Learn how ESP impacts your neighbors
When you’ve spent your life trying to help others, having to suddenly rely on others for help can be a challenge. But Butler County Elderly Services Program client, Margot, 79, welcomes the help.
Having served as a Red Cross trainer for 15 years and as commissioned police officer charged with monitoring the well-being of elderly residents in her district, Margot has taken to heart a message her father instilled in her when she was young.
“My father taught us that if we could help just one person everyday of our lives, the Lord would be happy.”
With the Red Cross in Cincinnati and Warren County, she trained more than 5,000 volunteers and showed up at countless disaster scenes to help people when they were at their most vulnerable. As an Elderly Services Officer in Louisiana, she visited every elderly person’s home in the community to assess their well-being and safety. She diffused family tensions and watched for signs of abuse and neglect. Sometimes she had to remove an older adult from their home for safety’s sake. Her favorite part of the job: “Talking to the little old folks.”
So when Margot began to lose her eyesight to macular degeneration, she started to feel cut off from her world. She missed being able to do things and help people. This made her feel down.
After seeing how some neighbors were benefiting from ESP, she inquired about eligibility and enrolled. As people came into her life to help her, things began to turn around for Margot.
Through ESP, Margot receives home care assistance, medical transportation, an electronic monitoring system, independent living assistance and in-home behavioral health services. The program has also provided home medical equipment, such as a bedrail, hand-held shower and bath bench. Her insurance would not pay for the items but they make all the difference for her independence.
“I don’t know what I would have done without each little separate thing,” she said.
Margot appreciates the care she receives from her home health aide, Casey. In addition to grocery shopping, cleaning and other errands, Margot appreciates having Casey there to help her with lotion or trim her nails. “The quality of life I have now would not be what it is without this help.”
But the services that have had the most impact on Margot’s life are independent living assistance (ILA) and the in-home counseling sessions she receives through ESP’s Uplift service.
Because of her poor eyesight, Margot needs helping reading her mail, paying bills and organizing her records. Her ILA assistant, Megan, visits twice a month to help her with these things. “And we giggle a lot,” Margot said.
Through Uplift, Margot has someone she can talk with about the changes in her life. “Being able to talk one on one with someone – to share my ups and downs without judgement – saved my life. You don’t know what’s going on in your head until someone says to you, ‘Do you want to talk about it?’”
“Without all the help I get – the comfort of knowing I can get help – without this help, I would want to die.”
Having served as a Red Cross trainer for 15 years and as commissioned police officer charged with monitoring the well-being of elderly residents in her district, Margot has taken to heart a message her father instilled in her when she was young.
“My father taught us that if we could help just one person everyday of our lives, the Lord would be happy.”
With the Red Cross in Cincinnati and Warren County, she trained more than 5,000 volunteers and showed up at countless disaster scenes to help people when they were at their most vulnerable. As an Elderly Services Officer in Louisiana, she visited every elderly person’s home in the community to assess their well-being and safety. She diffused family tensions and watched for signs of abuse and neglect. Sometimes she had to remove an older adult from their home for safety’s sake. Her favorite part of the job: “Talking to the little old folks.”
So when Margot began to lose her eyesight to macular degeneration, she started to feel cut off from her world. She missed being able to do things and help people. This made her feel down.
After seeing how some neighbors were benefiting from ESP, she inquired about eligibility and enrolled. As people came into her life to help her, things began to turn around for Margot.
Through ESP, Margot receives home care assistance, medical transportation, an electronic monitoring system, independent living assistance and in-home behavioral health services. The program has also provided home medical equipment, such as a bedrail, hand-held shower and bath bench. Her insurance would not pay for the items but they make all the difference for her independence.
“I don’t know what I would have done without each little separate thing,” she said.
Margot appreciates the care she receives from her home health aide, Casey. In addition to grocery shopping, cleaning and other errands, Margot appreciates having Casey there to help her with lotion or trim her nails. “The quality of life I have now would not be what it is without this help.”
But the services that have had the most impact on Margot’s life are independent living assistance (ILA) and the in-home counseling sessions she receives through ESP’s Uplift service.
Because of her poor eyesight, Margot needs helping reading her mail, paying bills and organizing her records. Her ILA assistant, Megan, visits twice a month to help her with these things. “And we giggle a lot,” Margot said.
