Page 24 - Delaware Medical Journal - September/October 2018

VILLAGE BACKGROUND, CONTACTS
The origins of the Greater Lewes Community Village date to 2010, when retired gerontologist Jackie Finer gathered a handful of Lewes neighbors to explore the creation of a local group to encourage and sustain aging in place. Given both its aging demographic and strong volunteer focus, Lewes seemed to offer a prime location to pursue the Village concept. In 2012, GLCV joined the Village to Village Network, a national network providing professional guidance, resources,
and support as well as a means of communication between member Villages regarding best practices. The Lewes-based nonprofit was granted 501(c)(3) status in September 2013 and began serving its first few members two months later.
The Greater Lewes Community Village can be reached through its offices at 16686 Kings Highway, Suite B, Lewes, DE 19958; by phone at (302) 703-2568; and by email at lewesvillage@gmail.com.
“The key questions,” Executive Director Jackie Sullivan says, “are: Who is not getting help? How do we identify those pockets of need? And how do we ensure that they know about the resources available to them?”
INTEGRATING VOLUNTEERS INTO HEALTH CARE DELIVERY
Sullivan, hired by the Village as its

background in information technology and project management — she had recently retired as vice president of Global IT Demand Management for Siemens Healthcare — in managing the Village’s expansion from its Lewes roots. Under her tenure, the organization is growing both numerically and geographically.
As it does, the Village is transitioning into a broader role on the health care landscape. If large-scale volunteerism can promote more healing at home and in the community, it can indeed contribute to shorter hospital stays, fewer ED visits,
less recidivism, and lower costs. As the Village seeks ways to collaborate more fully with local health care providers, those providers can also look toward such community-based programs as the Village to play a growing role in the continuum of quality health care and
to mitigate the threat of social isolation among seniors. A number of ongoing
and pending innovations will allow the Village to better address such issues while maintaining consistent, high-quality service on this larger scale:
• “Heat map”: This map — technically
a graphics information system (GIS)
— is a digital/visual tool for storing
and organizing constantly changing geographical data in overlay fashion. The Village is being assisted in developing this GIS by Nicole Minni, an associate policy scientist and GIS/graphics specialist at
the University of Delaware’s School of Public Policy and Administration. Due for completion this fall, it will visually represent geographical concentrations (and gaps) in members and volunteers, paired with broader demographic data.
• Transitional Support Program (TSP): Now being planned in conjunction with a local health care system, TSP will identify and serve discharged hospital patients who are at high risk for readmission due to lack of home support. Similar programs have substantially lowered readmission rates elsewhere, cutting hospital
costs dramatically. Hospitals pay for membership for up to 60 days; volunteers provide the support needed to help keep members engaged and meet appointments.
• Tiered membership: This provides for a variety of needs and abilities to pay. Full individual memberships ($500 a year)
and household memberships ($750 a year) offer access to all the Village’s programs, including up to 25 hours of volunteer service each month. That translates to a
cost of as little as $1.67 an hour for the full range of services — a fraction of the price of most comparable pay-per-service in-home caregivers. Reduced-fee full memberships
are available to those demonstrating

full memberships are subsidized in this way. The new Road to Recovery program provides membership for those who need temporary assistance and transportation following surgery or illness. Finally, many seniors — including volunteers — who are not yet in need of personal assistance choose an entry-level supporting membership ($250 a year) as a way of gaining access to the Village’s collaborative group programs, classes, and events. A large proportion of supporting members eventually move into full membership.
• Other collaborations: Village representatives recently met with the Delaware Health Care Commission, seeking assistance in forming relationships with health care providers, Delaware Health and Social Services, and particularly the Division of Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities. Already in existence are collaborations with Meals on Wheels, local farmers’ markets, Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore program, home health care services,
55+ adult retirement communities, and other organizations in order to promote wellness and engagement, as well as to reduce the cost of services to older adults.
CONCLUSION
The support systems required to allow more adults in Eastern Sussex County to age at home, safely, independently, and with dignity, are extensive and complex. But the fundamental equation is not. Aging in place is far more satisfying
to most seniors, and it dramatically diminishes the strain on public resources and health care providers. Aging in place, however, requires the commitment of a large and dedicated body of volunteers, “neighbors helping neighbors.” Those volunteers can do their best work — and more of it — when they, in turn, are supported by data-driven organizations to match the growing scale of need.
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Del Med J | September/October 2018 | Vol. 90 | No. 7