If you asked me what I do as the Chief Executive Officer of CareWell Services Southwest, I could give you the long list of official job responsibilities, but instead I would tell you this: I work to make sure seniors, adults with disabilities, and caregivers have what they need to live lives they love. That’s the goal of everyone at CareWell Services.
CareWell is the Area Agency on Aging for Barry and Calhoun counties. We’re a local nonprofit that exists to promote health, independence, and choice for seniors, adults with disabilities, and caregivers. We offer programs, services, and information to help make sure everyone in our community gets the care they need as they get older and their needs change. Here’s an overview of our programs:
Information and Resources. We have trained and certified resource specialists available Monday through Friday, from 8:30am to 4:30 pm, to answer questions and provide information on local services. These services may include caregiver training and support, community food resources, legal services, adult day care, transportation, and more.
Medicare Navigation. Through the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), we provide free benefits counseling to assist seniors in Barry and Calhoun County with navigating their Medicare options and coverage. Our certified benefits counselors provide unbiased Medicare counseling at no cost.
Care Management. Our staff works with you to create the care plan that meets your needs and goals. We’ll set up your services and review your plan regularly to make sure you have what you need as you age, wherever you live.
You may qualify for in-home services through the MI Choice Waiver Program. MI Choice provides long-term services, like those provided in a nursing home, in the place you live. CareWell Services provides MI Choice services to people who live in Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren counties.
Aging Well Programs. We offer a variety of free programs and workshops to support your health and wellness. These programs offer tested methods to help you manage your health. Programs cover topics such as nutrition, exercise, fall prevention, chronic disease self-management, grief recovery and support, mental health support, social engagement, and more.
Our specific programs change to meet the needs of our community as they change. That’s why every three years we create a new plan that identifies the priorities of the people we serve and describes how we’re going to serve those needs. This plan is called our Multi-Year Plan (MYP), and from that we create an Annual Plan for each year. These plans guide us as we serve you.
This year we will be creating a new MYP to guide us for the next three years. One of the primary ways we learn about the changing needs of our community is by listening to you! We use information gathered from the Community Health Needs Assessment, which is conducted by the collaborative efforts of Bronson Health, Calhoun County Public Health Department, CareWell Services, The Coordinating Council, and Oaklawn Hospital. We also hold public hearings to meet with you in person and hear your priorities and needs.
In the coming months, we’ll release a draft of the MYP as well as dates for public hearings. As I said before, our goal at CareWell is to make sure you have what you need to live a life you love. The only way we can do that is if you tell us what you need. So, I invite you to join us this year as we work to create a plan that serves the needs of seniors, adults with disabilities, and caregivers in our community. Now, more than ever, we need to take care of each other.
To learn more about CareWell and view our previous plans and reports.