Below are the full success and client stories from the Hamilton County Elderly Services Program (ESP) 2023 Annual Report. These stories illustrate the impact ESP has on older adults and caregivers in Hamilton County.
Click here to view the program’s 2023 annual report. To request a paper copy, email us.
Report Update: An update was made in the expenses table in the 2023 Annual Report to reflect corrected numbers of individuals served and service units provided for the Minor Home Repairs and Utility Assistance Service. The cost for this service was unchanged. (July 29, 2024)
- Blanche looks for a home helper, finds a new friend
- Hamilton County’s innovative 513Relief Bus connects residents to services and benefits
- home52 Transportation success driven by provider relationships
- Utility and home repair assistance preserves independence for county’s older adults
- County resident receives 2023 Home Health Aide Hero award
- AddnAide brings neighbors together to meet in-home care needs
- Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program continues to grow in Hamilton County
Blanche looks for a home helper, finds a new friend
Thursday isn’t just the day of the week Blanche’s charming home in Kennedy Heights gets spruced up. It’s also when she gets to spend time with her friend Bonita.
Both women look forward to it. For Blanche, 89, it helps her remain in the home where she has lived since 1963 and, she jokes, “raised two kids and a husband.”
Bonita mops, cleans the bathrooms and organizes. Most importantly, she dusts and vacuums: “Blanche has asthma; that’s important, because dust is a trigger,” she said.
The help was exactly what Blanche, a retired nurse, was looking for when she reached out through AddnAide. The app allows older adults across southwestern Ohio who need help with laundry, meal prep and more to match with people to provide that care.
The new friendship was an unexpected bonus.
In the face of a shortage of home care workers, Council on Aging (COA) and its subsidiary home52 took an innovative approach, debuting the app in July 2022. Blanche learned of AddnAide after her COA case manager reached out to her daughter, Linda, who is deeply involved in her care. Since her 2008 open-heart surgery, Blanche has received housekeeping help through COA, but with the shortage of helpers, it was sometimes difficult.
She was excited about the app’s potential to attract caregivers — those with experience and those with a heart for the work, but no experience. Caregivers must be 18, have transportation and complete a background check. AddnAide is ideal for people seeking a flexible schedule, but what motivated Bonita — who worked for decades as a nurse — was purpose-driven employment. “There’s a home care crisis in Ohio,” she said.
Bonita finds AddnAide to be user-friendly. She created her account, then worked with COA’s third-party financial management firm, Palco Inc., on her background check. Once her profile became visible to older adults, they began contacting her.
Blanche, meanwhile, worked with Linda to create her profile and relies on her to schedule appointments and approve Bonita’s timecards through the app. Older adults (or designees) serve as employers for caregivers; payroll and tax functions are built into AddnAide.
Blanche liked that Bonita shared her nursing background. Plus, “We’re both born-again Christians.”
Blanche reached out through AddnAide to chat, then they exchanged phone numbers. Next, they met at the library and finally began their professional relationship. The rest, as they say, is history. Blanche, an accomplished singer, performs with her church, and Bonita has even taken her granddaughter to the performances.
Maintaining a caregiving relationship while building a friendship — now that is a song Bonita and Blanche love to sing.
Hamilton County’s innovative 513Relief Bus connects residents to services and benefits
When Hamilton County announced the opportunity for partnerships on its new 513Relief Bus, Council on Aging (COA) responded and was selected. When COA first boarded the bus in early 2023, it opened a new channel for its specialists to connect with those in need of aging-related information and services: in person, and in tandem with other area social-service organizations. The bus is helping more residents learn about and connect with the Elderly Services Program and other benefits and supports they may be eligible for. Click here to read more.
home52 Transportation success driven by provider partnerships
After nearly three full years of operations, home52 Transportation continues to grow and receive high marks from riders who rely on the service to meet their transportation needs. A major driving force behind the program’s success is the partnerships home52 has developed with its transportation provider network. This network includes many small and family-owned businesses, like Timmons Tender Care of Mt. Healthy. Click here to read more.
Utility and home repair assistance preserves independence for county’s older adults
In 2023, the Hamilton County Senior Utility and Home Repair Assistance Program provided help to more than 800 Hamilton County older adults. Individuals who received assistance through the program – including help with electric or water bills, and/or home repairs such as accessibility upgrades, HVAC and plumbing repair – were not eligible for help through federal programs. Funded by the county’s senior services tax levy, the program meets needs that could otherwise be barriers to independent living.
