Resources for Seniors

Two women interact at an adult day care canter in Raleigh

NC Adult day care centers serve vital purpose, but face stagnant rates

January 7, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

NC Adult day care centers serve vital purpose, but face stagnant rates - North Carolina Health News

Adult day care centers don’t have as high a profile as assisted living and nursing homes, but provide a level of care that can allow an older person to stay at home instead of at a residential center.

By Thomas Goldsmith

Time spent at an adult day care center can make major life differences for older North Carolinians who have trouble staying at home alone, and for those who look after them.

For thousands of caregivers of an older person or someone with disabilities, such a center serves a place of safety and activities for the person who might otherwise sit home all day, unable to cook, drive or fully care for herself. Despite the help the service provides for participants and caregivers, adult day services are having a hard time staying open in North Carolina.

“The challenge in the adult services arena is that the reimbursement rates have not changed in years,” said Lee Covington, president of Williams Adult Day Center in Winston-Salem. “If we want to have nice facilities, and train and retain the best staff, our expenses go up every year.”

The state’s rates of $33 daily for adult day care and $40 for adult day health cover perhaps 50 to 60 percent of the cost of looking after program participants, industry representatives said.

Nationally, adult day care costs $70 daily on average.

Carole Grady, 65, of Raleigh, brings her mother, Rachael Mann, 87, to the Total Life Center adult day care on Departure Drive three days a week. Dressed to go out and with silver hair neatly in place, Mann elected on a recent Tuesday not to throw a basketball into a hoop with others. She sat instead in a common area where she was greeted by staff and friends.

“I have a caregiver for her three days a week at home,” said Grady, whose parents moved in with her after she became an empty nester. “This gives her an opportunity to get out. It’s a lot less expensive than in-home aides.”

Grady is able to continue her career as a full-time travel agent, knowing that Mann is safely looked after either at home or at the center, which is operated by the nonprofit Resources for Seniors. Across the state, about 5,000 people use such facilities.

What are adult day services?

Adult day care allows people to stay for eight or more hours a day, have meals, engage in activities, and enter into the friendly relationships that are one key to continuing health. Adult day health is a similar service for people with health problems.

However, adult day care and its close relative, adult day health, are typically nonprofits and maintain a low profile compared to the larger, more powerful residential long-term care industries. That’s meant that leaders in adult day services, called ADS, have fought for many years to have what they call unsustainable state reimbursements increased from levels imposed by law 12 years ago.

“The level of familiarity is probably pretty low,” Covington said. “People find out about it when they need it.”

Adult day centers accommodate people 18 and older, including some with intellectual disabilities, stroke survivors and people with dementia. For care providers, centers such as this one offer a release from the overwhelming stress of looking after a parent, a spouse or child who can no longer stay alone for long.

‘It was stunning’

In an email about the statutory rate for adult day care, the state Department of Health and Human Services said the service is an important part of meeting the needs of older North Carolinians, but not a sector for which the state should take full responsibility.

Mark Bumgarner, president of the NC Adult Day Services Association and executive director of Adult Life Programs in Hickory, recalled getting a “dismissive” response when he raised the rate issue with Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department and Health and Human Services.

“I met with her personally and her suggestion was that we engage in fundraising,” Bumgarner said during a phone interview. “The reality is that most of us are working as hard as we can, just to provide the services we have. We don’t have the infrastructure to do large amounts of fundraising.

“For a number of reasons, that was a very flip and uninformed response. It was stunning.”

Cohen’s office said that the exchange in 2017 concerned finding both public and private money to pay for the service.

“The reality is that budgets are limited and decisions have to be made within that context, which we understand is frustrating,” said an email from DHHS communications staff in response to questions about Bumgarner’s statement. “Our team works incredibly hard to maximize every dollar and resource across divisions to support a continuum of services that protect the health and safety along with the dignity and independence of aging North Carolinians.”

But that support appears to be falling short. Where DHHS once licensed more than 100 ADS centers across the state, about 80 operate today.

“There are many factors at work when facilities close, but some of those actors could be assisted through a better rate,” said Michael Boles, program director for the adult day services programs at Resources for Seniors in Wake County.

