Below are the full success and client stories from the Warren County Elderly Services Program (ESP) 2023 Annual Report. These stories illustrate the impact ESP has on older adults and caregivers in Warren County.
Click here to view the program’s 2023 annual report. To request a paper copy, email us.
- Warren County ESP client finds lucky match in AddnAide
- Warren County Community Services steps in to fill gaps following provider termination
- Community-based partnerships bring health and wellness programs to Warren County older adults
- Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program continues to grow in Warren County
- For Warren County Community Services employee, secret to happiness is doing what you love
Warren County ESP client finds lucky match in AddnAide
It’s a great partnership, the saying goes, when each person feels like the lucky one. That describes Shari and Lorinda perfectly.
It was a bit bumpy finding an in-home caregiver who would show up on time and stick around more than a few weeks. When Council on Aging (COA) launched the AddnAide app, Shari’s luck began to change.
“I couldn’t believe I could get this lucky to match with Lorinda,” said Shari, 63, who has a disability and lives on her own.
In the face of a shortage of home care workers, COA and its subsidiary home52 took an innovative approach, developing AddnAide to match older adults across southwestern Ohio who need help with tasks such as laundry and errands with people willing to provide that care — people like Lorinda.
After leaving the corporate grind, Lorinda came to love the freedom of self-directed “gig work.” With AddnAide, she found a sense of purpose, too. “My corporate job was just feeding my wallet, but this is feeding my spirit,” Lorinda said.
Twice a week, she goes to Shari’s apartment in Franklin to provide cleaning, meal prep and companionship. Both women felt well matched on AddnAide: The duties Lorinda was interested in jibed with those important to Shari. They lived close to each other. And Lorinda was comfortable around a cat — critical for Shari and 14-year-old Vito.
“We get along so well,” Shari said. “Plus, she’s on time and cleans and meal-preps the way I like.”
Both found the AddnAide process straightforward. After creating her account, Lorinda worked with COA’s third-party financial management firm, Palco Inc., on the required background check. Once her profile became visible, older adults started reaching out.
Older adults (or designees) serve as employers for caregivers. Shari said everything has been easy to manage in the app — from scheduling appointments to approving timecards. Payroll and tax functions are built into AddnAide. “I like that nobody solicits me,” Shari said. “I only contact who I want to contact.” Caregivers can “wave” as a first outreach, but older adults send the initial message.
The pair communicated strictly within the app at first but now also text to discuss care details. Shari has no trouble using the app on her cellphone and computer. But if Lorinda works with someone who does, she helps them get comfortable with it.
Lorinda and Shari – paired for more than a year — couldn’t be happier. It helps that they’re both easygoing, Lorinda said, and prioritize communication and flexibility. For example, Lorinda is planning a trip to the Philippines, but the two worked together to make sure Shari’s needs are covered. And Lorinda will deep-clean the apartment beforehand so it’s perfect for a visit from Shari’s son.
Communication, flexibility and common goals — a lucky pairing, indeed.
Warren County Community Services steps in to fill gaps following provider termination
Partnerships play an important role in ensuring older adults receive the services they need to live safely and independently at home. Council on Aging (COA), the Area Agency on Aging for southwestern Ohio, including Warren County, is fortunate to have the support of a strong network of service provider partners who share in COA’s commitment to delivering high-quality services.
This partnership was put to the test – and passed with flying colors – in July when COA made the difficult decision to terminate its contracts with Central Connections.
Located in Middletown and formerly known as the Middletown Area Senior Services, Central Connections provided services including congregate and home-delivered meals, transportation and other supportive services to more than 1,300 older adults in Butler and Warren counties.
COA took this action as a result of several breaches of contract on the part of Central Connections which were connected to the organization’s financial stability and service delivery requirements. Before delivering termination notices on July 24, 2023, COA conducted dozens of site visits and repeatedly requested information which would bring Central Connections into compliance with its contracts.
Area Agencies on Aging, like Council on Aging, play an integral role in managing the provider network that delivers home- and community-based services to area older adults via publicly-funded programs, including provider procurement, contracting and ongoing oversight and management. It is because of this relationship and oversight that COA was able to quickly identify and then begin monitoring concerns related to Central Connections.
In the weeks following COA’s actions, Central Connections’ executive director was terminated, most of its staff laid off, and the property was purchased by the city of Middletown. The building’s future remains uncertain. The issue received extensive local interest and media coverage.
During this time, COA’s priority was ensuring the continuity of services for impacted older adults. COA’s provider relations department worked with a team of other contracted service providers to successfully transition all 1,300 clients who’d been receiving services from Central Connections.
