IUPUI Human Resources

IUPUI has many employees in the baby boomer age group and this group is starting to face the responsibility for care of elderly relatives. Care generally consumes 16 hours of the caregiver's time each week, can be a drain on financial resources and can cause a great deal of stress in the caregiver's life. Here are some helpful resources.

There are many things you can do even before an elderly relative needs continuous care and it is often easier/more effective to talk with an elderly relative BEFORE he/she is ill.

A great place to start is for a trusted family member to collect information on physicians, current medications, past illnesses/surgeries, financial assets, living will, etc. We have found the ElderKit produced by Fannie Mae to be a great guide for this. Go to http://www.fanniemae.com, select "About Fannie Mae" from menu on right, then select "Social Responsibility" from next menu that comes up on left, then select "Eldercare" from menu that comes up on right and finally select "ElderKit" from next menu that comes up on right. Print out a copy for yourself.

Financial power of attorney allows another person to handle financial affairs and can be granted to anyone who the grantor trusts. The power of attorney should be granted while the person granting it is still of sound mind. It can be "durable" meaning the grantee has immediate access to accounts or it can be made "springing" so it springs into effect when the grantor designates. Low-income people who cannot afford an attorney, can contact Indiana Legal Services, (317) 631-9410. It serves all of central Indiana, and information about their location, phone number, etc., is available at http://www.indianajustice.org. Go to http://familycaregiversonline.com/legal-medical.html to get sample Indiana forms.

If an elderly person becomes incapacitated and has not made financial or health care power of attorney arrangements, a court can grant guardianship or conservatorship to someone. A guardian is a person who makes health care and other personal decisions for an incapacitated person while a conservator is one who makes financial decisions. Setting up guardianship or conservatorship is generally more costly, difficult and time-consuming than making power of attorney arrangements in advance.

For information on state resources, a locator for finding home care in your area, a checklist for evaluating options and a list of typical services, contact the National Association for Home Care at http://www.nahc.org/Consumer/coninfo.html. In Indiana you can also call the Bureau of Aging/In-Home Services at 1-800-452-4800; Indiana Association for Home Care at (317) 844-6630 or the Indiana Association for Hospices at (317) 338-4716. CICOA is designed to be your single point of entry for information on transportation, adult day care, respite care, homemaker services, home health aides, attendant care, home repair/modification, legal assistance and related issues. Go to www.cicoa.org or call at 254-5465 at the earliest possible onset of problems.

Looking for information (certification, licensure, survey results, services provided, etc.) about nursing homes in Indiana? Interested in surveys they conduct when there is a complaint from a nursing home resident? Contact the Indiana State Department of Health - Division of Long Term Care, 2 N. Meridian. St., Indianapolis, IN 46204. The phone number is (317) 233-7442, and their Web site is at www.state.in.us/isdh. Once at the Web site, select "regulatory services," then "Indiana health care providers." There you will find access to Long Term Care Facility report cards and Home Health Agency Consumer Reports for specific nursing homes.

If you live in central Indiana, are having a problem with a nursing home and need help resolving the problem, contact the Area 8 Ombudsman Program, Legal Services Organization, 1800 Market Square Center, 151 N. Delaware St., Indianapolis, IN 46204 or 1-800- 869-0212 or Indiana Legal Services, (317) 631-9424. They can also provide information about what to look for in a nursing home and can tell you if a nursing home is private pay or accepts Medicare/Medicaid patients. If you don't live in central Indiana and want to know who your area ombudsman is, contact the Indiana long-term care ombudsman: Arlene Franklin, Indiana Division Disabilities\Rehab Services, 402 W. Washington St., Room W 454, P.O. Box 7083, Indianapolis, IN 46207-7083. The telephone number is (800) 545-7763 and the fax is (317) 232-7867.

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) at http://www.aarp.org has helpful information on questions to ask when evaluating nursing homes. Put "Nursing Homes" in the Search box and click "Go."

For Medicare and Medicaid information, contact the U.S. Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at, http://www.cms.hhs.gov or call 1-800-633-4227.

Contact the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), Indiana office at http://www.in.gov/idoi/shiip/. They can help you understand Medicare and suggest how to organize your records and file claims. They can also help you evaluate Medicare supplement and long-term care insurance policies.

If you need to locate the nearest area agency of aging/community services and are not from central Indiana, try the Eldercare Locator at http://www.n4a.org/locator.cfm or 800-677-1116. For central Indiana, contact CICOA at (317) 254-5465 or http://www.cicoa.org.