Through Uplift, Margot has someone she can talk with about the changes in her life. “Being able to talk one on one with someone – to share my ups and downs without judgement – saved my life. You don’t know what’s going on in your head until someone says to you, ‘Do you want to talk about it?’”
“Without all the help I get – the comfort of knowing I can get help – without this help, I would want to die.”
Shirley was the primary caregiver for her mother, Maxine, who suffered from Alzheimer’s for 10 years prior to her passing in April 2020. For the last year and 10 months of her life, Maxine, 90, lived in Shirley’s home.
Using her nursing background and knowing she would be caring 24/7 for her mother, Shirley called Butler County’s Elderly Services Program (BCESP) for help.
BCESP provided Shirley and her mother with many things to make life easier. The outdoor ramp that was installed was very helpful. Shirley remembers, “When ESP staff saw [the makeshift ramp I was using], they got me a new one immediately. It was an absolute godsend, and I was able to get my mother in and out through all four seasons without any difficulty.”
BCESP was also able to install grab bars that Maxine could use when she was able to walk. Shirley says, “I am getting up in years, I’m 70 years old, and I couldn’t lift her.” Using the bars, Maxine was able to do things on her own and remain relatively independent.
Perhaps the most valuable service BCESP provided was helping to combat the taxing effects of caring for an Alzheimer’s patient. BCESP provided respite care for Maxine so Shirley could have some time off each month to manage other responsibilities and tend to her own well-being. Shirley doesn’t know how she would have made it without the reprieve. “It really helped me to get away for a time, knowing that my mother was cared for by someone I knew and trusted.”
As Shirley is adjusting to a life without a mother she feels lucky to have had, she is “extremely grateful and indebted to ESP” for helping make the most of the last months of her life.
Using her nursing background and knowing she would be caring 24/7 for her mother, Shirley called Butler County’s Elderly Services Program (BCESP) for help.
BCESP provided Shirley and her mother with many things to make life easier. The outdoor ramp that was installed was very helpful. Shirley remembers, “When ESP staff saw [the makeshift ramp I was using], they got me a new one immediately. It was an absolute godsend, and I was able to get my mother in and out through all four seasons without any difficulty.”
BCESP was also able to install grab bars that Maxine could use when she was able to walk. Shirley says, “I am getting up in years, I’m 70 years old, and I couldn’t lift her.” Using the bars, Maxine was able to do things on her own and remain relatively independent.
Perhaps the most valuable service BCESP provided was helping to combat the taxing effects of caring for an Alzheimer’s patient. BCESP provided respite care for Maxine so Shirley could have some time off each month to manage other responsibilities and tend to her own well-being. Shirley doesn’t know how she would have made it without the reprieve. “It really helped me to get away for a time, knowing that my mother was cared for by someone I knew and trusted.”
As Shirley is adjusting to a life without a mother she feels lucky to have had, she is “extremely grateful and indebted to ESP” for helping make the most of the last months of her life.
Susan – a daughter, mom, wife, professional, and elected official – is passionate about Council on Aging (COA) and the Butler County Elderly Services Program (ESP).
ESP helped Susan and her husband, Michael, care for Susan’s father, Richard, during a difficult time.
Richard had diabetes, “and everything that goes along with it,” Susan explained. Her father, 78, had been declining in health for about 10 years, but it was a stubborn sore on his foot that really rocked the family’s world.
Richard couldn’t drive, but needed to go to the hospital seven days a week for treatments that took hours each day. Susan and Michael took turns juggling work, kids and other responsibilities so they could get Richard to his appointments. But the appointments were scheduled to last at least six weeks and Susan found herself working nights and weekends just to catch up.
So, when hospital staff recommended COA, Susan saw her lifeline. Through COA Susan was able to enroll her father in Butler County ESP. The program provided medical transportation to get Richard to and from his appointments, freeing up Susan and Michael to focus on their family and work.
“Dad was feeling like a burden and I was thinking about taking a leave of absence from work,” Susan said. “We were so grateful for the help.”
Susan experienced both sides of ESP. On one hand, ESP provided the support Richard needed so he could heal and remain independent in his home. On the other, it gave Susan and her family the peace of mind and support they needed to be able to continue on with other important parts of their lives.
“I will always vote for [the senior services] levy,” Susan said. “Until someone lives through it, they just don’t understand.”
ESP helped Susan and her husband, Michael, care for Susan’s father, Richard, during a difficult time.
