Elderly Services Coordinator Removes Barriers, Helps Seniors

Scattered throughout Farmington there are dozens of doors that stay shut, with elderly seniors behind them, who need help, yet stay silent.

It’s Martha Taylor’s job to knock and push her way in – past the defenses, the objections and the decades of self-reliance to get them the services that they need.

Taylor, an MSW, took over the job of elderly outreach coordinator for Farmington in February of 2012. The position is funded entirely through a grant the North Central Area Agency on Aging.

Taylor’s function, once she makes contact with seniors, is to direct them to the various programs available through the town and state. And while the need for help and avenues to get it are available, people often have trouble connecting the two.

“My job is to help our elderly adults in the community. I reach out to people over 60 who are having a hard time getting out into the community and I also help caregivers,” Taylor said in her office at the .

Many of the seniors Taylor works with are identified by police officers, neighbors and Meals-on-Wheels drivers, who notice someone needs help.

She’ll give them a call to let them know she’s coming, then drive over and knock on the door. Getting seniors to open up can be a challenge in which patience and persistence are her most effective tools.

“The first thing I try to do is show them my card to let them know I’m official and I say ‘I’m just here to visit with you and see how you are,’” Taylor said. Often, seniors will start out just talking with her outside the door but week-after-week visits win them over and eventually they let her in.

Once inside, Taylor talks with seniors to assess their safety.

“If they’re not safe I work with their caregiver, if they have no one, I try to connect them to a member of their family who can help out.

Oftentimes, Taylor said, older adults don’t want to burden their children or other family members and so will decline help while assuring them they’re fine.

“If they really have no one I look at their finances and identify their needs. They might need a lifeline, Meals-on-Wheels or a walker,” Taylor said.

If that’s the case, she refers them to Farmington’s Services for the Elderly, a nonprofit run by Nancy Walker and located at the Services for the Elderly oversees Meals-on-Wheels, a Friendly Visitor and Friendly Shopper program, transportation to doctor’s appointments and it loans out medical equipment for free. Walker oversees nearly 200 volunteers who work in Farmington to visit seniors and take them out so that they can stay happy and healthy in their homes. 

Taylor also determines whether someone is able to safely stay in his home. To make that possible, sometimes a senior might need a home health aid, a cleaning person or grab bars installed. Taylor can make that happen to enable the person to stay at home safely – always the goal.

The state-run Connecticut Community Care, Inc. provides access to services and helps families or individuals navigate the difficult world of financial eligibility with an emphasis on keeping seniors at home.

If the senior is not safe and has no family to intervene, Taylor said, the situation becomes more complicated. In that case, and if the person is not willing to be helped, she sometimes has to refer them to Protective Services for the Elderly.

Sometimes, Taylor just stops in once a week to spend some time talking to seniors.

“There are a lot of older adults living by themselves who need help. It’s more than you’d think."

Anyone who has concerns about an elderly resident or would like Taylor’s help can reach her at 860-675-2390 or email her at taylorm@farmington-ct.org.