The Eldersource program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis offers the services of a professional staff that can help with needs related to transportation, housing, home care, adult day services and more. Services are for both Jewish and non-Jewish elderly. Go to http://www.jfgi.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=63447.

The Bureau of Aging & In-Home Services (BAIHS) provides a broad range of in-home and community-based services to older adults and disabled persons of all ages. Services provided focus on prevention, early intervention, protection and advocacy. The Bureau collaborates with communities, local organizations and other units of government to provide services to individuals and their families. At their site, you can also find an assisted living facilities directory. They can be reached at Bureau of Aging and In-Home Services, Division of Disability, Aging and Rehabilitative Services, Family and Social Services Administration, 402 W. Washington Street, #W454, P.O. Box 7083 Indianapolis, IN 46207-7083, by phone at (317) 232-7020, by fax at (317) 232-7867 or at http://www.state.in.us/fssa/elderly/aging/index.html.

Go to www.benefitscheckup.org, a confidential, free service that helps older Americans identify state and federal assistance programs that they may be eligible for. At the site, use BenefitsCheckupRx to find the best prescription prices.

Meals on Wheels - Call (317) 633-6325 (Indianapolis), 776-7159 (Hamilton County) or 477-4347 (Greenfield).

Indiana is part of a federal network designed to provide an unbiased place for seniors and pre-retirees to find answers to their health insurance, long-term care insurance and Medicare supplement insurance questions. Contact the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), Indiana office at http://www.in.gov/idoi/shiip/. SHIIP is not affiliated with any insurance company and does not sell insurance. They can also help you understand Medicare and suggest how to organize your records and how to file claims.

Need information about how to make caregiving easier and more successful, whether you are the caregiver or the person who ensures that your loved one is receiving the best possible care from others? Contact the National Family Caregiver Support Program at www.AOA.gov. This is a site developed by the Administration on Aging of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The site offers publications, current articles relating to aging and links to other sites of interest.

Full Circle of Care is a great site for caregivers, though some of the information pertains only to North Carolina and the caregiver specialists are for North Carolina residents only. Go to www.fullcirclecare.org.

Family Caregiver Alliance, http://www.caregiver.org, has information helpful to caregivers. Their Web site has a resource center that offers practical information to help with care, planning, stress relief and locating and using community resources.

National Alliance for Caregiving, http://www.caregiving.org/, is a national non-profit agency that offers tips on caring for seniors. Access a searchable database of care giving resources and more.

Go to www.nadsa.org to learn how to choose adult day care and use locator for finding one in your area. (Tip: When you get the list of phone numbers for day care centers, click on the blue dot at beginning of line to get details.)

To report suspected elder abuse in Marion County, call 327-1403. In Boone, Hamilton and Hendricks counties, call 877-284-0063. In other counties, call the county prosecutor's office.

There are lots of sources for medical information on the Web but a local hospital recommends www.medlineplus.gov. It has over 600 topics, is sponsored by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health and is filtered to take out incorrect information.

HoosierRx is a program that pays half the cost of prescription drugs for certain low-income people. Go to http://www.in.gov/fssa/hoosierrx.

If you need information on specific diseases, alternative therapies and guidance on how to get quality care, contact Healthfinder, produced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, at http://www.healthfinder.gov.

For information on a variety of diseases, drug information, etc., contact the National Institutes of Health at http://www.nih.gov.

For information on drugs, contact the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality at http://www.ahrq.gov.

Contact the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) at http://www.aarp.org.

Elderhostel offers educational travel opportunities for older adults. Go to www.elderhostel.org.

Indianapolis OASIS offers educational seminars, travel, volunteer opportunities, discounts and more to older adults. Go to www.oasisnet.org/indianapolis.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Web site can help you link to a variety of elder-related sites as well as sites related to mental health, addiction services, adoption, disabilities, etc. Go to http://www.state.in.us/fssa/elderly/index.html.

ElderWeb is a site with lots of on-site and off-site eldercare information on issues relating to legal, financial, medical and housing issues. It even has regional information so you can find information about Indiana law, insurance, housing, etc. Go to http://www.elderweb.com.

AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) has a wealth of topics. Go to www.aarp.org.

The GriefNet site at http://www.griefnet.org/ offers access to online support groups, information for suicide survivors/prevention and a link to a site just for kids.

Have a question about or a suggestion for the content on this website?
Contact mstimmin@iupui.edu. Having technical problems? Contact gbrenner@iupui.edu.
WORK / LIFE WEBSITE MAP - IUPUI Human Resources Administration Website