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Watch Katherine Freund on the HLN Television Network (formerly known as CNN Headline News) in Breakthrough Women
September 25, 2011January 30 Driver Workshop will feature the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging
January 25, 2012Please join ITNBluegrass for what should be a very interesting Driver Workshop!
Social worker Marie Smart from UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging will speak to us about what the Center’s mission is, what research on aging it is conducting and what services it offers to the community. The workshop will be held on Monday, January 30, from 9:30-10:30 am at the ITNBluegrass office (1206 N Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40505).
As always, we’ll serve a light breakfast and draw for a door prize. This is a great opportunity to learn a little something as well as meet other drivers!
To RSVP, please call Laura at 859-351-0460 or send her an email at laura.dake@itnbluegrass.org.
Gerontologist joins ITN America’s research panel
January 20, 2012Ensuring safe mobility for older residents is something Tom Meuser is very passionate about, so having the opportunity to serve on a panel of researchers for an organization dedicated to the same mission is a perfect fit.
Meuser, director of the Gerontology Graduate Program at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, has been appointed to Independent Transportation Network America’s Research Group. ITN America is a door-through-door transportation service with affiliate branches all over the United States. Members receive dignified transportation in private cars as opposed to senior buses and vans which carry a certain stigma. The local affiliate, ITN St. Charles, was established in 2006.
Driven to Succeed
January 20, 2012Written by
Michelle Hillman
Jean Patel Bushnell is the force behind a new regional service for elders called ITNGreaterBoston which will provide seniors with safe and reliable transportation.
Seniors who need a ride to their physician’s office, who want to attend outings with friends, go the grocery store or even visit their grandchildren will have a local option when ITNGreaterBoston launches in a half dozen suburban Boston communities later this month.
ITNGreaterBoston is the result of combined funding from the MetroWest Health Foundation and Tufts Health Plan Foundation which wanted to ensure that seniors who were no longer able to drive could still get to medical and other necessary appointments. For Bushnell, ITNGreaterBoston is about more than just getting from place to place. It’s about providing seniors with freedom and dignity.
Service Groups at Sunrise Rotary
January 20, 2012Service groups at Sunrise Rotary
Representatives from ITNCoastalCT, The Workplace and LINKS: Connections for Independent Living, three of the more than 40 charities and service programs that are the recipients of funds raised by Westport Sunrise Rotary Club, will speak about their organizations at the Club’s breakfast meeting at Bobby Q’s, 42 Main Street, Westport, on Friday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 a.m. Guests are welcome. There is a $12 fee for the meeting which includes a breakfast buffet.
Nancy McCormick, executive director of ITNCoastalCT, will discuss her transportation service for seniors 60+ and visually impaired adults in the six-town area of Westport, Weston, Wilton, Norwalk, Fairfield and Easton. The dignified service is available 24/7, year-round, in private automobiles with volunteer and paid drivers for any purpose, not only medical appointments.
Community ride service seeks Salinas-area volunteers
January 17, 2012Written by
Sarah Jane Keller
Carolyn Craig, a retired preschool teacher who lives in Pebble Beach, has always been active in her community. But when she began to lose her vision and had to stop driving five years ago, it became more challenging to maintain her volunteer activities. She had to use a shared car service or the bus, or call on her neighbors for help in a pinch. Seemingly small things like coordinating ride schedules on paper became much more difficult with waning vision.
Join the Senior Driving Conversation
January 12, 2012Dave Melton, Managing Director for Global Road Safety for Liberty Mutual Insurance and Katherine Freund, President and Executive Director of ITNAmerica, discuss Senior Driving: the issue that is currently impacting families worldwide; tell-tale signs of someone who should consider giving up the car keys; the “Senior Simulation Suit,” which is a community educational initiative, that includes a live simulation demonstration; how to approach this subject with loved-ones; and, transportation alternatives such as ITNAmerica. For more information on Senior Driving, please visit LibertyMutual.com/senior-driving and ITNAmerica.org.
Aging in Place: Deaconess Adds Senior Products, Services
January 5, 2012Deaconess Associations
311 Straight Street · Cincinnati, OH 45219 · 513.559.2100
Contact: Holly Williamson
(513) 559-2470
medmonitoring@deaconess-cinti.com
Aging in Place: Deaconess Adds Senior Products, Services
Deaconess Medical Monitoring partners with Guardian
Deaconess Associations Foundation (DAF) has entered into a partnership with Guardian Medical Alert Systems to provide products and services for senior citizens aging in place in their homes.
Deaconess Medical Monitoring (Powered by Guardian) has been added to the DAF senior citizen portfolio. Deaconess Medical Monitoring (DMM) provides safety systems and products to help its more than 1,200 senior citizen customers maintain a safe and independent lifestyle even while dealing with complicated medical issues.
Its Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) is the most popular product so far. The PERS enables seniors to remain safely in their homes with the knowledge that help is always a push-of-a-button away. Subscribers wear a necklace or wristband that engages a personal emergency response to bring help in case of falls in the home or home security breaches.
The DMM product portfolio includes medication management, internet video monitoring, personal location devices, and whole house security. Easy use and worry-free safety are hallmarks of the medical monitoring products.
