Frederick County program helping low-income seniors live in their own homes

Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater on Tuesday said 116 people have signed up for a program that provides low-income seniors with resources to “age in place” — remain in their own homes and live independently.

Service Coordination for Seniors is expected to eventually expand to assist about 300 people, Melanie Cox, the president of the nonprofit organization Advocates for the Aging of Frederick County, said in an interview Tuesday.

A five-member team of services specialists creates individually tailored plans for each senior who is part of the program based on what they want to focus on, Steve Harris, the program’s service supervisor in the county’s Division of Aging and Independence, said in an interview Tuesday.

Letting the senior set the plan is important as they then are invested in the process, Harris said.

“It’s a unique experience, too, from one senior to another, going into their home and sharing their space, listening to what they need and helping them to address their concerns,” Maggie Carter, a service specialist for the program, said in an interview Tuesday.

The program, which started in March, will be highlighted at a national conference on aging in July, Fitzwater said at a press conference Tuesday.

According to Cox, a grant from the Maryland Health Care Commission allowed for a service coordination pilot program in Frederick County in 2019. Frederick Health Hospital picked up the program for another two years until the program was shifted to the county’s Division of Aging and Independence, she said.

Seniors who reside in Frederick County and meet the age and income standards based on the average median income can voluntarily elect to be part of the program, Cox said.

Fifty-three percent of the seniors in the Service Coordination program have a monthly income below the federal poverty level of $1,255 in a single-person household, according to data from the Division of Aging and Independence.

“By meeting people where they are, our staff is helping seniors connect with vital services,” Fitzwater said in a press release on Tuesday. “One person didn’t realize he qualified for a veteran’s pension, and another found an apartment they could afford. By working together, we are creating a higher quality of life for our seniors. Service Coordination for Seniors is already making a difference in our community.”

Members of the Service Coordination team are liaisons to the seniors and help connect them with services, which include making appointments with their doctors, teaching them how to use public transportation, and assisting to procure and fill out documents for programs such as SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps, or their annual Medicare evaluations, Cox said.

Many seniors in Frederick County live alone with minimal support, according to Cox. Through the program, the service coordination team member often becomes the first point of contact when a senior in the program has questions, she said.

In the months the program has operated, the effect has been “truly life-changing” for some seniors, Kathy Schey, the director of Frederick County’s Division of Aging and Independence, said.

Schey said that through the program, veterans who were unaware they were eligible for services could receive home care and assistance. In another instance, a service specialist taught a senior how to use public transportation and waited at the destination, so the person could use the bus by themselves.

“That’s independence,” Schey said. “Independence and transportation, that kind of stuff makes life better.”