Help Madison seniors stay mobile

Imagine how you would feel if after many years of useful activity you found yourself without a way to get around. You might not be able to drive for a variety of reasons and yet do not want to ask friends, neighbors, or family to take you where you need to go.

That situation is becoming increasingly common in Madison County with the growing number of older residents who don’t drive. Population projections indicate that in 2030 there will be about 4,500 residents older than 60. The greatest increase (110 percent) will be those older than 85.

Recognizing the need for elder mobility, recent Virginia legislation (House Bill 110) requires all state agencies to include the needs of older citizens in their strategic plans. According to VDOT and AARP information, one in five Virginians older than 60 are not licensed to drive and on any given day 50 percent of elder non-drivers stay at home because they lack transportation.

There are a number of state and regional resources to address senior mobility issues. The Department of Motor Vehicles with the Virginia Department on Aging provides tools on assessing the impact of aging on driving skills (www.granddriver.net) and information to help older drivers stay on the road as safely as possible, for as long as possible.

AARP offers classes to help older drivers stay safe, making some eligible for auto insurance discounts. Aging Together is helping with the CarFit program sponsored by AARP and the Occupational Therapist Society of the U.S. to assure that you have the right “fit” inside your vehicle to assure maximum safety.

So how does Madison County fit in the scheme of these things? According to Nan Coppedge, director of the Madison County Department of Social Services and a Madison Aging Together team leader, there are some current resources to address elder mobility. Through the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), senior volunteers transport other seniors to healthcare visits, using their personal vehicles. According to Phillip Burkhead, one of the principal drivers, such rides are currently restricted to medical needs and do at times venture into Culpeper and Albemarle Counties.

Newly available to volunteers is Care-a-Van, a wheelchair-accessible vehicle shared among all five counties and available for use by volunteers in Madison County on the 13th through the 17th of each month. Volunteer drivers 21 or older with a good driving record are needed for the van and will receive a training course.

To find out more about the volunteer driver program, call Lola Walker or Judy Seale at (540) 825-3100, extension 3358 or 3013 or Shirley Workman, the Madison Senior Center supervisor, at (540) 948-4131.

Aging Together, a five-county partnership that includes Madison, is helping to coordinate transportation resources across the entire region in collaboration with a number of other organizations. Through new state funding a mobility manager will collect transportation resource information and work with organizations to establish a one-call center for connecting riders and transportation. This grant also provides for a mobility specialist to help seniors or people with disabilities arrange and use transportation. In addition, Aging Together has received funds to help expand volunteer transportation networks including in Madison.

Madison has made a good start but more will be needed in the future as Baby Boomers increase in age. How can you help? Here are a few ways:
• Join the Madison Aging Together team as we plan to increase volunteer transportation.

• Call Lola Walker to sign up as a volunteer driver.

• Let your older neighbors know about what’s available.

Together we can assure that our valued older Madisonians get to where they need to go and maintain their independence as long as possible.

(Guest columnist Marilyn Poris was director of Institutional Research in higher education for 20 years. Five years ago, after the death of her husband, she moved to Madison County to be near her family. She is now a legislative advocate for AARP and a member of the local chapter of Master Naturalists and the Madison County Aging Together team. The Madison County Team of Aging Together is working to support the older citizens of the county. Join them at their monthly meetings the third Tuesday each month, 1:30 p.m. at the Madison County Department of Social Services office. For information about Aging Together, call [540] 829-6405 or visit the Web site at www.agingtogether.org.)