“Many of our clients live independently, but there are senior living facilities that are also clients,” said Pat Ward, executive director at DAF. “The beauty of these products is that they can be used in a stand-alone home or part of a planned community. They can help seniors remain in their homes as long as quality of life permits, no matter where your home is.”
The Medication Management System is a reminder and dosage tool for people with multiple prescriptions or complex medication schedules. The dispenser can load a month’s worth of medications at a time and alerts the client when a medication should be taken. Clients hit a blue button on the unit to acknowledge that they have taken a dose. If the client fails to acknowledge taking the medicine, the unit withdraws the dose after a certain time frame and notifies the individual identified as a first responder.
“This is ideal for people with a complicated array of medications who may get confused or forget to take medication,” said Ward. “The system also prevents over-dosing.”
Other personal emergency response products include floor mat sensors that measure physical activity in a home or assisted living facility; smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; a lock box to store a spare key; a personal Global Positioning Service (GPS) location device that monitors physical movement both in and outside a home for active seniors who garden or take walks; and a “Virtually There” video camera service that scans rooms in a home and can be accessed by a caregiver through the Internet or smart phone.
“The camera can scan the room and show that a client is going up and down stairs, or is eating,” said Holly Williamson, DMM coordinator. “If a person is bedridden and not supposed to get out of bed, the wandering management mat sends out a signal when you step on it to a central station. If a client is up at 3 a.m., the camera or sensors show that, too. Lots of dementia and Alzheimer patients and their caregivers use these devices.”
Costs include an installation fee along with a monthly fee. Deaconess is working on contracts with various local senior citizens organizations to provide aid to low-income seniors. For more information about the Deaconess Medical Monitoring program, contact Williamson at (513) 559-2827.
Deaconess Hospital, 311 Straight St. in Clifton, closed in 2009 and has evolved into a medical mall of products, solutions and resources for greater Cincinnati’s seniors and their caregivers.
DAF helps older adults experience more vibrant, active and fulfilling lives by providing and supporting programs and resources for senior citizens aging in place. It is an affiliate of Deaconess Associations, Inc., which owns and operates Deaconess Long Term Care facilities in Ohio, Kansas and Missouri, and the Heimlich Institute, dedicated to using the creative portion of our minds in medicine and in life.
FullLife (www.LiveFull.org), a Deaconess website featuring over 15,000 chronic disease and senior health articles, and the Independent Transportation Network of Greater Cincinnati (www.itngreatercincinnati.org), along with Beyond Driving with Dignity are DAF-supported initiatives.
For more information about DAF programs and resources for senior citizens aging in place, go to www.DeaconessFoundation.org or www.LiveFull.org.
Holly Williamson, left, Deaconesss Medical Monitoring coordinator, helps Margaret Violand of the Cottingham Retirement Community in Sharonville learn how to use her new medication monitoring system. Deaconess offers senior citizens an array of senior-oriented products and services so they can live safely and comfortably in their own homes as long as possible. (Photo Provided)
Road Warrior: Thoughtful gifts for New Jersey drivers
December 19, 2011By John Cichowski
Road Warrior Columnist
Find rides for seniors
If you’ve tried to get an elderly parent to give up a driver’s license, you know this complaint: “How will I get around?”
Nonprofit [ITNNorthCentralConnecticut] transportation provider needs volunteers
December 5, 2011By Correll Mayo
For the Journal Inquirer
Published: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 12:47 PM EST
EAST WINDSOR- ITN North Central Connecticut Senior Transportation Services is looking for drivers to volunteer their time.
ITN is an independent nonprofit senior transportation service network that has been providing service to area older residents since 2006. Its main goal is to provide older residents and the visually impaired with transportation and to give them some independence without feeling like they’re a burden to others.
The senior population in the state is growing, and by 2030 the population is expected to grow 64 percent, ITN Executive Director Margaret Smith-Hale said.
“We need drivers to keep pace. We’re the only alternative to seniors,” Smith-Hale said.
ITN separates itself from other senior services such as Dial-A-Ride and mini buses, because it provides nonstop service, and rides are offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year round. Service is provided to individuals who live in Bloomfield, East Granby, East Windsor, Enfield, Granby, Somers, South Windsor, Suffield, Windsor, and Windsor Locks.
This transportation program uses volunteer drivers who provide rides in private vehicles. There are no restrictions on the purpose of rides. Drivers will take members to doctor appointments, lunch dates, and shopping. Drivers take care of members’ every need, such as carrying groceries, packages, folding walkers, and opening doors.
“ITN has given me life again,” member Billie Alban said. “I can do the shopping I need, keep medical appointments, go to lunch with friends.”
“The drivers are wonderful. When necessary they will accompany me into a store to find something I need.” Alban said. “There are no words that describe how important this program has been to help me live my life.”
Volunteers submit to background checks and must provide three references. Volunteers also must be over 18 years old, have a clean driving record, and no criminal record
“Volunteers are critical to the sustainability of the program,” Smith-Hale said.
For more information or to become a member or a volunteer driver, applications are available at www.itnnorthcentralct.org