Two women eat lunch together at an adult day care center in Raleigh — Cara Austin, assistant director at the Total Life Center on Departure Drive, enjoys lunch with a program participant. Photo credit: Thomas Goldsmith.

Adult day services are funded in part by Home and Community Care Block Grants — federal money dispensed by the state, but ultimately routed by county decision-makers to agencies offering help such as Meals on Wheels or in-home aides. ADS is the only such service that has had its rate set by statute instead of settling on a price with each county.

ADS allocations are dwarfed by the mega-millions that go into long-term care in assisted living and nursing homes, destinations that participation in an adult day program can delay or avoid altogether.

Dealing with dementia

DHHS officials say, and Boles agrees, that many older people need a range of settings offering specific levels of care.

“There is a time when an in-home is a perfect solution and there is a time when long-term care is a perfect solution,” he said.

About a third of Wake County ADS participants have some level of cognitive decline. Staff members say that the center provides not just what older people want, but also what anyone would want — a place to go, people to talk to, food, entertainment, a little exercise.

“We don’t go on field trips, so we bring the outside inside,” said Stella Ray, executive director of the center at Departure Drive in Northeast Raleigh.

This Total Life Center in North Raleigh is one of four in Wake County. The nonprofit agencies received extensive volunteer help, as a stream of special visitors shows up throughout any given month. They range from Cardinal Gibbons High School students to a pianist, special dancers, ukulele players, volunteers from Hope Church and a crew of singers from the Junior League.

“The Rotary Club is coming with Christmas presents for everyone,” Ray said.

In warmer weather, participants have cookouts and gardening to anticipate.

“Mostly they enjoy music and food,” Ray said. “They feel so safe.”

Caregivers can handle shopping, meet their own medical needs, or find time for respite while knowing the people they care for are in good hands, she said.

There’s a health room for people who are having physical problems and a quiet room for those who need a little time to settle down. Wake County’s four adult day services locations are staffed by two registered nurses and a licensed practical nurse. These professionals represent another level of protection for some of North Carolina’s most vulnerable citizens.

“A lot of times we can catch when people are getting sick, even before the family does,” said Cara Henderson, health coordinator at Departure Drive.

How we reported this story:

Regular attendance at monthly statewide meeting on aging and disability matters
Checks with sources on story tip that touches individuals, nonprofit agencies, businesses and government divisions
Consultation with past, current leaders of relevant professional associations
Information request from government agency, based on tips drawn from reporting
Visit to a real-world facility, with interviews and photos to test story premise
Renewed a request to government agency in pursuit of clarity and additional information

shows a street sign reading, "Watch for Senior Citizens"

Matthew & Florence taught NC lessons: Storms like Dorian threaten old people

September 5, 2019 by Thomas Goldsmith

Matthew & Florence taught NC lessons: Storms like Dorian threaten old people - North Carolina Health News

The serious perils that older people in North Carolina face during hurricanes are lurking again in the gales and rainy torrents of the powerful storm Dorian. Across the state, prepared professionals and private citizens are stepping up to minimize harm.

By Thomas Goldsmith

The specters of catastrophic hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence last year are looming darkly over this week’s preparations for Hurricane Dorian, the latest unwanted newcomer to the Tar Heel State.

Across North Carolina on Wednesday, older people and those charged with looking after them made preparations, checked registries of vulnerable residents, and pondered some lessons of these recent massive storms. For older North Carolinians, Florence created a particularly tragic legacy where two out of every three of the 39 people killed by the storm were 65 or older.

shows an old man with a sharp gaze sitting in a room with many cots and blankets — At 103, Wilmington resident George Alsberg was likely one of the oldest voluntary evacuees of Hurricane Florence in 2018. He spent time in a shelter in Raleigh while he waited out the storm. Photo credit: Taylor Knopf

“Our counties overall do a tremendous job of working with the Emergency Management Center and local EMS,” said Laura Alvarico. She’s the director of the Albemarle Commission Area Agency on Aging and works with 10 coastal county governments to make sure seniors are safe. “What worries me is that flooding can be the worst part of a hurricane.”

