T O W N O F M IL T O N

eceived from elders and non-elders and all calls are documented on a dailytelephone sheet which is required by the Executive Office of Elder Affairs.Callers are treated with courtesy and respect and if a caller is required to leavea voice mail, all calls are returned in a timely manner. The COA Director is alsoavailable day or evening via cell phone for the police and fire in the case of anemergency situation involving an elderly resident.TRANSPORTATION Units of Service . . . . . . 9,600The Council on Aging transportation program remains the most utilized ofall of our services. As people are living longer, they are also not driving andmost depend on services such as our vans to get them to important medical appointmentsand to the grocery store. Our van drivers are all trained to safelytransport seniors and they also have a good understanding of various elder issues.Our van service is available to residents age 60 and older and also to disabledresidents. A small donation is suggested but many elders are in difficultfinancial situations and so they are not able to even make a small donation.There are also people who opt not to donate as they feel they are entitled to theservice. No one is ever denied service based on their ability to make a donation.An initial home visit is done by our Outreach team to make sure the seniorcan safely use the service and at that time printed information about theprogram is given to the resident and any questions they may have are answered.OUTREACH PROGRAMThe Outreach team at the Milton Council on Aging is the link between seniors,their family members and services. They spend endless hours meetingwith seniors to help initiate care plans that meet the needs of all concerned andaccess outside services to assist the senior in remaining independent. Manysupport groups are also offered through Outreach and they include:Caregiver Support Groups Early Stage Alzheimer’s Support GroupsParkinson’s Support Groups Vision Support GroupsDiabetes Support Groups Weight Loss Support GroupsThese support groups allow participants the opportunity to learn from eachother as well as experts in the various fields and to talk openly about the strugglesthey are now facing. We work closely with Milton Hospital and variousagencies to bring in guest speakers from time to time. All are welcome to attendthese groups and new friends are welcomed to join at any time.SHINE (SERVING HEALTH INSURANCE NEEDS OF ELDERLY)This past year, the health insurance changes and the increased cost of healthinsurance doubled the number of seniors who needed help from our SHINECounselor. We have been so fortunate to have had Paul Kelley as our SHINE94