As of Saturday, August 21, 2010 Benefits CheckUp has helped 2,547,493 people find over $8.8 billion worth of the annual benefits they deserve.....By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room
This service from the National Council on Aging will give you real help in identifying all the services that are available to the elderly or to someone that has Alzheimer's desease. They ask specifically if the person has Alzheimer's disease in their questionnaire.
The thing I like best about this website is that it streamlines the process of finding programs that could be of benefit to you. This is accomplished through one simple questionnaire that searches all national/Federal, regional and local assistance programs.
You can answer the questions for someone that is older or suffering from dementia. You answer as if they were answering the questionnaire. You do it for them.
Don't overlook this opportunity, if you are currently caring for someone and not working or on a low income, you can also answer for yourself to determine if there are programs available for you. I find that Alzheimer's caregivers often over look this option.
I filled in the questionnaire before writing this article. At the end, the website listed 20 possible programs that might benefit us. Some of the listings were county programs only available to residents of Palm Beach County.
You will get a wealth of contact information. Information that you might need now or in the years ahead.
Here is an example.
The program listed the Florida Department of Children and Families. FDCS is loaded with all kinds of local and state programs.
FDCS had a direct link to the application for Medicaid. Even if you are not eligible for Medicaid, I suggest you fill in and submit this form. When they respond, and even if you are not currently eligible, you can ask for an appointment to speak with a case worker. This means you will have an actual file and a case worker that you can contact at a later date.
When you go in for an appointment you can also ask questions and get a good education. You might also ask the case worker if they can direct you to other services or organizations that might help. They might actually be aware of an obscure program that is not readily known.
I once learned about a private program that was funded by a foundation for a single zipcode. The foundation funded private program offered cleaning, and bathing services to the elderly, and four hours of respite care for caregivers each week. The requirements for this privately funded program were not as stringent as many of the national, regional and local programs that are already well known.
It will take ten minutes or so to fill in the complete questionnaire at Benefits Checkup. In return you will get all kinds of potentially useful information from a single source. You can print it our or bookmark the information for future use.
Benefits CheckUp does not ask for or require you to enter any of your private or personal information. So this won't be an obstacle.
I suggest you fill in the comprehensive form. You can start here.
As of Saturday, August 21, 2010 Benefits CheckUp has helped 2,547,493 people find over $8.8 billion worth of the annual benefits they deserve.
Here is the link to the questionnaire pages -- Benefits CheckUp
If you try the service please let us know your reaction in the comments section below this article.
Go fish.
- Alzheimer's CareGiving -- Insight and Advice
- Communicating in Alzheimer's World
- What is Alzheimer's? What are the Eight Types of Dementia?
- Is it Really Alzheimer's or Something Else?
- Ten Symptoms of Early Stage Alzheimer's
- Ten Tips for Communicating with an Alzheimer’s Patient
Bob DeMarco is the editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. Bob has written more than 1,690 articles with more than 70,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.
Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room
