ASHLAND — A reader recently reached out to Ashland Source to ask us if the Ashland County Council on Aging (COA) had started its respite care program, which was slated to begin in July.
Turns out, the program is up and running and so far it has served 13 people, Social Service Director Nicole Coletta said.
For four hours, twice a month, county residents that need a break from caring for an elderly person or a person with a disability can have a local licensed caregiver take their place and have it paid for by the COA.
“It’s a good amount of time for a family member to actually get out of the house. And if they need to go somewhere, go out to lunch, something on their own, it allows enough time to step away, take a break,” Coletta said.
The COA itself does not provide respite care; instead it has chosen four local care providers that it works with to get professional caregivers in homes that need it, Coletta said.
These four care providers are Sunshine Homecare, Companions of Ashland, Freedom Caregivers, and Brethren Care at Home.
The COA chose these companies because of their location in the county and because they have enough staff to provide respite care, Coletta said.
To make sure that residents are receiving quality care, COA conducts regular reviews of the providers, she added.
Residents that have already used their two free four-hour blocks or who aren’t interested in having their costs covered can still work with the COA to coordinate respite care, they’ll just have to pay the private companies for it, Coletta said.
Going forward, the COA is working on getting the word out and trying to overcome hesitancy about the program, Coletta said.
“People were still skeptical. They haven’t had help, they’ve been doing it on their own all this time so it’s definitely a transition getting people to accept that hey, someone’s trying to offer help,” she said.