Warren County Community Services, Inc. (WCCS), played an integral role in the transition process, helping to ensure clients received their services. Additional support came from Meals on Wheels Southwest OH & Northern KY and Community First Solutions affiliates Meals on Wheels of Butler County, LifeSpan and The Fleet.
“Asking a service provider to take on new clients with very little notice is no small task,” said Jennifer Lake, provider services supervisor at Council on Aging. “We are fortunate that our provider network shares our commitment to ensuring clients receive their scheduled services. These providers demonstrated what true partnership is about – stepping in without hesitation to meet the needs of impacted older adults.”
Lake and other members of COA’s provider relations team worked with the providers, COA case managers and other community partners to prepare for the downstream impact of the contract terminations. This included:
- determining the appropriate provider to serve each of the 1,300 impacted older adults
- notifying each client about changes to their services and service provider
- transitioning clients to existing transportation and meal-delivery routes
- ensuring meal delivery to seven congregate meal sites previously served by Central Connections
“At every level, the staff at these organizations really came through for older adults,” said Ken Wilson, COA’s vice president of program operations. “From meal drivers to HR personnel, these service providers exceeded our expectations for responding to this situation. With very little notice, they responded to our call for help and demonstrated a level of professionalism and compassion I will not soon forget,” Wilson added.
To ensure clients experienced minimal – if any – disruption in their impacted services, a lot of work took place behind the scenes. According to Wilson and Lake, the providers: hired and trained staff; added routes; and rapidly expanded their capacity, including securing more supplies and equipment. Additionally, staff at these organizations accumulated a significant amount of extra work hours to ramp up for the transition and adjust to the increase service volume.
Staff at Warren County Community Services assumed responsibility for some home-delivered meal and Independent Living Assistance clients. The organization volunteered to take over the congregate meal sites that were once operated by Central Connections.
According to Amy Houpey, director of aging services at Warren County Community Services, it was the organization’s staff that made the difference during a difficult situation. “The staff were amazing. I really cannot say enough good things about them,” Houpey said. “Their response was one of concern and support. They were very concerned about the clients and the hardship they might be going through due to the interruption of their meals…everyone pulled together and asked what they could do.”
Other provider organizations contributed to the success of this project:
Community First Solutions: Community First Solutions supported the transition on many levels, including through its partner organizations Meals on Wheels of Butler County (Partners in Prime), LifeSpan (care management) and The Fleet (transportation services). The organization assisted with home-delivered meal deliveries, ultimately absorbed all the Independent Living Assistance clients and provided transportation services. Additionally, care management staff at LifeSpan played a critical role in contact impacted clients to answer questions and share information about their new service provider.
Meals on Wheels of Southwest OH & Northern KY: Meals on Wheels stepped in to support both home-delivered and congregate meal delivery, taking on seven congregate meals sites until they could be permanently transferred to WCCS.
At COA, Lake said, “I was struck by the lack of hesitation on the part of these providers to step in and meet the need. I heard from these providers – and others who helped with this effort – that the clients were the most important part of this transition, and no one was prepared to let them go without services.”
Lake added that she was impressed with the level of commitment and creativity demonstrated by the providers to deliver the services while still meeting program requirements. She noted that the service providers committed to this work without the promise of clients being permanently assigned to their business.
One of the more challenging service needs to arise out of the contract terminations was congregate meals. Congregate meals play an important role in meeting both the nutritional and social needs of older adults. Central Connections had provided ready-to-serve meals at seven different meal sites in Butler County, including a meal that was no longer able to be served in the Central Connections facility. COA received offers of support from several individuals and community organizations to serve as an alternative site for the congregate meal that was previously served at Central Connections.
First Presbyterian Church, located just down the road from Central Connections in Middletown, opened its doors as a temporary congregate meal site. Additionally, COA worked with MidPointe Library, which hosts congregate meals at three of its branch locations, to raise awareness of alternative meal sites.
“MidPointe has been a tremendous partner to COA in allowing us to offer congregate meals in places where older adults are already gathering,” COA’s Wilson said. “Because of this partnership, we were able to provide alternative meal options to the older adults who had been attending the meal at Central Connections.”
Community-based partnerships bring health and wellness programs to Warren County older adults
Council on Aging (COA) offers a variety of free health and wellness programs designed with older adults and caregivers in mind. According to the National Council on Aging, approximately 80% of older adults have at least one chronic disease – and 77% have at least two – which require ongoing medical attention and may impact an older adult’s ability to perform everyday activities and remain independent.
COA’s workshops are offered at community-based locations (host sites) across its five-county service area, making it easy for older adults and caregivers to participate close to home. In 2023, COA partnered with Countryside YMCA, Otterbein, Traditions at Lebanon and Union Village Retirement Community to offer 10 workshops serving nearly 90 individuals in Warren County.
