker contacted his HCM for Arthur to be assessed for Waiver LOC. As a result of Arthur’s decline, he now met Waiver LOC and was assessed to be placed in Assisted Living (AL).
Arthur now resides at Pine Knoll AL, where he is provided with 24/7 care and supervision. He has happily settled into his new home and made friends with several of the residents. Without CHOICE funding, Arthur would not have had the financial means to pay for his PERS unit in order to quickly call for help, nor would he have had CMGT to reassess his LOC and assist with coordination during his care transition to the AL facility.
Catch-A-Ride Story
Added March 2023
In 2022, Catch-A-Ride transported a passenger who uses a mobility device, who we will refer to as Charles, a total of 208 times. His trips were to/from Charles’s dialysis appointments, which he had three times per week until his passing at the beginning of November. Catch-A-Ride was his primary means of transportation and it enabled him to get to his appointments independently, rather than having to rely on family and friends for transportation. Since Catch- A-Ride is public transportation with a low fare rate, Charles only paid $208.00 for his 208 rides in 2022.
Robert's Story
Added January 2023
Robert is a very independent individual; he has never been married, has no children, and has no relatives involved in his life. He has been attending the SNAC for several years and those individuals have become his family. Robert enjoys the SNAC and loves to debate with anyone that is up to the challenge.
JK's Story
Added December 2022
JK, age 70, a guardianship client of Sentry Services since early 2019, was admitted to Madison State Hospital in 2018. JK’s sister had previously cared for him for years but was no longer able to manage his declining mental health. JK was found to be a danger to himself and others, so he was placed at Madison State Hospital.
Beth's Story
Added October 2022
Catch-A-Ride partners with three sheltered workshop facilities in our six-county service area. We provide transportation to the facilities for job skills training or to places of employment in the community. From January 1st through June 30th, 2022, Catch-A-Ride transported a 52-year-old African American female passenger with a disability, who we will refer to as Beth, a total of 178 times to/from Beth’s home in Ohio County to her job at Kroger in Dearborn County; generally, four days per week. Catch-A-Ride is her primary means of transportation to her place of employment, enabling her to get to work independently, rather than having to rely on family and friends for transportation. Beth qualifies for funding that the sheltered workshop has available, so Catch-A-Ride bills the sheltered workshop for Beth’s rides on a monthly basis. This means that there is no out-of-pocket cost to Beth and Catch-A-Ride is able to utilize the revenue for match as well. Beth’s ability to get to work regularly has allowed her to remain an active member of her community.
