Services are also provided to homebound and handicapped elders. Volunteers renew their certification every two years and pertinent guidelines are updated periodically. Sherman's consultations take place in a variety of settings. She meets once a week with elders in the office of the Adams Council on Aging. Also, she visits elders in their homes to clear up confusion over medical bills and insurance requirements.
Many elders are reluctant to ask for help even from available family.
On occasion she has been given a bag of medical bills accompanied by a request for help in putting them into some sort of order. Although not a bill payer, she has been glad to lend a hand in sorting out bills and setting up a system to handle them. It is like a watchdog who makes sure their health information needs are being met. Insurance issues are confusing and frustrating, but this program helps to alleviate some of the frustration. Insurance concerns range anywhere from Kaiser Permanente pulling out of our local community, to helping an elder appeal a nonpayment decision.