While each workshop is different and designed to meet a specific need, all programs share a common goal: to help older adults and caregivers better manage their own health. COA currently offers seven types of workshops, each focused on a specific issue or need (fall prevention, chronic disease management, etc.).
“Our health and wellness programs have a positive impact on participants’ lives, improving health outcomes and enhancing quality of life,” said Judy Eschmann, COA’s vice president of community and new business operations. “Our secret sauce is our relationship with our host sites. By partnering with organizations in our community that already have a base of members or participants, we extend our reach and impact the lives of even more than we could working alone.”
COA provides a trained facilitator(s) and program materials for each host site. Currently, there are 21 host sites, including health care organizations, YMCAs, faith-based organizations, senior centers and senior housing buildings. Together, host sites and COA offered 33 workshops during FY 2023.
According to Zach McCollum, executive director of programs at Countryside YMCA’s Landen and Otterbein facilities, programs like Tai Chai for Arthritis and Fall Prevention and the Diabetes Self-Management program have been particularly well-received by Y members and community members alike.
“The COA programs have helped us provide an even wider variety of programming for our members,” McCollum said. “It’s also given us the opportunity to reach others in our community who aren’t members. The uniqueness of the COA programs allow us to appeal to a wider range of people.”
McCollum added that while it can be a challenge to meet the wide-ranging needs of older adults, partnering with COA helps the Y offer programming targeted at the unique needs of their older members, while also staying aligned with the Y’s mission to focus on the whole person – Spirit, Mind and Body.
Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program continues to grow in Warren 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 Warren County, enrollment in the program has increased 600% since 2020, with 224 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.
For WCCS employee, secret to happiness is doing what you love
The Warren County Elderly Services Program (ESP) served more than 2,800 older adults in 2023. Helping that many older adults access the services and supports they need to remain independent in their homes and communities is no easy task.
A dedicated team of more than 20 ESP employees at Warren County Community Services, Inc. stands ready to help meet clients’ needs. One of those team members is Lead Care Manager Assistant, Virginia Caplinger. Caplinger is known for bringing knowledge and compassion to her role working with some of the program’s toughest cases.
Caplinger is called upon by other team members to visit clients’ homes to assess for home safety modifications and environmental concerns. During the assessments, Caplinger looks for safety concerns that may impact an older adults’ ability to remain independent at home. This could include the need for adaptive equipment, ramps or grab bars, or major environmental issues such as hoarding or pest infestations.
When tough cases come up, it’s Caplinger’s compassion and sense of humor that help clients through difficult decisions.
“The most impactful cases for me and our clients are the big environmental jobs,” she said. “My goal is to keep the client’s focus positive and forward-thinking. I try to bring humor into hard lives and to approach every home without judgment. I’ve met a lot of people who aren’t used to being treated this way, and I find the most joy in their smiles and laughter.”
In many cases, clients find Caplinger’s support and knowledge brings them a newfound sense of independence. As Caplinger explained, one person’s grab bar may be just as impactful as another person’s ramp.
“Many times, I hear from clients who speak about taking back some personal power in their lives by being able to shower independently with a chair and grab bars or a walk-in shower. And clients’ children are so very thankful to have a ramp to help their parent into the home instead of holding them as they try to navigate steps.”
Konnie Hansen, director of the Elderly Services Program at WCCS, said Caplinger is a dedicated staff member who truly loves serving the community. Hansen said Caplinger is a team collaborator who works with clients, care managers and community partners to ensure clients have the support they need to remain independent.
“Maintaining client independence in the community is the primary goal of ESP,” Hansen said. “Without Virginia’s wealth of knowledge navigating community resources, our program would not run as smoothly as it does.”
Caplinger has more than 20 years’ experience working with older adults and is known for her extensive knowledge of community resources, including her experience as a volunteer with the Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIIP). She is able to counsel clients on issues related to Medicare and Medicaid and provide assistance helping individuals complete Medicaid applications.
She has been a member of the Warren County ESP team since 2011. Prior to joining WCCS, she served as a care manager for Clinton County ESP.
Caplinger grew up on her grandparents’ farm and found value in the wisdom and life lessons she learned from them, but she never imagined she’d have a career working with older adults.
“I always thought I would work with kids,” she said, adding, “I usually say that ‘Divine Intervention’ led me to this job because to me, helping others is the secret to happiness. To have an outlet that pays me to do what I love hardly feels like work.”
Council on Aging (COA) is the Area Agency on Aging serving southwestern Ohio, including Warren County. COA has a contract with Warren County Commissioners to administer the Elderly Services Program in the county. As ESP’s administrator, COA contracts with provider organizations to deliver services to clients enrolled in the program, including Warren County Community Services, Inc., which is responsible for intake, assessment and care management for clients enrolled in the program.