The likelihood of coastal flooding from Dorian meant that operators of long-term care centers were keeping close contact with Alvarico and others about whether assisted-living and nursing homes should evacuate residents or tough out the storm in place.

“We are working with all the long-term care centers to make sure they are either evacuating or if they are staying put that we get a copy of their emergency plans,” said Alvarico, who works with Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hyde, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell and Washington counties.

“They put a lot of consideration into where the storm is headed, also their elevation, also the things they have in place, like generators.”

Checking one by one

A bill to require generators in assisted living facilities stalled in the General Assembly this spring when industry representatives argued the requirement would cost more than state reimbursement could cover.

When older people in the community register for county assistance such as in-home aides, they can be placed on a special needs registry, like the one in New Hanover County, that details what help they’ll need in times of disaster. Staff at the nonprofit agency Resources for Seniors in Raleigh were already calling people on the Wake County registry Wednesday, said Heather Burkhardt, program manager.

“We are calling all of our clients and their family members to see if they are in need,” Burkhardt said. “We do a pre-disaster call-down to see if they need anything in the next few days.”

The Resources for Seniors staff, like other experienced workers across the state, plan for needs that others might not predict. When a storm nears, they print out long physical lists of phone numbers they will need and take them home, so they can check with clients via cell phones even if electricity is down. If agencies can’t fill their in-home aide slots, social workers make sure family members, friends, or neighbors can fill in.

‘Floodwaters can be deadly’

floodcdc_exhaust — The exhaust or fumes from a portable generator could kill you in minutes if you breathe it in. Image courtesy the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“So many of our clients depend on in-home aides. They need to have backup plans in case their aides can’t get there,” she said. “It’s intertwined in our daily business and it doesn’t just happen in hurricanes. It can be ice storms or just somebody calling in sick.”

Planning like this can forestall some of the deadly developments seen in Florence among people older than 65: the six of 11 vehicle-related drowning victims, three out of the five people who died while cleaning up their properties, and a couple, 86, who died after lighting candles because they had no power all were 65 or older.

Already on Wednesday, the state marked the first death connected with Dorian when a Columbus County man, 85, fell from a ladder while getting his home ready for the storm. Gov. Roy Cooper announced the death during an afternoon press conference. He also cautioned North Carolinians about a perennial hazard: “We know all too well that floodwaters can be deadly.”

Just don’t do it

The vehicle drowning deaths fall in too-familiar territory for Steve Marshall, director of the Injury Prevention Research Center and an epidemiologist at UNC Chapel Hill.

“The primary advice always has to be, don’t drive on flooded roads,” Marshall said.

“With water that’s muddy and you don’t know what’s here, there could be a rock, could be anything. You’ve got no idea what you’re driving into or over. So, if not for your own protection, at least for the safety of others, don’t try it.”

People tend to underestimate greatly the power of water that’s running parallel to the direction of the road, Marshall said.

“A lot of people have pickup trucks or big SUVs,” he said. “But, you’ve got to realize that these vehicles are still designed for dry land, not developed with the idea of driving through rapidly moving water.”

Preparations such as those connected with the special needs registries can preempt the need for urgent missions into flooded roads.

“People in disaster situations are often trying to act with appropriate caution and take care, however, they also have a lot of other things going on,” Marshall said. “Sometimes they’ve got to get food, or go get supplies, or tend to a loved one, or go check on Grandma. People are stressed and wanting to go and verify that their loved ones and family and neighbors are safe.”

Sometimes making sure in advance that both older people and their caregivers have plenty of supplies and charged-up cell phones can keep both parties safely at home.

shows a pile of different brands of adult incontinence products stuffed under a sink

Adult incontinence products: An undeniable, expensive need for many older people

May 14, 2019 by Thomas Goldsmith

Adult incontinence products: An undeniable, expensive need for many older people - North Carolina Health News

Adult incontinence comes as an unwelcome symptom of dementia & numerous other conditions, but they're pricey and often people don't want to admit the need.

By Thomas Goldsmith

Cislyn Ricketts, 88, a retired radiology technician, had problems at first with wearing adult incontinence products.