Richard had diabetes, “and everything that goes along with it,” Susan explained. Her father, 78, had been declining in health for about 10 years, but it was a stubborn sore on his foot that really rocked the family’s world.
Richard couldn’t drive, but needed to go to the hospital seven days a week for treatments that took hours each day. Susan and Michael took turns juggling work, kids and other responsibilities so they could get Richard to his appointments. But the appointments were scheduled to last at least six weeks and Susan found herself working nights and weekends just to catch up.
So, when hospital staff recommended COA, Susan saw her lifeline. Through COA Susan was able to enroll her father in Butler County ESP. The program provided medical transportation to get Richard to and from his appointments, freeing up Susan and Michael to focus on their family and work.
“Dad was feeling like a burden and I was thinking about taking a leave of absence from work,” Susan said. “We were so grateful for the help.”
Susan experienced both sides of ESP. On one hand, ESP provided the support Richard needed so he could heal and remain independent in his home. On the other, it gave Susan and her family the peace of mind and support they needed to be able to continue on with other important parts of their lives.
“I will always vote for [the senior services] levy,” Susan said. “Until someone lives through it, they just don’t understand.”
Patsy’s 42-year love affair with her husband, Carl, is still going strong, even after his death in 2002. Every morning since her husband passed away, Patsy speaks to Carl’s picture: “You are my guardian angel now. I loved you then, I love you still, I always have and I always will.”
Patsy, at 77, has been blessed with many guardian angels in her life. One very important person to her is her Butler County Elderly Services Program (ESP) care manager, Candace. “I am so lucky,” she says, “I have three daughters nearby, but they all work, and can’t call off work anytime I need help. All I have to do is call Candace and say ‘I need help’ and she gets it done.”
You see, Patsy has a heart condition that prevents her from being able to be as active as she wants. Her doctor has told her that ‘in no way’ is she to do things such as run the vacuum, so ESP arranged for her to have weekly housekeeping help. Cooking is a difficulty, so the home-delivered meals she receives from ESP help keep her nourished.
Even her lifeline button, provided by ESP, has come in handy. “I fell a lot before my heart surgery,” she comments. One time, “when I went to get up out of my recliner, the footstool wasn’t down all the way, and I fell. I wasn’t hurt, but I couldn’t get up. So I pushed my button, the squad came and got me up.”
When Patsy needs to go anywhere outside of the house, she takes advantage of the medical transportation provided by ESP. She knows many of the area’s medical drivers because her husband was an EMT with the Millville volunteer fire department for 14 years. The drivers love her – she has been known to give them gift bags filled with extra dishcloths and supplies. She does it “just to let them know I care.”
She wants all Butler County residents to know that they should “vote for the levy because of people like me - I don’t drive and people like me wouldn’t have any way to get anywhere.”
“I’ve had a great life,” she says with a smile. “I’ve met a lot of angels in my life that do not have wings. And I am blessed to have family around – three daughters, eight grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.”
Her life is filled with caring people – neighbors, family and friends – and there is still room for more. She cares deeply for her 10-year old dog, Cody, whom she adopted from a caregiver almost nine years ago. They take care of each other and “he’s my baby boy,” she says.
Patsy is convinced that the Butler County Elderly Services Program is why she is still in her house today, the same home she’s lived in since 1975. She feels strongly that her “house is [hers], and [she’s] not moving.” It’s because of the services that Butler County ESP provides that she is still there.
Patsy, at 77, has been blessed with many guardian angels in her life. One very important person to her is her Butler County Elderly Services Program (ESP) care manager, Candace. “I am so lucky,” she says, “I have three daughters nearby, but they all work, and can’t call off work anytime I need help. All I have to do is call Candace and say ‘I need help’ and she gets it done.”
You see, Patsy has a heart condition that prevents her from being able to be as active as she wants. Her doctor has told her that ‘in no way’ is she to do things such as run the vacuum, so ESP arranged for her to have weekly housekeeping help. Cooking is a difficulty, so the home-delivered meals she receives from ESP help keep her nourished.
Even her lifeline button, provided by ESP, has come in handy. “I fell a lot before my heart surgery,” she comments. One time, “when I went to get up out of my recliner, the footstool wasn’t down all the way, and I fell. I wasn’t hurt, but I couldn’t get up. So I pushed my button, the squad came and got me up.”
