MAGAZINESEPTEMBER 2022 TownePost.com HERE TO HELP AREA FIVE AGENCY ON AGING & COMMUNITY SERVICES AIDS SENIORS 2022 SENIOR SPECIAL ISSUE ENCORE, PLEASE ENCORE LIFESTYLE & ENRICHMENT CENTER HELPS SENIORS LIVE THEIR BEST LIVES
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Encore, which opened in 1979, is Tipton County’s senior-services organization. It operates a transportation service, and hosts a wide range of fun and exciting things to do for Tipton County’s active adults. The facility has experienced tremendous growth since 2015, having grown from fewer than 100 members to 230 in 2021.
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Growth trends are projected to continue as Tipton County is expected to be one of the oldest counties in the state in the next five Inyears.the next three years, the Encore team expects to see a 28% growth in the senior population in Tipton and surrounding areas, which will be the highest in Indiana. Therefore, Encore wants to help meet seniors with additional support that doesn’t currently exist, because their mission is to enrich the quality of life for Tipton County adults by providing programs and services that support independence, healthy aging and social connections.
“Services needed to support holistic health include nutrition, fitness, health-care navigation and caregiver resources,” says Kellerman, who is part of the Senior Center Coalition of Indiana.
Her brother told Kellerman that Encore has been a lifesaver for her, as she not only gained weight, but also gained friendships, confidence and a newfound joy for life.
“We’ve encountered this before,” says Cara Kellerman, executive director of Encore. “Our drivers are wonderful. They’re kind and gentle, and older folks tend to trust them, as they should.”
Sure enough, an Encore driver slowly coaxed her out of her shell, first delivering a daily meal. As time went on, she began to engage in brief conversations with the driver and her hesitancy waned. The driver encouraged her to get on the Encore bus for just a fiveminute drive and she agreed. Soon thereafter, the driver persuaded her to eat a meal at the center. “She fell in love with the place and now she comes every day,” Kellerman says. “She gets picked up in the morning, stays through lunch and goes home in the late afternoon.”
Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided
Last year a man called Encore Lifestyle & Enrichment Center to inquire about their services because although he didn’t live in Tipton, his sister did, and she was struggling. Riddled with anxiety over the COVID-19 pandemic, she had become extremely withdrawn. Scared to leave her house, she had dropped weight and abandoned all contact with the outside world.
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“We plan to expand into a wide range of offerings that are attractive to more residents in the area,” Kellerman says.
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Encore currently offers transportation, daily activities and a travel program. What the community will see coming out of this new strategic plan is a significantly enhanced activities program that will offer more robust, evidence-based programs.
Many individuals offered input on this strategic plan including government employees, senior participants, health-care providers, police officers and firefighters, small-business owners, nonprofits, Encore’s board, and other stakeholders who have an educated viewpoint about what’s going on in the community.
“You can almost see the relief on people’s faces when they find Encore,” Kellerman says. “When they realize they can use our bus and participate in the center’s activities, their world becomes Shebroader.”recalls an 80-year-old woman who became a member because she was lonely after losing so many friends.
Encore’s recent five-year strategic plan expired in 2020. After a temporary interruption due to the pandemic, the board of directors got to work on a new plan in early 2022. With the help of Sullivan Consulting, the recommended consultant from Lilly Endowment, Encore has developed a new, robust strategic plan. Work begins this year through 2026. All of their efforts are founded on the five social determinants of health and well-being - access to health care, education, economic stability, social and community context, and neighborhood and build environment.
“Encore became her new network, and we all became her family, ” Kellerman says.
Encore strives to serve three types of seniors - the older demographic who are primarily stuck at home; those who are 75 and older but still active, still drive, and enjoy activities like euchre and bingo; and 60-year-olds who still function like they’re 40, running around with their friends. “Aging is changing,” says Kellerman, noting that September is National Senior Center Month. “Think of 30 years ago what it looked like to be 70 years old. It looks different now. Our health care is so good that people are living actively so much longer. Some refer to this as a ‘Silver Tsunami.’”
