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Thanks for being here.
What is it we’re trying to do and how do we do it?
Let’s expand our idea of what it means to live satisfying, rich lives for as we age in our region and make that a reality. Let’s build this always keeping in mind what we’d want for our parents, for ourselves as we age, for our kids when they are old. Let’s go about this in terms of what we need and want instead of through the lens of how elder care is set up to work now.
What does that mean? To build a system that-
-Keeps people at home as long as they want to be.
-Lets people stay in the region their whole lives.
-Enables adult children to bring their parents to Alpine.
What do we already have?
-We already have all the services of the Sunshine House, including Meals on Wheels.
-Potential Staff. We have excellent pipeline because of the Sul Ross nursing and high school CNA programs.
-We already have therapies in people’s homes with Agave Home Health and Agave Therapy.
-We already have local short-term rehab care through the hospital’s swing bed program.
-We already have TRAX transportation.
-We already have Senior Life Solutions at the hospital.
-We already have some hospice service in the area.
-What else should we list here?
What do we need?
-Even more robust transportation from all of our towns to specialist appointments in Odessa/Midland, El Paso, San Angelo, and others as needed.
-An affordable home-improvement program to build ramps, put in grab bars, widen doorways, etc.
-Personal care in people’s homes.
-A place for people to live when they are infirm and need more help (assisted living).
-A wonderful place for people to go when they are in their last days.
-A one-stop contact for help understanding all these things.
-What else should we list here?
Who is involved in effort this so far? Who wants to join?
Alpine Community Projects, The Sunshine House, Big Bend Regional Hospital District, Area Agency on Aging, Katherine Parker, Catherine Eaves, Sef Gomez, Minerva Gonzales, Curtis Evans, Elidia Polanco, Edie Simmons, Adrian Billings, Saul Garza, Rick Stephens, Stephanie Carson-Henderson, Alex Schmidt, Susan and Mike Wallens, Sara Cash, Lana Covington, Mary Grisham, Gaylan and David Corbin, Audrey Painter, Marci Tuck, Jessica Schuman, Katie Daly, Dana Kasling, Karen Collins, Kathy Reed, Eva Martinez, Shawna Theriot, Linda Bryant, Donna Smith, Chuck Wilson, Mimi Smith...let us know if your name should be here.
We have workgroups. Feel free to join any. Email kirsten@alpinecommunityprojects.org for more information.
Work group to address First Degree of Care: People live in their homes and are able to maintain themselves.
Deliveries: Sunshine House/Meals on Wheels delivers lunch. Both pharmacies in Alpine deliver. Misfits Market and Trans-Pecos Delivery Services deliver groceries. What other deliveries exist or need to exist?
House modifications. We need a group or groups to take on building build ramps, put in grab bars, widen doorways, etc. (People working on this bullet, so far, are Jessica Schauman and David Corbin)
Transportation: We have one form in TRAX. We need even more robust service for dr appointments in Midland, El Paso, and San Angelo and for getting around town. Can this be expanded with by marketing to more private payers? Can the market bear higher prices for those who can pay, especially if there are more frequent routes and online signups, etc.?
Support from BBRMC: The hospital offers short-term rehab through the swing bed program (lets people recover in town) and the Senior Life Solutions program for mental health help. (Person working on this bullet, so far, is Mary Grisham)
Work group to address Second Degree of Care: People live in their homes but require care
Personal care in the home: bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting, mobility and transfers, medication reminders, meal prep. We don’t have a reliable source of this care. How can nursing and CNA programs help and can we also organize existing caregivers in the community? (People working on this bullet, so far, are Edie Simmons and Yvette Lugo from the Area Agency on Aging)
Home Health Care: Skilled nursing and therapies in the home (Agave Home Heath and Therapy)
Work group to address Third Degree of Care: People move to assisted living house
Staffing (Person working on this bullet, so far, is Minerva Gonzales, head of Sul Ross's Nursing Program)
Physical Design (Person working on this bullet, so far, is David Corbin)
Program Design
Grants (People working on this bullet, so far, are Marci Tuck, Alex Schmidt, Sara Cash, Minerva Gonzales, and David Corbin)
Work group to address Fourth Degree of Care: Full-time skilled nursing
We can’t offer an entire home for this, but assisted living residents who need skilled nursing on a short-term basis can be served by the swing bed program at BBRMC or potentially through contracts with agencies such as Agave.
Work group to address Fifth Degree of Care: Hospice
Angels Care Hospice (based in Midland but serving our region) needs more volunteers to be trained to help. (People working on this bullet, so far, is Sara Cash)
Work group to address System Navigation:
How to help people figure out what to do when they need to get help for themselves or others at every degree of care? Who and how and where to be available to guide people to resources? (People working on this bullet, so far, are Karen Collins, Alex Schmidt, and Donna Smith)
Some Resources:
Podcast: Elevate Elder Care On Apple On Spotify
Area Agency on Aging (part of the Rio Grande Council of Governments)
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