Shawnee Alliance for Older Adults
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Since 1983 Shawnee Health Service, through the Shawnee Alliance for Older Adults program, has served persons over the age of sixty (60) and their caregivers. Program goals include providing access to services which enable older adults to maximize their independence and remain in the community, advocating for the rights of older adults and their quality of life in the community and in nursing homes, and protecting older adults from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Shawnee Alliance provides services throughout the lower thirteen counties of Illinois. (See area map for counties and office locations). Information on specific programs designed to assist clients in obtaining these goals are detailed below.
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Contact Shawnee Alliance
Call us at 1-800-642-7773 or 1-618-985-8322. For emergencies, Shawnee Alliance can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Location
Shawnee Alliance
6355 Brandhorst Drive
Carterville, Illinois 62948
Phone: (618) 985-8322
Fax: (618) 985-9096
Email: sasinfo@shsdc.org
Branch offices:
Contact 1-800-642-7773 for appointments.
- Harrisburg
- Mounds
- Cairo
- Anna
- Murphysboro
- West Frankfort
Are you looking to get answers to questions about…
- Services in the community to assist an older adult.
- Accessing services to be provided in the home of an older adult.
- Programs which can provide financial assistance or assistance with medical or medication costs.
- How to help an older adult remain in their own home.
- How to help an older adult return home after a hospitalization or a long term care admission.
- What is Elder Abuse?
- Who can provide assistance if an older adult is being abused, neglected, or exploited.
- How to report abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
- The rights of a resident in a long term care facility
- Services or standards of long term care facilities.
- What to consider about long term care options.
- Other needs or services available for older adults whether in the community, the hospital, or a long term care facility.
If so, contact Shawnee Alliance at 1-800-642-7773. We want to help.
Shawnee Alliance Volunteer and Internship Opportunities
Shawnee Alliance accepts volunteers, interns, and practicum students into many of its programs. A few of the programs are listed below, with descriptions of some of the activities volunteers and students may do.
Volunteer Money Management Program: assisting older adults with bill-paying activities.
Long-Term Care Ombudsman: Working with and advocating for residents of nursing and rehab facilities, and assisted living facilities.
In-Home Counseling: Supportive counseling for older adults and their caregivers, in their own homes.
Call (618) 985-8322 for more information.
Programs Offered through the Community Services Unit
Comprehensive Care Coordination
Shawnee Alliance Care Managers help older adults and their caregivers connect to services available in the community which enable them to maintain their independence. Care Managers make home visits to evaluate the older adults’ ability to function independently. The evaluation is comprehensive and provides the care manager with information needed to advise the older adult and their caregiver on programs and services available to meet their needs in the following areas:
- Function
- Physical Health
- Behavioral Health
- Medication
- Nutrition
- Transportation
- Home Environment
- Financial
- Legal
- Spiritual/Social
Shawnee Alliance Care Managers work closely with older adults and their caregivers to provide information on services and programs in each of these areas, develop plans to assist with identified needs, coordinate access and referrals to services, and monitor to adjust plans when needed. The Care Manager can provide access to in-home care programs, adult day services, home delivered meals, financial aid programs, transportation programs, home modification, assistive technology, medication assistance programs, Medicare Part D applications, and many other resources available to assist older adults. Evaluations are performed in the privacy of the client’s home and there is no charge to the client or their caregiver. Participation is voluntary and activities are at the direction of the client and their caregiver. Care Managers may also assist older adults in transitioning back to their home from a nursing home or from a hospital.
Choices for Care
Shawnee Alliance Care Managers provide consultation services to persons over the age of 60 or disabled persons under the age of 60. The goal is to provide information which enables participants and their caregivers to make informed decisions based on the options available in their community. Options discussed include home and community based services like in-home care and adult day services, home delivered meals, and other services available in their community. Other options include supportive living facilities, assisted living facilities, and nursing facilities. There is no charge for this service. All persons seeking admission into a nursing home in Illinois must first meet with a Choices for Care Manager to be informed of their options for care.
Counseling Services
Shawnee Alliance can provide short term supportive counseling for older adults in the privacy of their own home. Caregivers for older adults may also receive counseling services. If you would like to know more about these services, please call Shawnee Alliance at 1-800-642-7773.