Encore Lifestyle & Enrichment Center is located at 900 East Jefferson Street, Suite A in Tipton. For more information, visit encorecenter.org.
Kellerman has certainly witnessed this. Late in 2021 through the spring of 2022, Encore saw a dramatic increase in membership.
Many of these people need help because they don’t have support outside of the agency. Much of that support revolves around personal, in-home needs such as bathing and health care.
HERE TO HELP AREA FIVE AGENCY ON AGING & COMMUNITY SERVICES AIDS SENIORS
Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided
“The social isolation is a real issue that was here prior to COVID, but is critical and chronic now,” says Steve Gwin, director of programs at Area Five. “Once seniors recognize that their best option is to engage with the senior-care community, they feel better.”
One huge issue seniors face is determining whether to stay in their home. Area Five has long-term health-care providers in every county (in Tipton it’s Encore Lifestyle & Enrichment Center). They have options counselors who are the access point for all in-home services, providing guidance to help with long-term care solutions and supports.
number-one piece of advice to anyone interested in determining if Area Five’s services would be beneficial is to be forthright, honest and transparent about one’s needs.
It’s their loved ones, and sometimes the loved one’s point of view doesn’t match the senior’s point of view.”
“We want to empower them and educate them as well as everyone else,” Gwin says.
Gwin’stoo.”
It’s not often discussed, but one of the most difficult aspects of aging is the loneliness that ensues. It’s not unusual for the staff at Area Five Agency on Aging & Community Services, Inc. to get calls from folks who just want someone to talk to.
“The options counselors do an assessment to determine what the person can and can’t do, then match them up with services they qualify for,” Gwin says. “A lot of times it’s not the client who is calling to talk to us.
“It’s a humbling experience, but our options counselors are very compassionate,” Gwin says. “They listen, ask a ton of questions, assess needs, then offer guidance as to best options to pursue, whether that’s through us or another agency.”
Adult children often want to coach or even speak for their elderly parent, but the team at Area Five honors and respects the client as an adult.
“Sometimes that means educating the child
Once it’s decided that a senior qualifies for one of their programs where in-home services are covered, the senior is assigned a
4 / TIPTON MAGAZINE / SEPTEMBER 2022 / TownePost.com
“Thatmanager.personis like your paid best friend,” Gwin says. “They’ll help care for you and arrange in-home health care. They call and check on their senior and the senior can call them. It’s an awesome relationship.”
“Elderly people who don’t have families to help manage their bills or medical care can be taken advantage of, so these volunteers are here to help,” Gwin says, noting that the organization works closely with the state Partcourts.of Area Five’s health and wellness education includes PASTA (parenting a second time around), for which they offer support groups for grandparents who are parenting their grandchildren. In addition, they have a geri-fit exercise program to help those over 60 improve their strength, mobility and balance.
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Each VASIA (volunteer advocate for seniors and incapacitated adults) is a trained volunteer matched with an at-risk adult client to help advocate for their care and needs.
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Area Five also has people who can help seniors navigate Medicare and Medicaid.
They serve 11 meal sites, including one in Tipton at Encore and two in Howard County. These home-delivered meals are important for two reasons. First, seniors receive one hot meal per day. Second, it’s a daily wellness check - a way to check in on folks in case they’ve fallen, are injured or are Areaincapacitated.Fiveoffersmore than a dozen community services, including the Energy Assistance program, which provides low-income individuals and families with a one-time allotment for heating bills during the winter. Their Guardianship program is all about volunteer advocacy.
“We have a kitchen here in Logansport where we serve about 1,000 meals a day and ship them out to all the counties,” Gwin says.
“Health insurance plans can be very scary to seniors,” Gwin says. “Our goal is to educate them to make good decisions, not to make the decisions for them.”
For more information, call 765-675-4746.
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The Senior Nutrition Program allows seniors over 60 to come to a meal site for food or else participate in the homebound program, similar to Meals on Wheels. Those under 60 can still come and eat for a fee.
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