Seniors facing the heat of the rising heating prices can stay
warm this winter with the help of one program.
The McKean County Visiting Nurses Association and Hospice are
offering help through Project Care. Martha Dibble and Donna Farrell
are the two nurses in charge of the project, which offers services
to anyone 60 or older.
Dibble said Project Care services are free and funded, in part,
from a federal block grant, the Bradford Regional Medical Center
and private funding.
Project Care started services in January 2002. Dibble said they
make 170 referrals a year with about 10 to 15 referrals a month.
She said they receive more calls during the winter months, but
they’ve received double the normal number of referrals in November
with 23 referrals and already had 12 referrals this month.
“The number of referrals have taken a big jump this year,”
Dibble said. “A lot of people don’t know how they’re going to meet
all their bills with the price of energy going up. A lot of people
call because they’re worried about their finances to get money for
fuel.”
Dibble said they also receive a lot of calls from seniors having
problems with the Medicare D program.
The nurses find out what the senior’s financial status is and
figure out different sources to get them the money they need.
Dibble said they also look at the person’s social, emotional and
medical situation. They incorporate everything through referrals
and often refer those in need to programs such as the Low-Income
Ratepayer Assistance (LIRA) program, the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Star Energy Fund, Lifeline or Lifeline
150 services, the Customer Assistance Program (CAP) and food
programs.
Dibble said they keep checking back to make sure the people get
their needs met.
“We keep them on service until they either get placed in a
nursing home – which our goal is to keep them at home and not in a
nursing home – or until they tell us they don’t need us anymore,”
Dibble said. “So a lot of them stay on service until they die.”
Dibble said they also go through the office of aging for
personal care, to see if the person can get either reduced care or
free care. She said they often help with things such as
weatherization of the home and repairing furnaces.
“There are hundreds of resources,” Dibble said. “You just have
to know the guidelines and where the resources are. And it’s our
job, Donna and I, to know where the resources are. We keep trying
and trying until we find the money.”
One example Dibble gave was they found the money for a woman to
fix her condemned septic system. They helped put a roof on a house
and also helped pay the taxes for another senior so she wouldn’t
lose her home.
Dibble said one woman had been paying more than $200 a month for
insurance she didn’t need and was having problems paying her high
fuel and phone bills. Dibble and Farrell helped get her on the CAP
and LIHEAP programs.
“Some people have no idea that they’re qualified for all those
things,” Dibble said. “She was paying for insurance she didn’t need
for three years.”
Dibble said they don’t deny service to anyone. The only
requirement for Project Care is that people are 60 or older. She
said people under 60 who are in need of Project Care services can
still receive service, but they’re not able to keep those under 60
on service.
Dibble said a lot of times they refer those under 60 to other
services unless it’s a crisis situation. She said with someone
under 60 having a crisis, Project Care can provide services until
the initial crisis is taken care of.
Dibble said one woman under 60 had ran out of oxygen she was on
and her electric was turned off. Project Care helped this woman get
more oxygen and her electric turned back on. Dibble said once that
crisis was taken care of, they referred the woman to another agency
to deal with her long-term problems.
Dibble said people can call in for someone anonymously. She said
they just need the name of the person they’re calling for and an
address or phone number so they can get back to them.
“Some people feel like they’re telling on someone or tattling on
them, but they’re not,” Dibble said. “We always tell people they’re
not doing a bad thing, they’re doing a good thing because they
care. They care enough to call.”
Dibble said those interested in Project Care services can call
the McKean County VNA and Hospice toll free at 1-800-342-5862, and
they’ll take the referral and call them back.
Dibble said they also give free training on Project Care to
groups or in one-on-one situations so people know what to watch out
for to recognize people having problems and know who to call.
Dibble said she’s trained a group as large as 300 people, and the
training takes up to 15 minutes to an hour, depending on what
questions people might have.
