Briefs: Area Agency on Aging accreditation, Genealogical Society speaker, Medicare events
Area Agency on Aging awarded accreditation from NCQA
ONTARIO — The Ohio District 5 Area Agency on Aging was awarded Case management Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for the following programs: PASSPORT and Assisted Living, Ohio Home Care Waiver, and Specialized Recovery Services.
NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. Earning NCQA’s Accreditation of Case Management for LTSS demonstrates that an organization is dedicated to coordinating the delivery of care in a person-centered and integrated manner to help individuals function optimally in their preferred setting.
“The Area Agency on Aging’s mission is to support individual choice, independence, and dignity and the NCQA accreditation allows us to demonstrate how we deliver on our mission by being efficient, being effective with person-centered care that meets people’s needs,” Diane Ramey, Chief Clinical Officer of the Area Agency on Aging.
NCQA Accreditation standards are developed with input from researchers in the field, the LTSS Advisory Committee and standing committees, both purchasers and operators of LTSS programs, state and federal regulators and other experts.
Genealogical Society chapter to host guest speaker
Crawford County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society will host speaker Tom Neel, retired Ohio Genealogical Library director, at 7 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Bucyrus Public Library in the downstairs meeting room. Neel will present a program titled “Wills and Estates: Dead People Create Records.”
The public is welcome. More information is available at crawfordcountyohiogenealogy.org/events/.
Statewide events underway to prepare Ohioans for Medicare's fall open enrollment
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIIP) has started its virtual and on-site statewide Medicare Checkup events to help Ohioans prepare for Medicare's Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 open enrollment period to select coverage for 2024. OSHIIP is the state's official Medicare educational and counseling program.
During the events, participants will learn Medicare fundamentals and changes, how to compare plans, prescription drug coverage options, and ways to save money. The events are presentation-only until Oct. 15 when plan comparisons and counseling services become included in most events.
The careful evaluation of Medicare options is imperative because plans may have different benefits, out-of-pocket costs, covered prescription drugs, in-network physicians, and premiums each year. Medicare will release 2024 plan information on Oct. 1 at medicare.gov.
To search onsite events by county and to register for a virtual event, visit insurance.ohio.gov/medicare. OSHIIP also offers individual virtual counseling — appointments can be scheduled on the department's website — and assistance via oshiipmail@insurance.ohio.gov and 800-686-1578. Medicare representatives are available at 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227).
Upcoming meetings:
● Bucyrus Tree Board, 5 p.m., Sept. 19, Friendship Shelter, Aumiller Park, 500 Aumiller Park Drive, Bucyrus
● Crawford County Board of Developmental Disabilities, 5:30 p.m., Sept. 21, board room, 1630 E. Southern Ave., Bucyrus
Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Area Agency on Aging accreditation, Genealogical Society speaker
