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Elder
Advocacy & Assistance
Click links
to jump down to information on:
Legal Assistance | Elder Abuse Prevention | SMP
| Older Iowans Legislature | Substitute
Decision Making Task Force |
Benefits for Veterans
Legal
Assistance- Under
the Older Americans Act, state units on aging ensure that a legal
assistance and referral program is available to persons over the
age of 60. DEA's legal services developer serves provides leadership
for the coordination & provision of a statewide legal assistance
program. Follow the link above for more information on legal assistance.
Elder
Abuse Prevention- An
important function of DEA is to provide education and develop programs
and policies aimed at preventing elder abuse. Elder abuse appears
in many different forms, including physical abuse, emotional abuse,
financial exploitation, neglect, or abandonment. If you suspect
elder abuse in the community, contact the Iowa Department of Human
Services at 1-800-362-2178 and your local law enforcement. If you
suspect abuse in a care facility, call the Department of Inspections
and Appeals at 1-877-686-0027 and your local law enforcement.
Iowa
SMP - SMP is a program funded through a grant from the Administration
on Aging. The purpose of the program is to detect and recover Medicare
dollars lost to waste, fraud, or abuse. SMP has recruited and trained
retired individuals to provide community education presentations,
individual counseling for Medicare beneficiaries in cooperation
with the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), and
advocacy by Resident Advocate Committees. These volunteers help
Medicare enrollees to better understand their Medicare Summary Notices,
detect and resolve unintended errors, protect themselves from identity
theft including their Medicare ID number, and get answers to their
questions. Contact the hotline at 1-800-423-2449 if you have concerns
or issues related to Medicare waste, fraud, or abuse. If you have
questions about what constitutes Medicare fraud, refer to the Iowa
SMP website at http://www.stopmedicarescams.org/.
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Older
Iowans' Legislature (OIL) -
is a non-profit organiation whose primary mission is to advocate
for seniors within the state of Iowa. It is located at 5835 Grand
Avenue in Des Moines. Phone 1-800-747-5352.
For more information about O.I.L., refer to Older
Iowans Legislature
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Substitute
Decision Making Task Force-
Sometimes, older persons are unable to effectively make certain
decisions for themselves. In this case, a substitute decision-maker
may be appointed to make that person's decisions, including personal
care and disposition of property. Many times, however, there is
no one available to serve in this capacity. DEA formed the Substitute
Decsion Makers Task Force in response to the concerns of health
care and human services providers, attorneys, advocates, and educators
about the absence or inadequacy in Iowa of decision-making mechanisms.
The task force has reviewed the current laws and developed a principles
and recommendations fact sheet. In addition, the task force created
the booklet, "Alternatives
to Guardianship and Conservatorship for Adults in Iowa"
[PDF Format]. An educational information open house was held in
the capitol to increase awareness on barriers to the substitute
decision-making system. For more information on this task force,
contact Kimberly Murphy at (515) 725-3328 or Kimberly.Murphy@iowa.gov
The Department of Elder Affairs conducted an electronic survey to
determine the extent of the need for substitute decision making.
The survey was responded to by health care professionals, case managers,
Area Agencies on Aging, attorneys, hospitals, social workers, veterans
associations, state facilities, long-term care facilities and home
health agencies, to mention a few. The results of the survey indeed
show that many persons in Iowa are in need of a decision maker and
have no one available or appropriate to serve in that capacity.
The electronic survey results as well as a county listing of participants
are available below:
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Benefits for Veterans - Benefits for Veterans- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs web
site includes the 2007 edition of the handbook, "Federal Benefits
for Veterans and Dependents." It contains eligibility criteria,
a description of the benefits, and updates the rates for certain
federal payments. It also includes contacts for additional resources
and who to contact if you have questions. You can review this handbook
by clicking on the following link: http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature/
Veterans living in a care facility who have not applied for
benefits should contact the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs
at the following link to determine if they are eligible for benefits
and for assistance in applying for those benefits: http://www.iowava.org/
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For more
resources related to elder advocacy & assistance, please visit
the following sections on our Related Links page:
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