Money Management
Volunteer Money Management Program
This program provides protective services to limited income seniors who need help managing their finances. The goal of the program is to assist low income seniors, as well as to promote independent living and prevent unnecessary institutionalization, guardianship, or homelessness.
The Volunteer Money Management Program is co-sponsored by the Illinois Department on Aging and the AARP Foundation. Volunteers help with such bill-paying activities as opening and organizing mail, setting up budgets, and balancing checkbooks for seniors who remain in control of their finances, but need some help keeping things in order.
Representative Payee volunteers help clients manage their Social Security benefits, if the client is unable to handle his or her own finances. The Representative Payee volunteer manages and pays the client's expenses from an account into which the Social Security benefit is automatically deposited.
Why might someone need Volunteer Money Management services?
- Physical or mental disabilities
- Bills are not being paid
- Client is unable to read or write
- Client is overwhelmed or nervous
- Loss of informal support or caregiver
- Financial exploitation or abuse
- Serious illness
- Threat of eviction
- Utilities shut off
Volunteer Money Management Program Safeguards
- Insurance coverage of client funds is provided by AARP.
- Volunteers are carefully selected, trained, and provided ongoing support.
- Volunteers only work from one designated account with a $3,500 limit.
- Volunteer activity and accounts are monitored on a monthly basis.
Flexible Senior Services
Senior Health Assistants Program
Bridge Program - Transitional Care Model
The Illinois Transitional Care Consortium (ITCC), is a consortium of community-based organizations, hospitals, a research university, and a health care policy-advocacy organization. ITCC developed the Bridge Model, a social-work based model of transitional care that serves older adults being discharged home after a hospital stay. For more information visit the ITCC website.
Programs Offered through the Protective Services Unit
Elder Abuse and Neglect Program
The Elder Abuse and Neglect Program, administered through the
Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA), is designed to respond to older
persons who are victims of abuse, neglect, and exploitation (ANE) by
building on the existing legal, medical, and social service system to
assure that it is more responsive to the needs of elder abuse victims
and their families.
Shawnee Alliance Protective Services Specialists, under the authority of the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act, respond to reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation in the community of persons over the age of 60. The Protective Service Specialists investigate reports, offer interventions, and provide follow-up services to help resolve the abuse or neglect. Types of reports include physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, confinement, neglect, and financial exploitation.
Shawnee Alliance Protective Service Specialists work with older adults to resolve the situation according to what the older adult wants. Remedies may include linkages to services including in-home care, advocacy for and assistance in pursuing legal options, counseling services for the older adult, and training/education on abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
Information is maintained in strict confidentiality and reporters may remain confidential.
Contact Shawnee Alliance at 1-800-642-7773 for more information or to make a report of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
Older Adult Crime Victims Services
Shawnee Alliance can assist older adults who have been victims of crime by providing advocacy, supportive counseling, and access to services. These services help older adults to navigate the criminal justice system and to maintain their quality of life prior to the crime.
Victims of Crime Act Program
Long Term Care Ombudsman Program
Shawnee Alliance, through the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, protects and promotes the rights and quality of life for older adults who reside in long term care facilities, assisted living facilities, and supportive living facilities. The program is designed to:
- Inform residents and their families of their rights;
- Resolve complaints;
- Provide information on residents' needs;
- Advocate for good individualized care.
The Shawnee Alliance Ombudsman Program maintains a regular presence in all licensed facilities in the thirteen county Shawnee Alliance area (see map above). Staff and volunteers act as advocates and work to resolve complaints on behalf of older adults, under the direction of the older adult.
Shawnee Alliance Long Term Care Ombudsman Program recruits volunteers to advocate for residents. Volunteers receive training including supervised visits to long term care facilities, and ongoing support by the Volunteer Coordinator. Volunteers make a great contribution to the quality of life of long term care residents. If you are interested in becoming a trained Volunteer Ombudsman, please contact Shawnee Alliance at 1-800-642-7773.
Funded in part by the Older American’s Act through the Egyptian Area Agency on Aging.
Our Staff
| Name |
Specialty / Title |
| Carol Aronson |
Director |
| Ginny Donney |
Unit Director - Youth and Family Services |
| Margie Kemp |
Unit Director - Older Adult Community Services Unit |
| David Mitchell |
Unit Director - Older Adult Protective Services Unit |
| Kathy Krone |
Executive Administrative Assistant |
