Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 20, 1993 TAG: 9303200338
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SNOW SPOTLIGHTED ISSUES FOR ELDERLY
Virginia Department for the Aging Commissioner Thelma Bland marveled at the snow-capped mountains' beauty as she drove from her office in Richmond to Roanoke. She also pondered the isolation and dangers many older people in Southwest Virginia experienced during the blizzard.Richmond only had heavy rains, Bland told the annual meeting of the League of Older Americans Area Agency on Aging earlier this week. . But she knew that in the Fifth Planning District, the storm had prevented meal deliveries and cut off transportation for many older people.
LOA Executive Director Susan Williams confirmed that the snow derailed the league's Meals-On-Wheels program, with deliveries only resuming on Thursday. However, she said league's volunteers had been in touch by telephone with all meals recipients and had been able to give food, transportation or other assistance to those who needed it.
The crisis emphasized the need to rethink a goal shared by agencies that deal with aging: how best to enable older people to remain at home and independent for as long as possible, Bland said.
"Long-term care is at the top of state, federal and local agendas, as we head into the 21st century," Bland said.
She said she is heartened to see private-sector businesses help older people retain their independence by helping them maintain and rehabilitate their homes, as well as providing jobs training and employment for older workers.
She said that by 1995, she hopes to see a statewide structure for case management that would allow older people to remain in their homes by adding services such as homemaker assistance or meals delivery as needed. She also hopes to see a tax-form checkoff to designate funds for older and disabled people who need door-to-door rather than curbside transportation.