But she adapted, as the kinds of products and their use became more familiar. Her daughter and caregiver Carrie Taye, 72, says use of adult diapers and related items help to manage one of Ricketts’ many health problems, including symptoms of dementia.

“Being a proud person, you become resentful of that kind of dependency,” Taye said during an interview from the pair’s East Raleigh home.

Now Ricketts welcomes her Depends. For Taye, needed relief from a specific worry arrives each month with adult incontinence products from a Resources for Seniors program paid for with federal dollars.

“It’s very personal,” said Heather Burkhardt, project manager at Resources for Seniors, a nonprofit agency in Raleigh that deals with older people’s needs.

“There’s a lot of concern about dignity and respect. To be an adult and talk about these situations it’s very personal, but it’s also very empowering.”

“A big portion”

A month’s supply of adult diapers can easily cost $100, approaching the monthly cost of a Medicare supplement or even the property tax on a modest family home.

But despite the ongoing cost, investing in adult incontinence products can be a money-saver over time. Research points to incontinence as a chief reason that people wind up in long-term care.

The products are one of the many life items that may be out of reach for the residents of North Carolina’s adult-care homes who receive $66 in total spending money each month.

“When you are on a fixed income, that is a big portion of your income,” said Michelle Old, founder of the Durham-based North Carolina Diaper Bank. “Many seniors are not willing to disclose this need. And many community organizations aren’t asking whether seniors need them.”

State legislators have introduced bills that would increase spending money for adult care and nursing home residents.

Perhaps because of discomfort felt by people who don’t need or encounter adult diapers, the products generally get little support from the government or nonprofit sector. North Carolina’s Medicaid program mandates prior approval in order to receive the products and only pays for adult products if medically necessary.

“Incontinence supplies (for example diapers) are only covered for beneficiaries three years of age and older who are incontinent due to disease, illness or injury,” reads the relevant language in a state Medicaid manual.

A 2014 report by the federal Office of the Inspector General told states to seek savings in disposable incontinence supplies through competitive bidding.

Four million diapers

“We know incontinence and poor nutrition are significant risk factors for institutional placement,” Burkhardt said.

shows a large stack of adult diapers wrapped in plastic — The nonprofit NC Diaper Bank works to fill an unmet need for adult incontinence products, an item that can strain the budgets of people with limited incomes. Thousands line the shelves of the agency’s Durham warehouse. Photo credit: Thomas Goldsmith

According to an annual survey, the monthly cost for a skilled nursing facility in North Carolina runs up to $7,000 per month, while the cost for assisted living is about $3,700 per month.

“We hope by providing some economic relief to caregivers for the cost of products we are supporting caregivers and delaying institutional care,” she said.

Support for supplying incontinence products is coming from the grassroots level. Armed with personal experience with a sick child, Michelle Old decided to move forward when others wouldn’t.

“I started the Diaper Bank in 2013 from my kitchen table,” Old said during a phone interview.

“Last year we distributed four million diapers statewide.”

Funded by individual and corporate donations, NC Diaper Bank works with nonprofit agencies across the state to distribute diapers for children, menstrual period supplies, and adult incontinence products to families living in poverty.

“If someone is struggling for these items, they are struggling in many ways,” Old said.

Why it happens

Researchers say fecal incontinence has three basic types: passive, or involuntary and not noticed; urge incontinence, or discharge while trying to retain waste; and seepage. It’s not a disease, but a “common final pathway symptom” with many different causes. Urinary incontinence follows a similar pattern.

Among dozens of potential causes of fecal incontinence are dementia, obstetric injury, psychiatric or neurological issues, constipation and fecal impaction, spina bifida, and inflammatory bowel disease. With urinary incontinence, underlying physical conditions can be to blame, along with changes resulting from pregnancy and childbirth, age-related muscular changes, menopause, hysterectomy, enlarged prostate or the effects of neurological disease.

Scholars Nallely Saldana Ruiz and Andreas M. Kaiser gave an overview of the symptoms of fecal incontinence in a 2017 article in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

“Most importantly, there is a significant impact on the quality of life (self-esteem, embarrassment, shame, depression, need to organize life around easy access to bathroom, avoidance of enjoyable activities, etc.)” they wrote. “Notably, this aspect is not limited to the patient but could to a similar degree affect the patient’s significant other.”