When Patsy needs to go anywhere outside of the house, she takes advantage of the medical transportation provided by ESP. She knows many of the area’s medical drivers because her husband was an EMT with the Millville volunteer fire department for 14 years. The drivers love her – she has been known to give them gift bags filled with extra dishcloths and supplies. She does it “just to let them know I care.”
She wants all Butler County residents to know that they should “vote for the levy because of people like me - I don’t drive and people like me wouldn’t have any way to get anywhere.”
“I’ve had a great life,” she says with a smile. “I’ve met a lot of angels in my life that do not have wings. And I am blessed to have family around – three daughters, eight grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.”
Her life is filled with caring people – neighbors, family and friends – and there is still room for more. She cares deeply for her 10-year old dog, Cody, whom she adopted from a caregiver almost nine years ago. They take care of each other and “he’s my baby boy,” she says.
Patsy is convinced that the Butler County Elderly Services Program is why she is still in her house today, the same home she’s lived in since 1975. She feels strongly that her “house is [hers], and [she’s] not moving.” It’s because of the services that Butler County ESP provides that she is still there.
Everyone should be lucky enough to have a fierce advocate to look out for them in times of trouble or need. Marlene, 82, of Hamilton, is lucky times two. She has daughter Lisa – who lives nearby – and the Butler County Elderly Services Program (ESP). Between the two, Marlene has been able to live independently despite some very challenging circumstances.
Marlene has always worked full-time, starting as a teen at a soda counter and later at Sunbeam Bread Company, where she met her husband Bill. Bill overcame losing the sight in one eye to cancer – and his job as a bread truck delivery driver as a result – by starting his own janitorial business that “he grew to be very successful,” Lisa said.
This allowed the couple to eventually purchase their own home. Bill passed away 18 years ago due to complications from a previous heart valve surgery. Marlene was alone, and vulnerable.
“Mom is so kind,” Lisa said. And a criminal took advantage of her. A man who worked at the same company as Marlene stole her Social Security number and opened credit cards in her name, charging more than Marlene could afford to pay. He eventually “befriended” Marlene, even convincing her to let him stay on her couch, despite Lisa’s protests.
As it turned out, it wasn’t the first time the man had pulled this scheme, and he was convicted and sent to prison. But he left Marlene with a terrible financial mess. “She ended up losing her house, claiming bankruptcy,” Lisa said.
This prompted a move from northern Ohio to be near Lisa. “I’ve tried to get control over her life since then,” Lisa said. “Because it just scares me. I tell quite a few people about Mom’s story, especially those who have parents who lose a spouse, and how people can prey on them.”
After the move, Marlene took a job at a nearby TJ Maxx and continued to work for another 12 years, until she was 79. “She retired because she started having health issues and her memory wasn’t great,” Lisa said. “Things have kind of gone downhill since then.”
She subsequently was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and her visits to the hospital for physical ailments became more frequent. All along, Lisa was there, fighting for any help she could get for Marlene. “I’m not always the kindest person when people tell me ‘no,’” she said, jokingly.
In 2018, after another hospital stay for Marlene, Lisa found ESP. “When mom came out of the hospital and rehab, she was just 87 pounds. [Home-delivered meals] were just delightful. They brought extra food and made sure to ask me what she likes to eat.” Meal delivery drivers also serve as another “set of eyes” on seniors living alone.
Lisa tries to always be there when Marlene needs her, but she also has a job and a family. “ESP has given me peace,” she said. “We’ve had great people. We had one aide who would text me all with time with questions or concerns. She was just a gem.”
During Marlene’s time on the program, her services have adapted to her needs. At times, she’s had a home health aide, or been enrolled in an adult day program. She still receives home-delivered meals and has an electronic monitoring system (which she used one time after a fall). ESP has become another invaluable member of the team that ensures Marlene gets the care she needs to stay independent as long as possible.
Marlene has always worked full-time, starting as a teen at a soda counter and later at Sunbeam Bread Company, where she met her husband Bill. Bill overcame losing the sight in one eye to cancer – and his job as a bread truck delivery driver as a result – by starting his own janitorial business that “he grew to be very successful,” Lisa said.
This allowed the couple to eventually purchase their own home. Bill passed away 18 years ago due to complications from a previous heart valve surgery. Marlene was alone, and vulnerable.
