If a service in any way looks like charity, a handout, or welfare, it will often be avoided. It is important that older persons understand that the services they apply for in a center are benefits they have earned as taxpayers. Then, in the interaction with agency personnel, older persons must often overcome the fears that accompany a new experience. They may not be assertive enough to take charge of an interview and assure that necessary contact and understanding occur. The interviewer, who probably has never had an orientation to the special considerations involved in serving older persons, may never know that real communication has not occurred.
Many older persons have disabilities, are frail, or have chronic health problems such as arthritis.
This means that special efforts related to transportation to centers, availability of wheelchairs, attention to medication, and special outreach efforts must be addressed. The more frail an older person is, the more susceptible he is to a condition known as transfer trauma. This condition was first noted and documented in nursing homes and occur when an older person has to be moved from one living arrangement to another. Statistics show that rates of illness and even death increase significantly. Properly followed procedures by persons knowledgeable of such factors can greatly reduce the negative impact of necessary relocation.