My shower and bathtub had been nonfunctional for years and we were able to get it repaired. It has significantly improved my quality of life to be able to take a bath every day.”
Program Participant
County resident receives 2023 Home Health Aide Hero award
“Lauren is calm, organized and always makes her clients feel important.” That’s how North College Hill resident Lauren Bryan was described when she was nominated for a 2023 Home Health Aide Hero award. Home health aides play a critical role in helping older adults live with dignity and independence in their homes. Annually, Council on Aging recognizes home health aides, like Bryan, whose outstanding service has made an impact on their clients’ lives. Click here to read more.
AddnAide brings neighbors together to meet in-home care needs
Dennis has lived his entire life in Cincinnati. He grew up on Broadway in downtown Cincinnati watching the riverboats come and go from the city. “The riverfront was my playground,” he said.
The family’s childhood home was located right next to the jail. With five brothers and two sisters in the home, Dennis’ parents frequently threatened they would end up in jail if they misbehaved. Dennis believed them.
For 40 years, Dennis owned his own salon, cutting hair for folks he described as “the people with money in Mt. Lookout and Hyde Park.” After selling the salon, he went into the carpentry business and joined up with a company installing kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
According to Dennis, there wasn’t much difference between cutting hair and installing cabinets. “In either case, you measure twice and cut once,” he said.
In the 1960s, Dennis and a buddy decided they would avoid the draft and enlist in the Army. He ended up serving four years in the infantry – Second Army, Charlie Company. He’s tried to catch up with Army buddies from that time period, but hasn’t had much luck.
Today, Dennis lives in a senior apartment building in Clifton, high up on a hill overlooking the city he’s called home all his life. He enrolled in Hamilton County’s Elderly Services Program when he cut back on driving and it became difficult to manage household tasks. Dennis has COPD and is on oxygen, so he lacks the stamina to do things like cleaning, laundry or grocery shopping on his own.
At first, Dennis had an aide through a home care agency. But, due to a shortage of home care workers, it was difficult to get the consistent service he needed.
Then, his Council on Aging care manager, Todd, told him about a new option – AddnAide. AddnAide is an app created by Council on Aging subsidiary home52 to help ESP clients like Dennis match with people in the community who are available to provide home care services. One of the goals of AddnAide is to expand the pool of individuals available to serve older adults who need in-home care. By having more caregivers available to help, fewer older adults are left waiting for the care they need.
AddnAide also gives people like Dennis more control over their care. Older adults can browse profiles of available caregivers in AddnAide, have secure conversations with potential caregivers, and then extend an offer of employment when they find a good match. All AddnAide caregivers receive a background check before their profiles become visible to people like Dennis in the app.
AddnAide also provides the ability for older adults to invite someone to become a caregiver in the app. That’s how Dennis matched with his aide, Renee. She lived in his building and offered to help. With his care manager’s help, Dennis sent an invite to Renee through AddnAide. She completed the background check and things have been going swimmingly for months.
“Renee does a great job for me – we’re a team,” Dennis said. “It’s gotten so that she just comes in and knows what to do.” Renee sweeps and mops, cleans the bath and kitchen and helps Dennis with his laundry, when needed.
For Renee’s part, she said she likes being a helpful person and she appreciates what she calls the “generous nature” of older adults.
She shared that PTSD has made it difficult for her to hold a traditional job. AddnAide gives her flexibility while also fulfilling her desire to be helpful. “We make a plan for each day,” Renee explained, which could include washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen; sweeping and mopping; tending to the cat litter box; washing windows; organizing; or doing laundry when needed.
Dennis uses AddnAide to approve all of Renee’s timecards and to schedule their appointments. He can receive messages from Renee and his care manager in the app, and Renee’s paychecks are also processed through the app. “I’m pretty savvy with the app,” he said. “It’s easy – self-explanatory.”
Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program continues to grow in Hamilton County
During the pandemic, COA worked with a group of community members, farmers and the Ohio Department of Aging to secure a $180,000 grant to bring this popular program to the region. In Hamilton County, enrollment in the program has increased more than 60% since 2020, with nearly 1,300 older adults enrolled in 2023. The program provides $50 in coupons to eligible, low-income older adults for use at participating farmers’ markets and roadside stands.