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Featured Community
Aging Resources of Central Iowa
Your Senior Resource Guide
For our summer issue of the Iowa Your Senior Resource Guide, we spoke with Dr. Joel Olah, Executive Director of Aging Resources of Central Iowa, to hear more about Dr. Olah's history with the organization as well as the organization itself.
Dr. Olah is widely recognized throughout Iowa by the state's aging community for his more than 35 years of service. He has spent time in a number of positions in the private sector, with experience as a private consultant, Aging Studies curriculum developer, corporate health care & aging policy developer, retirement planner, hospital administrator and a Public Health Director. Dr. Olah holds a Doctorate in Educational Gerontology from the University of Michigan's Institute of Gerontology and is also a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. His outstanding service to the elder community has been recognized through a number of commendations, including the Outstanding Professional in Aging (Older Iowans Legislature), a Distinguished Alumni award (Western Michigan University) and has helped to make Aging Resources a recipient of a Best Place to Work in Central Iowa award (Des Moines Business Record).
You might say that it was his destiny to pursue a career caring for older adults. His grandmother, who occupied a very big presence in his life, served as a model for his caring attitude. Older members of his family played just as important a role in his life as any other childhood friend. This constant interaction with older members of his family left a big impression on Dr. Olah at a very young age.
"I never had the negative perspective that some people have about older people... my images were always positive."
When the Older Americans Act came into effect, it's no surprise Joel seized the opportunity to take advantage of a program that could help launch him into the Gerontology field. Through this traineeship, Joel was able to acquire his graduate education and in effect pursue the career he has found now, helping older adults in the surrounding community on a daily basis.
"I've always felt the need to pay back the opportunities I was given."
Over his long career, Dr. Olah has certainly done more than his share of giving back; he does this not only through his position at Aging Resources, but also through lectures on public policies, aging, home and community based elder care as well as numerous editorial contributions to the Des Moines Register's "50 Plus Lifestyles" and "Aging in Iowa Magazine". Despite all of this exposure, Dr. Olah remains a humble individual with a mission of bringing the best care possible to Central Iowa's aging population, using the outstanding services Aging Resources provides to do so.
photo: Dr. Joel Olah, Executive Director of Aging Resources of Central Iowa
Reaching Those In Need
Aging Resources of Central Iowa, now celebrating 35 years of service to the aging population, is a private, non-profit service agency that administers programs to over 100,00 elders 60 years and older living in central Iowa. Aging Resources reaches more than 22% of these individuals, caring first and foremost for those most in need of the services they can provide. The organization leads, advocates, plans and coordinates resources for older adults in central Iowa; resources which serve not only these older adults, but their families, caregivers and representatives as well.
These resources enable elders to lead independent, meaningful and dignified lives in the least restrictive environment, made possible through this community-based care approach. By partnering with state government officials, other service providers, senior citizen organizations and individuals to establish educational, legislative and service-oriented programs, Aging Resources has been able to improve the quality of life for older members of the community and has made a lasting impression in the lives of Central Iowa's elderly.
"We touch the frail and the poor; those that are most at risk. That is our mission." says Dr. Olah.
Protecting these at-risk seniors with a 'safety net' of community-based care before serious health or financial problems arise prevents costly, labor intensive situations that fall back on taxpayers. By taking this approach, it seems that everyone within the system benefits.
"It's in the best interest of the nation to promote home and community-based care".
This approach is a tried and tested system that Aging Resources can back up with a number of statistics. The organization has successfully maintained numerous elderly individuals comfortably at home for considerable lengths of time through a variety of programs, which benefit the taxpayer until individuals are in need of the transfer to institutional care. Establishing home and community-based systems of care across the nation must become a priority as the large Boomer generation continues to age: institutions alone may not be able to support them all.
The Model of Service
The services that Aging Resources provides are available to older Iowans residing anywhere within the Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Polk, Story and Warren counties. The programs are carefully monitored by the Aging Resources staff to encourage an efficient system; each of their 47 contracts with service providers are carefully and routinely monitored.
"It's a very fiscally-responsible model for service... the dollars that are being spent are being spent very well." says Dr. Olah.
Their approach has earned Aging Resources and the other 654 Area Agencies on Aging the title of one of the most cost-effective and accountable non-profit programs of service in the nation. An advisory council, composed of the very people Aging Resources serves, keeps the organization on track by helping them to identify areas of concern for older adults living in Iowa, giving them ownership and control over internal processes. Some of the services Aging Resources can provide include adult day care, case management, home-delivered meals, home repair, transportation and counseling, as well as emergency assistance and/or legal assistance.
Aging Resources operates several programs worth mentioning. The notable Strickler Emergency Assistance Program, funded in part by Aging Resources, has been providing medical devices, medications and additional services to low-income elders in central Iowa for over ten years. Their Holiday Meals-On-Wheels program provides thousands of meals to older Iowans on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Aging Resources also offers information and assistance with a variety of national programs such as the Family Caregiver Program, which provides support for caregivers or the Eldercare Locator System, which is used to link caregivers with their loved ones in a long-distance setting.
"In long-distance caregiving, these resources are golden." says Dr. Olah.
Challenges & Frontiers
As Dr. Olah and his staff look into the future, they realize there are still many obstacles to overcome in providing older Iowans with the care they need and deserve. Perhaps one of the most frustrating challenges the organization faces is finding a way to provide older adults with the services they need when such services don't presently exist. Dr. Olah identifies one such void in the need for 'chore services' like shoveling snow, mowing the lawn and other maintenance. There's also the growing need to create services in rural locations, where it can be very difficult to provide older adults with the services and care they may need on a daily basis.
Whatever the challenge, there is hope on the horizon taking shape in a number of forms. Dr. Olah seems particularly excited about a variety of home monitoring systems now becoming available. These systems can be used to evaluate an individual's cognitive capacity on a daily schedule; something that any caregiver could benefit from. There are also innovations like the electronic medication dispensers which remind patients when to take their medication. Another 'evolutionary step' Aging Resources has been employing is called NAPIS (National Aging Program Information System). This new data collection system can help identify unmet needs in the community as well as map out a plan funding various programs to meet those needs.
As we look towards the future, there's no doubt Iowans -and the greater nation as well- face a variety of challenges when it comes to providing care for our aging population. It's something that we must all take part in together. Fortunately, we have organizations like Aging Resources to provide a strong example of what healthcare can and should be. Dr. Olah and his staff remain positive.
"The challenges are great, but I think together, we can do it."
-For more information on Aging Resources of Central Iowa, visit them online: www.agingresources.com
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