Helping Summit County's 90,000 older adults stay safe in their homes

A few adult children have found that the simplest arrangement can be found in an apartment at the same retirement community, as it enables them to care for their elderly parents efficiently.

More retirement and nursing homes are asking college students to move in, an arrangement that benefits everyone. Students stay free of charge in exchange for volunteering to help the seniors.

These days, most rural communities in the U.S. are elderly communities - 15 percent of Wyoming’s population is over 65 and a high percentage of them live on ranches in small towns. New caregiver programs allow seniors to continue living at home and to keep doing what they are able, with assistance provided if needed.

Through the Burbank Senior Artists Colony - a community created by EngAGE - low-income seniors learn how to become artists. The recreational classes hosted by the community keep people feeling phsyically and mentally young, allowing them to focus on recreation instead of financial hardship.

The U.S. prison population is aging, which is costly because older inmates need more care. Some states have responded by creating special wards, having the young inmates care for the old, or building nursing homes.

Congressional Republicans' push to reduce Medicaid funds is a threatening proposition to the people who use its services. Medicaid funds services at home which allows people to live at home instead of in a nursing home by providing minor house renovations, a visiting nurse or other worker, or other home products.

Apollo Healthcare Services has started an elder caregiver support group in Richland County, OH. The intent of this support group is to give caregivers an outlet to voice their frustrations or experiences that accompany elder caregiving so that they are less likely to take out that frustration on the elders in their care.

A program called Time Slips is aiming to make nursing homes in Kentucky hubs for artistic expression and creativity. They are tracking how expressing creativity and engaging in art therapy improves residents' health outcomes and family satisfaction. This program also engages nursing home residents in their community, making them feel less stigmatized by their age.

The Medical Foster Home Program places military veterans with chronic, debilitating diseases into foster homes rather than assisted living facilities. These homes must meet strict regulations and the caregivers must be able to give care 24/7 or have relief help if they are unable to be there all of the time. This program decreases the number of trips and admissions to the hospital among participants, and offers them a living situation that is more similar to being in their own home.

Dissatisfied with the opportunities for residents of assisted living facilities to engage in creative pursuits, Tim Carpenter developed senior ‘art colonies’ that provided writing, performance, and visual arts classes. Equipped with studios and a performance space, artists work in the facility and double as instructors to residents. Residents are encouraged to set goals, take risks, and commit to learning new skills.