INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE

Information and Assistance is a telephone, e-mail or ‘walk-in' service which can help older persons, their family members, and caregivers find answers to their questions about programs and services available to them in their own communities.

Information and Assistance can also make referrals to agencies and service providers on an older person's behalf, if they choose that assistance.

Choices are available from public funded, private pay and volunteer programs in the following areas:

• Housekeeping, Personal Care, Home Delivered Meals, and other Services that can help older people continue to live at home
• Case Management for assessment of needs and supportive service planning
• Low income housing, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes, and skilled nursing facilities
• Transportation
• Medicare and Medicaid information
• Local support groups
• Caregiver information

We look forward to helping you get the information and services you need.

PUBLIC INFORMATION

Shawna Wasko, Public Information/Contracts Manager

As Public Information Manger, I work hard at getting the word out to the communities about all of the great services that we provide here, and the many different ways that we can help. I publish a quarterly newsletter, promote classes and training, write press releases and articles for the newspapers, and publicize our office through various events during the year such as health fairs and the Senior Expo.

If you have a group or organization that would like us to speak to about our many programs, please call me.

As the Contracts Manager, I work with various service providers from Intensive Respite to Transportation. I also work with the sixteen senior centers in our eight-county area, overseeing the nutrition programs to ensure that the senior citizens eating in, or receiving home-delivered meals are getting quality meals that comply with the government regulations.

If you have questions on a specific event that we might be at, or about the meals in the senior centers, please feel free to call me at anytime, (736-2122 ext. 2127) or email me at: swasko@ooa.csi.edu .