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Neighborhood Services reports abandoned senior found, family secures interim housing; staff flag service gaps
Summary
A Department of Neighborhood Services analyst reported a care coordination case in which a senior with a recent stroke and no identification was returned to a senior center by family; staff said temporary private housing was secured and noted state service outages and limits of shelter services for frail seniors.
Gregory Gray, management analyst I with the City of Las Vegas Department of Neighborhood Services, reported to the Senior Citizens Advisory Board on Sept. 4 that staff handled a care coordination case involving a senior who had been effectively abandoned and who lacks identification and insurance access.
Gray said the senior, who has had a stroke, uses a walker and has a tendency to elope, had been brought to the Centennial Hills Active Adult Center over Labor Day weekend after family members located him. Olga, the recreation coordinator at the center, had been communicating with the couple but the senior's spouse had repeatedly refused services, Gray said.
"If he did not have the means to care for him and he did not have the means to care for himself, he is effectively homeless," Gray told the board while describing the limited options. He said shelter services at the county courtyard require residents to be able to perform daily tasks independently and therefore were considered a last resort for someone with the senior's needs.
Gray said family members arranged interim private housing — a room for rent offered by another senior at the center — while staff work to help replace the senior's ID and restore access to insurance and bank accounts. He said work is delayed because "state services" for ID replacement were temporarily down at the time of the report.
Board members and staff discussed the case's urgency and the limits of the senior center as a care site. Chair O'Rear Cameron and others emphasized that the center's role is recreational and that care coordination and housing solutions require other agencies and resources.
Gray encouraged seniors and caregivers to seek help earlier: "Don't wait until the last minute. Get help now. Call our care coordination team. We are on standby," he said.
Gray's report also included a separate item: he said parks and recreation implemented a mandate to raise fitness fees at centers with workout facilities, a change that has prompted some members to voice opposition and that Gray said he would follow up on with council staff and the board chair.
Board members said they will continue to monitor the senior's case and coordinate referrals among care coordination staff, the recreation coordinator and other agencies.