Distributing dignity

In Burlington, Alamance Eldercare often receives calls from people who need supplies that will make their lives more supportable. Laura Regan, program director, and Tammy McKee, care manager for the Family Caregiver Support Program, have set up a protocol through which a person can receive 30 pull-ups or diapers per month.

shows a smiling woman standing next to a small fork lift, behind her is a large stack of adult diapers — Jannice Verne is community coordinator at NC Diaper Bank in Durham. She and others use the forklift and any other means needed to send out four million diapers annually, hundreds of thousands of them for adults experiencing incontinence. Photo credit: Thomas Goldsmith

Regan has noticed occasional reluctance among older people in adjusting to using them, usually followed by acceptance once use is established.

“For the most part, the people we come across are very eager and happy to get these supplies,” she said.

At the NC Diaper Bank warehouse in Durham, community coordinator Jannice Verne does physical work as well as dealing with administrative tasks.

“We all do it — we drive a truck if we have to,” Verne said.

With hundreds of thousands of adult and infant products stacked on metal shelves, the site offers hard evidence of the ongoing community need. More than 400 volunteers help out each year.

“We’re small but mighty,” Verne said of the five-person staff. “Our mission is distributing dignity.”

Burkhardt, at Resources for Seniors, said the agency realized there were few resources for incontinence products for people who still live in the community. They decided to retool their use of federally funded caregiver support dollars to pay for incontinence supplies and nutrition, with about $14,000 this year going to help caregivers who had been paying out of pocket.

“I order the product of their choosing within reason,” Burkhardt said. “It’s not designed to be an ongoing support. It’s about a $200 benefit in product. We want to be able to show caregivers that we support them. We want to make their lives easier.”

Handling the reality and issues surrounding adult incontinence requires effort by all parties. Carrie Taye, looking after her mother in East Raleigh, talked over the noise of home renovation about the adjustments they’ve had to make.

“She likes the product now, I get her the ones that are more like panties,” Taye said. “She doesn’t feel like she is wearing something weird.

“Any kind of assistance you get at this point is so helpful, it’s like a godsend.”

shows a flooded road with someone driving into the water at a fast pace

Nearly Half of Tar Heels Killed by Hurricane Florence Were 70 or Older

October 8, 2018 by Thomas Goldsmith

Nearly Half of Tar Heels Killed by Hurricane Florence Were 70 or Older - North Carolina Health News

Hurricane Florence was especially lethal for older North Carolinians who made up two-thirds of the people who died during and because of the storm.

By Thomas Goldsmith

Hurricane Florence hit older Tar Heels harder.

That’s the takeaway from a state-compiled list of the adults who died as a result of the catastrophic storm. It shows that two out of three North Carolinians who died during or as a result of Florence were 60 or older, and nearly half were 70 or older. The median age of adults who died during or as a result of the storm was 67, while the statewide median age is 38.3.

“Vulnerable adults are more likely to be impacted because of their social isolation, or not having the supports they needed in areas like transportation,” said Heather Burkhardt, program coordinator at Resources for Seniors in Raleigh.

The list of deaths tied to the catastrophic September storm grew to 39 on Oct. 1, when Gov. Roy Cooper announced two deaths, one of a Pender County man, 69, who fell off a roof Sept. 22 while repairing storm damage. A list supplied by the Department of Public Safety showed that people older than 65 represented:

Six of 11 people who drowned in motor vehicle accidents,
Five of six people who died of medical causes such as cardiopulmonary distress or COPD
Three of five who died doing cleanup and
A couple, 86, who died in a fire caused by the use of candles while power was out.

Three of the victims were infants and two others did not have listed ages. Of the 34 adult deaths with ages attached, 21 were older than 65.

Perhaps the most poignant death was that of a man, 82, who committed suicide in Carteret County after Florence devastated his home. “Shot self when house condemned,” read the terse DPS account of the death.

