Health care
BY VANESSA HOLT
Aging agency building local presence
The context
Freitag Hejja said the agency contracts with Meals on Wheels Montgomery County and with senior centers for congregate meals, home-delivered meals, transportation and other services. The regional center serving Montgomery County is located in Conroe. The agency provides services to adults age 60 and over through collaborations with local community organizations as well as volunteers. According to the AAA, the agencies prioritize those who: • Are members of low-income and underrepresented groups • Have limited communication and/or speaking abilities • Reside in rural areas • Are disabled • Live with dementia • Are informal caregivers All of the programs are free of cost for people age 60 and older.
Programs available through the agency include:
Health education classes
Senior needs such as proper nutrition and transportation to medical appointments are challenging to address among populations with lower incomes and in more rural areas, and the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s regional Area Agency on Aging is available to help fill some of those gaps for residents outside of Harris County. “Montgomery County is one that we’re really prioritizing on re-establishing some [community partnerships],” H-GAC Manager Mallory Freitag Hejja said.
Nutrition services, such as home- delivered meals and congregate meals
Transportation services
Referrals to community-based resources
An ombudsman program to advocate for nursing home and assisted-living residents
Help with Medicare, benefits counseling and legal assistance
Population 60 and over in 2022 Harris County 764,466
SOURCE: HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL/COMMUNITY IMPACT
All 12 Area Agency on Aging counties
490,347
What else?
Montgomery County: 123,371
another resource seniors can access. “For about three months, one of our contracted providers can come out in the home and provide care to give that caregiver a little break but even if there’s not a caregiver and someone needs help with bathing, dressing, grooming,” she said. Home modification for elements such as wheel- chair ramps, grab bars and other accessibility devices can also be obtained through the agency.
Some of the other services the agency can assist with are providing support and relief to caregiv- ers. For example, Freitag Hejja said the agency can help pay for nutritional supplements, such as Boost and Ensure, which are recommended for many seniors and can be costly for a family caregiver. Adult incontinence supplies are another costly necessity. Short-term help with home care services and respite for family caregivers is
H-GAC serves these counties: • Austin • Brazoria
• Liberty • Matagorda • Montgomery
• Chambers • Colorado • Fort Bend • Galveston
• Walker • Waller • Wharton
SOURCES: 2022 AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY FIVE-YEAR ESTIMATE, HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL/COMMUNITY IMPACT
More details
Serving local seniors 32 full-time employees staff Houston- Galveston Area Agency on Aging 7,605 Montgomery County residents were served in fiscal year 2022-23 $222,000 for meals was provided by COVID-19 relief funds through 2024
moved in with loved ones, and the pressures of cohabitating resulted in individuals looking for different housing arrangements. The 2023-24 fiscal year is the last year in which enhanced funding from the COVID-19 pandemic has been used to boost training in areas such as public health, Freitag Hejja said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, needs became more complex, Freitag Hejja said. “There were a lot of people who were just very lonely,” she said. “We [definitely] saw ... the importance of maintaining social connections.” Housing needs also escalated during that period, in part because many older adults
SOURCE: HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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