MASON CITY ñ Senior citizens and others with limited contact to outside help are encouraged to use the free Telephone Reassurance program offered by Good Shepherd Inc.
“A lot of people don’t know about it,” said Carol Hughes, but it has been available since 1975. Staff from Good Shepherd make contact with each Telephone Reassurance program member each day to check on how they’re doing.
“It’s a program that I feel very strongly about because I have an 87-year-old mother,” Hughes said Thursday, speaking to the Mason City Noon Kiwanis Club.
“There are all sorts of situations we run into. Some are good, some are not so good,” Hughes said. She said about 10 referrals a week are made to arrange for help.
“If they say they are having a good day, fine. If they say they’re not feeling well, we start asking questions,” said Hughes. Depending on the answers and severity of the situation, the staff member will then contact a family member, doctor, rescuer, police or other person who can help the individual.
Hughes said the program offers help to seniors who might need it but are reluctant to ask. “These are members of the Greatest Generation. They don’t want to be a burden. They don’t want to ask for help. They don’t think they need help, so sometimes you’ve got to convince them.”
She cited an example of a person having a negative reaction to changes in medication, but willing to wait until a follow-up appointment in three weeks. The caller convinced the person to call and make an appointment sooner, Hughes said.
“Sometimes we’re the only person who contacts them at all,” she said. In the winter, seniors sometimes run out of groceries. The Good Shepherd staff member can put the person in touch with Hy-Vee to make a delivery. Others are referred to social service programs.
The calls are made between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., depending on the preferences of the person being called.
Sometimes the person getting the call is lonely ñ depression is common among seniors, Hughes noted ñ so the caller will talk to them a little longer. “It’s not just business. You get to know them as friends. You know when they get their hair done, who goes to coffee at Pies & More.”
Hughes said she talks to the same people each day. She is one of three from Good Shepherd who makes or takes the calls each weekday. Two people handle them on weekends.
There are currently 225 people who are called or call in each day. At one time there were 500, Hughes said, adding that she’d like to see the program double to about that number of users. The program serves residents of Cerro Gordo County and surrounding counties.
“What I do … At the end of the day, I feel really good,” Hughes said. “We want people to know this is available and that it’s free.”
For more information on the program, visit the Good Shepherd website (click here) or call 424-9085 or toll-free at 800-392-6638.|
