Some 800,000 seniors live in Wisconsin, a 12% jump since 2000. The Wisconsin
Department of Health Services is the agency that has the job of caring
for this burgeoning population, providing services to ensure that as
seniors live longer lives, they remain as healthy as possible.
Those services include:
-- Adult Abuse & Neglect Services: Protecting seniors from abuse and
neglect, as well as a system of reporting and investigating
allegations.
-- Community Options Program: Helping seniors get the long-term support
they need to remain in their own homes.
-- Elderly Nutrition Program: Food stamps and coupons, as well as
home-delivered food and meals served in a group setting.
-- Energy Assistance: Help paying for heating bills, which can get
expensive in Wisconsin.
-- Family Caregivers Programs: Support and assistance for the most selfless
people – those taking care of an elderly family member.
-- Music & Memory Program: innovative treatment for Alzheimer’s and other
dementia sufferers using personalized music.
-- SeniorCare: Wisconsin’s program to help seniors pay for prescription
drugs.
-- Senior Employment Program: Training and job placement for low-income
seniors who still have to work.
-- State Health Insurance Assistance Program: Also known as SHIP, it offers
assistance to seniors to get through the confusing Medicare maze.
-- Transportations: Make an appointment for transportation to such things
as doctor visits, shopping and senior community events.
One of the most important things seniors can do to remain healthy and happy
is to get a medical alert system. A system like this has been proven to
help seniors keep their independence and living in their own homes for as
long as possible – the goal of most of today’s seniors.
That’s because having a medical alert system means you are never truly
alone; someone is always watching over you. Thus, you can avoid having to
move into a nursing home or an assisted living center, where there is also
constant monitoring. You will have it in your own home.
All medical alert companies are national, meaning they operate in every
state, including Wisconsin. To begin shopping for a medical alert system,
check out this link comparing the services from more than a dozen
companies.
The death rate from accidental falls among seniors in Wisconsin is twice
the national average. The state has set out to do something about this.
In conjunction with the University of Wisconsin Health Falls Clinic, the
state is getting the word out about how dangerous falls are. The education
programs tell seniors how to best avoid a fall that could potentially lead
to serious injury or death.
These programs are spreading quickly across the state, as communities are
coming around to the fact that preventing falls saves lives.
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