Senior Companions Highly Valued
By: Andrew Wind, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
Date Published: Tuesday, October 04, 2011
WATERLOO, Iowa --- Phyllis and Dick Bauer spent years visiting the sick in area hospitals as a ministry through their church. Now that Phyllis is 82 and Dick is 84, they find it more difficult to get out, not only for those visits but also for doctor's appointments and grocery shopping. So for almost three years, Carol McDonald has been helping them as a volunteer through the Senior Companion Program. McDonald spends seven hours a day five days a week helping the Bauers with cooking, cleaning and transportation. "I don't even want to think about it, what it would be like without her," said Phyllis. On Thursday, the Bauers told Sen. Charles Grassley about the benefits of McDonald's help. He visited their Glenny Avenue home to learn more about the Senior Companion Program. Sponsored by Hawkeye Community College, the program works in Black Hawk, Buchanan and Bremer counties with 160 clients, who receive the service free of charge. Federal dollars totaling $368,000 per year fund 70 senior companions. Nearly $200,000 in money from other sources and in-kind support funds another five companions along with associated expenses. Grassley called is a good example of a program that helps "to keep people in their homes." Those 55 and older can volunteer as companions. They are paid a stipend of $2.65 per hour and get mileage and meals reimbursed. McDonald enjoys volunteering with the Bauers. "It's more rewarding than anything I've ever done," said the 68-year-old, who spent 25 years working for Powers Manufacturing. Program manager Penny Fox said locally it costs $208 per day for a person to stay in a nursing home. That compares to a daily cost of $7 for a senior companion, including stipend, miles and meals reimbursement and training. "We're very cost effective," said Fox. "They go above and beyond what they're paid to do," Grassley said of the senior companions. "So it's a situation where the taxpayers get a lot for their money." He noted that with families often scattered across the country, "this fills a very important vacuum." With Congress looking at ways to cut deficits and balance budgets, Grassley acknowledged "everything's going to be on the table." A super committee is putting together proposed cuts for the U.S. House and Senate to consider under a compromise hammered out during the debt ceiling debate. By Dec. 23, lawmakers must vote the entire recommendation up or down or face automatic cuts to federal programs across the board. Grassley said he is able to measure the service that McDonald provides to the Bauers based on the cost of the program. But he noted McDonald's pay isn't the program's only outcome. "What you can't measure is the love and concern she has for someone who needs help," he said. Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier |