Cox, St. John?s programs offer key senior services

St. John's and Cox hospitals offer free services and programs at reduced rates for senior adults. The purpose of these services and programs is to make sure older adults are well-informed, allow them the opportunity to get their questions answered, and offer them social activities.

St. John's programs

Valerie Griffin is the coordinator of Older Adult Services also known as the St. John's Senior Program at St. John's Hospital, 1235 E. Cherokee. Grif-fin and assistant Myra Halstead both have degrees in gerontology from South-west Missouri State University.

St. John's Senior Program began eight years ago, Griffin said, and it is so popular that they have waiting lists. Each program, she added, attracts different people, some being what she calls "the young/old group," people who are more mobile and can do more than some other seniors.

The office mails out approximately 25,000 calendars and invitations to educational and social programs. Among the programs are the Travel Club, where seniors can take a variety of day or overnight bus trips.

Another popular program, the 55 Alive/Mature Safe Driving Course, is a classroom driver improvement course for motorists ages 50 and over.

The eight-hour course is taught in two four-hour sessions over two days, its purpose being to help drivers refine existing skills and develop safe defensive-driving techniques. There are no tests. The fee is $10.

The Senior Program also offers monthly free computer classes where seniors learn such basics as how to surf the Internet, send an e-mail and produce a letter.

Griffin said the class has been immensely popular. "We've taken 1,000 people through the program since last spring," she said. "We modify the class for senior adults. We have mentors in the room, and an overhead projector with the instructions on it is used so everyone can follow along. People tell us, We're too old to learn how to use a computer,' but they want to be able to e-mail their friends and family and use the Internet."

Focus on Finance is another St. John's monthly program. It offers seniors seminars on financial issues pertaining to senior adults.

Griffin has 40 volunteers in her office, most of whom, she said, are in their 80s. Volunteers work to provide various kinds of assistance to seniors in need who call the facility. Griffin said it works well for both sides, because volunteers get a discount on pharmaceuticals. "They come in and run my office for me," she said.

Griffin is involved in several gerontology-related committees because she feels it's important for them to support one another.

"I'm on the committees of the Com-munity Alliance for Compassionate Care At End of Life and the Council of Churches' Help Board," she said. "It's important to network with aging professionals. We want to make sure people know about our resources."

Cox Senior Advantage

Janice McCauley is the manager of Cox Hospital's Senior Advantage program.

Like Griffin and her assistant, Mc-Cauley has a degree in gerontology from SMSU.

The Senior Advantage program is about 14 years old, McCauley said. Located at Cox Walnut Lawn, 1000 E. Walnut Lawn, the office has one volunteer, Ara Schnelle.

Schnelle has gone through the Community Lead-ers Assisting the Insured of Missouri program.

CLAIM training enables Schnelle to better answer such senior questions as "How do I get home-delivered meals?" and to refer questions about Medicare to the most knowledgeable sources.

Seniors enrolled in Senior Advantage receive discounts on meals at any Cox cafeteria and on pharmaceuticals. They also can join the fitness center at Cox at no charge. As at St. John's, Cox Senior Advantage offers the 55 Alive/Mature Safe Driving Course.

The program also offers monthly seminars on topics of interest to seniors. "We've had seminars on estate planning, osteoporosis, pain management and de-mentia," McCauley said.

In conjunction with the Health Department, the Greene County Medical Society and St. John's, Cox Senior Advantage offers a yearly flu immunization program for seniors. The immunizations take place over five days every fall at no out-of-pocket cost to those immunized.

McCauley, like Griffin, is on a number of committees that focus on senior adults. "I'm on these committees to help represent the older adult," she said. "Health care professionals may work with them, but there is no one else to advocate for them."

McCauley said she sees a need for a state or federally funded program that would cover prescriptions for the senior adult who can't pay for pharmaceuticals. "There's a terrific need," she said. "People are spending hundreds a month on their prescriptions."