Welcome to the Aging and Disability Resource Connections (ADRC) website! This virtual ADRC has been created to help people empower themselves by educating themselves and their families on long term care options in this great State of Idaho!
I am excited to present this virtual website for your viewing. The timing could not be better as this is the 10th Anniversary of the Olmstead Decision which supported the “integration mandate” of the Americans with Disabilities Act requiring public agencies to provide services “in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities.”Self-empowerment is really the intent of this virtual website. Self-education towards your options available to you for Long Term Care Planning. Recently, a personal story of self-empowerment was shared with me. I am sure this story will touch your heart as it did mine.
A young man, who had been working a few “double” shifts in order to make as much money as he could before he returned to college, left early one morning after work. Tragically, he was involved in a car accident. He awoke and was informed by a doctor that he was paralyzed from the waist down. Words cannot express what was going through his young mind; the last thing he had thought about was how he was going to pay for his books? Now, he was wondering, how will I get out of this bed? Realizing that from now on, he would have to rely on someone else to help him with the simplest things in life…dressing, bathing, and toileting. Its amazing how we are all just a moment away from life taking control over us… he was lucky, his mother was a nurse, she knew a great agency that provided personal care services. He agreed, it was a great agency, but he had to deal with “no shows”, training issues, turnover of staff… One day, he was contacted about participating in a program called - Self-Direction. A program which would allow him to hire, train, and supervise the personal care assistant of his choice. Family, friends, loved one, or neighbor. For the first time, in a long time, he felt empowered to control his life again! So, take this opportunity to empower yourself by educating yourself on long term care planning options.
As always, please call us if you need any additional help. The Idaho Commission on Aging can be reached at 208-334-3833 or click on the link to your local Area Agency on Aging.
Sincerely,
Kim Toryanski
ICOA, Adminstrator