“Florence cut a broad path of death and destruction through our state and we will not soon forget this storm or the lives it claimed,” Cooper said.

Some North Carolina counties most affected by Florence have a greater percentages of people older than 65 than the statewide average of 15.6 percent. But two of the hardest hit, New Hanover and Duplin counties, had shares of older people within a percentage point of the state average.

New fund to help older North Carolinians

Four statewide aging groups have created a disaster recovery fund to address older North Carolinians’ current and ongoing needs related to Hurricane Florence. The groups are the North Carolina Association on Aging, the North Carolina Association of Area Agencies on Aging, AARP and the North Carolina Coalition on Aging.

“Many [older people] need assistance with housing, food, shelter, clothing, information and case assistance, transportation, home repairs, medication, access to communication, and so much more,” the groups said in a joint release.

Designed to restore “hope and resilience” to older Tar Heels who have had setback because of the storm, the fund is accepting donations:

Online: www.ncaoa.org

By Check: Payable to NCAOA
P.O. Box 10341,
Raleigh, N.C., 27605
Memo: “Disaster Fund”

The NC Association on Aging, a nonprofit (501c3), non-partisan organization, is made up of “service agencies and professionals serving older adults in North Carolina.”

In a historical comparison, about 63 percent of people older than 65 were counted among those who died in one the worst disasters in United States history, Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“There was this acknowledgment that older people and people with disabilities did not fare well in Katrina,” Burkhardt said.

In North Carolina, 61 percent of adults who died in Hurricane Florence were older than 65.

“Disproportionate risk”

People in social work and emergency management have long made known the perils faced by older people and those with disabilities in hurricanes and other disasters. Burkhardt and Dennis Streets, then director of the state Division of Aging and Adult Services, worked a decade ago on the state report called DEEM, for Disability and Elderly Emergency Management.

“Anecdotal and factual evidence shows that older adults and people with disabilities are at disproportionate risk during disasters,” the 2008 report said. “Unfortunately, many of our state’s elderly and people with disabilities face economic and transportation challenges, are more dependent on outside assistance, and often misjudged as less capable.”

Lack of ready money might keep people in the low-income regions hit by Florence from staving off some of disasters’ effects.

“Some seniors don’t have money to get a hotel room,” Burkhardt said.

Streets, executive director of the Chatham County Council on Aging, said the DEEM report pointed out remedies that are still publicized by the state and in many cases used by residents.

“We talked about the importance of having an emergency communications plan where relatives and friends can know what they should do in a disaster,” Streets said.

Some deaths delayed

The report also urged residents to keep information about themselves available, making sure that medications and treatment plans are easy to find and making extra copies of insurance policies and other key documents.

Streets was surprised at the numbers of older people who died in the storm. But he also noted that the toll may continue to rise, as it did in Katrina, and more recently, in the tragic toll suffered by Puerto Rico in Hurricane Maria. The thought reminded Streets of something that happened after an earlier storm-related flood.

“I remember distinctly going to Pender County and stopping by to see one of our Meals on Wheels clients,” Streets said. “He was sitting on his back porch on a cooler. He showed me where the water had come up … and inside the house was all moldy.

“I remember sitting there with him. He was determined, of course, to stay in his house.”

The survivor’s wife and one of his daughters had died.

“He was in late 80s. He was a very strong, determined individual but had undergone tremendous stress,” Streets said.

“I went back to check on him a few months later and found he had died.”

LGBTQ Senior’s Wariness Can Affect Access to Health Care

June 21, 2018 by Thomas Goldsmith

LGBTQ Senior’s Wariness Can Affect Access to Health Care - North Carolina Health News

As they age, people in the LGBTQ community may feel like they need to hide their real identities, even from their health care providers.

By Thomas Goldsmith

A few years ago, North Carolina started offering training to people who ran the state’s adult care homes on welcoming and looking after aging LGBTQ residents.

Hundreds of providers took the web-based training, part of the 2015-2019 state aging plan, to bring the care network up to date on the “unique needs of the aging lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community.” The training meant that the state’s Department of Health and Human Services realized that LGBTQ people often have problems dealing with mental and physical health care providers, sometimes to the point of not being “out” to one’s own doctor.