“Mom is so kind,” Lisa said. And a criminal took advantage of her. A man who worked at the same company as Marlene stole her Social Security number and opened credit cards in her name, charging more than Marlene could afford to pay. He eventually “befriended” Marlene, even convincing her to let him stay on her couch, despite Lisa’s protests.
As it turned out, it wasn’t the first time the man had pulled this scheme, and he was convicted and sent to prison. But he left Marlene with a terrible financial mess. “She ended up losing her house, claiming bankruptcy,” Lisa said.
This prompted a move from northern Ohio to be near Lisa. “I’ve tried to get control over her life since then,” Lisa said. “Because it just scares me. I tell quite a few people about Mom’s story, especially those who have parents who lose a spouse, and how people can prey on them.”
After the move, Marlene took a job at a nearby TJ Maxx and continued to work for another 12 years, until she was 79. “She retired because she started having health issues and her memory wasn’t great,” Lisa said. “Things have kind of gone downhill since then.”
She subsequently was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and her visits to the hospital for physical ailments became more frequent. All along, Lisa was there, fighting for any help she could get for Marlene. “I’m not always the kindest person when people tell me ‘no,’” she said, jokingly.
In 2018, after another hospital stay for Marlene, Lisa found ESP. “When mom came out of the hospital and rehab, she was just 87 pounds. [Home-delivered meals] were just delightful. They brought extra food and made sure to ask me what she likes to eat.” Meal delivery drivers also serve as another “set of eyes” on seniors living alone.
Lisa tries to always be there when Marlene needs her, but she also has a job and a family. “ESP has given me peace,” she said. “We’ve had great people. We had one aide who would text me all with time with questions or concerns. She was just a gem.”
During Marlene’s time on the program, her services have adapted to her needs. At times, she’s had a home health aide, or been enrolled in an adult day program. She still receives home-delivered meals and has an electronic monitoring system (which she used one time after a fall). ESP has become another invaluable member of the team that ensures Marlene gets the care she needs to stay independent as long as possible.
Connie is a young 80-year-old. She has kept her positive attitude through life’s trials.
Just one of her challenges is the advanced arthritis she lives with which makes it difficult to tackle life’s messes. So she relies heavily on the housekeeping help she receives from Butler County Elderly Services Program (ESP). Her home care aide, Tiffany, comes to her one-bedroom apartment at Trinity Manor every Friday for an hour and a half.
“I’ve had two or three different home aides and I haven’t had a bad one,” Connie says. “The one I have now, she is such a sweetheart. When she comes, she asks if I want the usual, I agree and then she gets to it. If she finishes a few minutes early, she sits down and talks.”
Connie is very appreciative of the housekeeping help. “It means the world to me. It’s one more reason I can stay on my own.”
Connie has lots of experience as an Alzheimer’s caregiver. Most recently for her husband of 20 years who died in 2013. “Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease,” she says. “My father had it, my aunt had it, both of my husband’s parents had it. Just give me one of those white hats and call me ‘nurse!’”
Butler county residents “should vote for the levy,” Connie continues, “because when you get to be my age, you never think that you’re going to need anybody to do anything for you. But there are so many things they do that come in so handy.“
Connie says voting for the levy will help to ensure “the Elderly Services Program will be here for them to use and their whole families to appreciate.”
Just one of her challenges is the advanced arthritis she lives with which makes it difficult to tackle life’s messes. So she relies heavily on the housekeeping help she receives from Butler County Elderly Services Program (ESP). Her home care aide, Tiffany, comes to her one-bedroom apartment at Trinity Manor every Friday for an hour and a half.
“I’ve had two or three different home aides and I haven’t had a bad one,” Connie says. “The one I have now, she is such a sweetheart. When she comes, she asks if I want the usual, I agree and then she gets to it. If she finishes a few minutes early, she sits down and talks.”
Connie is very appreciative of the housekeeping help. “It means the world to me. It’s one more reason I can stay on my own.”
Connie has lots of experience as an Alzheimer’s caregiver. Most recently for her husband of 20 years who died in 2013. “Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease,” she says. “My father had it, my aunt had it, both of my husband’s parents had it. Just give me one of those white hats and call me ‘nurse!’”
Butler county residents “should vote for the levy,” Connie continues, “because when you get to be my age, you never think that you’re going to need anybody to do anything for you. But there are so many things they do that come in so handy.“
Connie says voting for the levy will help to ensure “the Elderly Services Program will be here for them to use and their whole families to appreciate.”
