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West Central Agency on Aging reviews services and funding to Lincoln County commissioners
Summary
Agency leaders outlined Medicaid waiver, caregiver respite, meal programs and volunteer shortages and asked commissioners to refer residents and potential volunteers ahead of Medicare open enrollment.
Erin Arzdorf, director of the West Central Agency on Aging, told the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 29 that the agency provides in-home supports, meal programs and benefits counseling across 17 counties, including Lincoln County. "We get federal funding through the Older Americans Act. We also get state funding and the counties that we serve provide dollars," Arzdorf said.
The presentation underlined programs that serve older residents in the region. The agency’s Medicaid Aged and Disabled waiver pays for service coordination and personal care (bathing, dressing, grooming), housekeeping and meal support for people who qualify for Medicaid and meet a nursing-facility level of care. Arzdorf said the agency also coordinates home-delivered meals, a lifeline emergency pendant, and assists with assisted-living room-and-board payments under state-set fees.
Tori Franzen, choices program supervisor, described additional programs: a care management grant for people 60 and older with two deficits in activities of daily living (currently funded at about $150 per month, depending on available funding) and a family caregiver support program that provides up to $200 per month toward respite care or related services. "They can use that to pay their provider for housekeeping, laundry, some people use it for bathing assistance," Franzen said.
Vicky Gleason, the agency’s public benefits specialist, described benefits counseling and fraud-prevention outreach. Gleason identified the agency’s SHIP and Senior Medicare Patrol efforts to help residents enroll in Medicare and check Part D plans; the agency was already scheduling appointments ahead of the Oct. 15–Dec. 7 open-enrollment window.
Commissioners and staff asked about meal counts and funding. Arzdorf said the agency pays senior centers on a tiered per-meal basis: $4 per meal for the first 3,000 meals and an additional federal “incent” of about $0.70 where applicable, “so essentially they get at most $4.70 per meal,” she said. Centers also receive private suggested contributions from diners that are kept confidential. The agency pays from several pots—congregate, home-delivered and federal 3(b) funds—and county contributions can be drawn on if an individual center exceeds its contracted meal count during the year.
Arzdorf and Gleason warned that flat federal and state funding, coupled with rising food and staffing costs, constrain the agency’s ability to increase meal or in-home service payments. They said many small senior centers in outlying counties rely heavily on volunteers and face recruitment challenges.
The agency encouraged the commission to refer residents who need services and to publicize volunteer opportunities, particularly for Medicare enrollment help and home-delivered meal programs. "We're always looking for volunteers," Arzdorf said. Staff left informational brochures and business cards for intake and referral.
The board thanked the presenters and noted the importance of the agency’s role in helping older residents stay in their homes and navigate benefits.