On Saturday, June 23, a first-time Triangle Expo for LGBTQ Aging Adults in Raleigh will again address challenges faced by this community, as well as resources that may see them through. LGBTQ people shouldn’t have to feel uncertainty when approaching a doctor or other provider for the first time, said Heather Burkhardt, program coordinator at Resources for Seniors.

Resources for Seniors provides a broad range of help to Wake County’s older people, from information on workers who make home-care visits to tips for finding an assisted living home.

“We want to be able to create an environment in which sharing who in their life is important, because a lot of what we do is working with caregivers,” Burkhardt said. “It’s an understanding of situations that people who are straight don’t have an appreciation for.”

A survey by SAGE, an advocacy organization for older LGBTQ people, found that respondents said in 2014 that the principal providers of their health care don’t know about their sexual orientation. They also reported feeling reluctant to talk about these matters because they worry that they will be judged or receive a lower level of care. In an AARP survey of older LGBTQ people released in March, 37 percent of white respondents, 40 percent of Latinos, and 38 percent of African Americans said they are very or somewhat concerned that the quality of their health care will be adversely affected by their sexual orientation.

“Is that normal?”

Joseph Wheeler, SAGE Raleigh coordinator, recounted real-world experiences that showed at best a lack of understanding from professionals.

“I’ve been signing forms for my husband,” Wheeler said.”I signed them with my name and put ‘husband’ after it.

“The person taking the information asked me if I had power of attorney. I said I did and she suggested that I put ‘POA’ after my name.”

While a lawyer might advise a medical power of attorney for any couple, it’s no more necessary in a same-sex marriage than in other settings. The request took Wheeler aback.

Building knowledge

At Saturday’s expo, sessions throughout the event will address a variety of issues. One session, “Resiliency – Telling Your Story in an Interactive Group,” will allow discussion of some hard topics, according to a synopsis by organizer Margo Arrowsmith, a mental-health counselor with Silver Linings for Seniors.

“As an LGBTQ adult you may have experienced discrimination, dealt with fear of being rejected, been denied rights due to your sexual orientation and gender identity, wondered who you could trust and turn to for support, maybe wondered how you were going to make it,” Arrowsmith wrote. “And you did make it.”

People who come to the expo will have the opportunity to add to the base of knowledge on LGBT issues, Burkhardt said.

“During the event, we will have a professional videographer interviewing participants on their situations and why this information is important to them,” she said.

What: The First Triangle Expo for LGBTQ Aging Adults is from. at the

When: 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday, June 23

Where: Five Points Center for Active Adults, 2000 Noble Road, Raleigh.

What: More than 40 exhibitors, 10 educational sessions, special activities (including legal clinic, voter registration, STD testing) and more.

Learn more: www.lgbtcenterofraleigh.com/sage-expo.html

Additional Thanks

Categories

NC Adult day care centers serve vital purpose, but face stagnant rates

NC Adult day care centers serve vital purpose, but face stagnant rates - North Carolina Health News

By Thomas Goldsmith

‘It was stunning’

Dealing with dementia

Matthew & Florence taught NC lessons: Storms like Dorian threaten old people

Matthew & Florence taught NC lessons: Storms like Dorian threaten old people - North Carolina Health News

By Thomas Goldsmith

Checking one by one

‘Floodwaters can be deadly’

Just don’t do it

Adult incontinence products: An undeniable, expensive need for many older people

Adult incontinence products: An undeniable, expensive need for many older people - North Carolina Health News

By Thomas Goldsmith

“A big portion”

Four million diapers

Why it happens

Distributing dignity

Nearly Half of Tar Heels Killed by Hurricane Florence Were 70 or Older

Nearly Half of Tar Heels Killed by Hurricane Florence Were 70 or Older - North Carolina Health News

By Thomas Goldsmith

“Disproportionate risk”

Some deaths delayed

LGBTQ Senior’s Wariness Can Affect Access to Health Care

LGBTQ Senior’s Wariness Can Affect Access to Health Care - North Carolina Health News

By Thomas Goldsmith

“Is that normal?”

Building knowledge