Glenora is the matriarch of a large, tight-knit family. She raised three children, who in turn gave her 14 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
“And I know every one of them,” she said as great-grandson Dalton passed through her kitchen. “I know when they were born; I can tell you their ages, their birthdays, and all. One thing for sure is God has still blessed me with a good mind.”
And even though she’s not able to out much anymore, the family still gets together regularly – but at her house. It’s become the family gathering place. “It’s easier on her,” daughter Alberta said.
It’s where Glenora and her husband moved 20 years prior, from a small farm they owned. While he worked at General Motors, Glenora focused on raising their children and also tending to their horses and large garden. “She worked in the garden, and she mowed grass like a man on a lawnmower. She had enough flowers for a nursey, so she worked on them all the time,” Alberta said with a smile.
“He got so he wasn’t able to do the work. He got Alzheimer’s disease,” Glenora said. “I was my husband’s caregiver until he had to go to the rest home. He was there for 9 months before he died. I never missed a day going over there.”
In the years after, Glenora developed debilitating arthritis, and her eyesight deteriorated, but she was still getting around on her own a bit until a fall on ice resulted in a badly broken foot and the need for someone to stay with her 24/7 as she recovered.
Alberta could stay with her after work and overnight, but that left the daytime hours, so she called around to see what outside help was available and found the Elderly Services Program (ESP). In addition to providing an emergency response system and home modification equipment to help Glenora stay at home safely, ESP also offered a consumer directed care (CDC) option for hiring a home health aide.
With CDC, clients become “employers” and hire their own “employees” instead of using a home care agency to provide certain services, which are paid for by ESP. In many cases, the employee is someone the client already knows.
“I think it makes our clients a little more comfortable knowing that they’re going to have the same person, that it’s somebody that they hopefully know, that is coming to their house on a regular basis,” said Amber, Glenora’s ESP care manager. It also helps alleviate the effects of the nationwide home health aide shortage also being felt in southwestern Ohio and uses ESP resources more effectively.
Amber set up CDC right away, and Glenora’s son’s girlfriend became her first paid home aide. A few months later, Alberta’s husband Paul took the position, and has been there ever since. “He’s a natural caregiver,” Alberta said.
Paul is paid for a pre-set number of hours helping around Glenora’s house. “I clean her kitchen, her stove, bathrooms, and sweep and mop the floors,” he said. He also takes out the garbage, does yard work, and just about anything else Lenora requests … except laundry.
“So far, she’s been able to do that. She likes to do whatever she can herself. She says it keeps her going,” Alberta said.
“We like it [CDC],” Alberta said. “I’m just glad that we’re able to take care of mom.”
With the help of ESP, Glenora gets to stay in her home and enjoy spending time with family and also one of her favorite pastimes: listening to audio recordings of the Bible. “I memorize it, because if I can’t read it (due to her vision) I’ve got to get it in there somewhere. I try to memorize what I hear,” she said.
“And I know every one of them,” she said as great-grandson Dalton passed through her kitchen. “I know when they were born; I can tell you their ages, their birthdays, and all. One thing for sure is God has still blessed me with a good mind.”
And even though she’s not able to out much anymore, the family still gets together regularly – but at her house. It’s become the family gathering place. “It’s easier on her,” daughter Alberta said.
It’s where Glenora and her husband moved 20 years prior, from a small farm they owned. While he worked at General Motors, Glenora focused on raising their children and also tending to their horses and large garden. “She worked in the garden, and she mowed grass like a man on a lawnmower. She had enough flowers for a nursey, so she worked on them all the time,” Alberta said with a smile.
“He got so he wasn’t able to do the work. He got Alzheimer’s disease,” Glenora said. “I was my husband’s caregiver until he had to go to the rest home. He was there for 9 months before he died. I never missed a day going over there.”
In the years after, Glenora developed debilitating arthritis, and her eyesight deteriorated, but she was still getting around on her own a bit until a fall on ice resulted in a badly broken foot and the need for someone to stay with her 24/7 as she recovered.
Alberta could stay with her after work and overnight, but that left the daytime hours, so she called around to see what outside help was available and found the Elderly Services Program (ESP). In addition to providing an emergency response system and home modification equipment to help Glenora stay at home safely, ESP also offered a consumer directed care (CDC) option for hiring a home health aide.
With CDC, clients become “employers” and hire their own “employees” instead of using a home care agency to provide certain services, which are paid for by ESP. In many cases, the employee is someone the client already knows.
“I think it makes our clients a little more comfortable knowing that they’re going to have the same person, that it’s somebody that they hopefully know, that is coming to their house on a regular basis,” said Amber, Glenora’s ESP care manager. It also helps alleviate the effects of the nationwide home health aide shortage also being felt in southwestern Ohio and uses ESP resources more effectively.
Amber set up CDC right away, and Glenora’s son’s girlfriend became her first paid home aide. A few months later, Alberta’s husband Paul took the position, and has been there ever since. “He’s a natural caregiver,” Alberta said.
Paul is paid for a pre-set number of hours helping around Glenora’s house. “I clean her kitchen, her stove, bathrooms, and sweep and mop the floors,” he said. He also takes out the garbage, does yard work, and just about anything else Lenora requests … except laundry.
“So far, she’s been able to do that. She likes to do whatever she can herself. She says it keeps her going,” Alberta said.
“We like it [CDC],” Alberta said. “I’m just glad that we’re able to take care of mom.”
With the help of ESP, Glenora gets to stay in her home and enjoy spending time with family and also one of her favorite pastimes: listening to audio recordings of the Bible. “I memorize it, because if I can’t read it (due to her vision) I’ve got to get it in there somewhere. I try to memorize what I hear,” she said.
As she describes two different programs separated by many years, something in Ann’s cheerful tone and smiling eyes reveals a connection between them and it is clear that both hold a special place in her heart.
Referring to the years she worked for Goodwill Industries, she says, “I worked with a lot of kids with disabilities. I enjoyed working with them. It takes a lot of patience, but it’s worth it when you see them succeed.”
Then, just as gracious and cheerful, she turns to her services through the Butler County Elderly Services Program. “To have this type of service to help seniors stay independent and in their homes goes a long way,” she says, though her tone turns serious as she points out her preference to do whatever she can for herself. “As long as I can get through it, I’d rather do it myself. If I can’t stand up to do it, I’ll sit to do it.”
At 84, Ann has been enrolled in ESP for 13 years. Back problems provide some challenges to her independence, but Ann is able to remain independent because of ESP services including durable medical equipment, minor home repairs, medical transportation and an emergency response system. She even received assistance with a new air conditioner two summers ago when Dan, her care manager, happened to check on her the day after her old unit broke down.
Ann has many great memories in the home she bought 50 years ago with her husband, who passed away 25 years ago. They raised their son in the house, and then later, Ann helped her son raise her grandchildren there. Retired on disability, her son lives with Ann and they help each other out. “He’s come in handy now and then,” she chuckles.
When something comes up that she and her son can’t handle, Ann says she’s grateful to be able to call on Dan and the ESP program. “He helps me so much,” she says of her care manager. “I’m grateful to be able to call a person like Dan and I hope everybody else is as grateful as I am. He really is a pleasure to work with.”
Referring to the years she worked for Goodwill Industries, she says, “I worked with a lot of kids with disabilities. I enjoyed working with them. It takes a lot of patience, but it’s worth it when you see them succeed.”
Then, just as gracious and cheerful, she turns to her services through the Butler County Elderly Services Program. “To have this type of service to help seniors stay independent and in their homes goes a long way,” she says, though her tone turns serious as she points out her preference to do whatever she can for herself. “As long as I can get through it, I’d rather do it myself. If I can’t stand up to do it, I’ll sit to do it.”
At 84, Ann has been enrolled in ESP for 13 years. Back problems provide some challenges to her independence, but Ann is able to remain independent because of ESP services including durable medical equipment, minor home repairs, medical transportation and an emergency response system. She even received assistance with a new air conditioner two summers ago when Dan, her care manager, happened to check on her the day after her old unit broke down.
Ann has many great memories in the home she bought 50 years ago with her husband, who passed away 25 years ago. They raised their son in the house, and then later, Ann helped her son raise her grandchildren there. Retired on disability, her son lives with Ann and they help each other out. “He’s come in handy now and then,” she chuckles.
When something comes up that she and her son can’t handle, Ann says she’s grateful to be able to call on Dan and the ESP program. “He helps me so much,” she says of her care manager. “I’m grateful to be able to call a person like Dan and I hope everybody else is as grateful as I am. He really is a pleasure to work with.”