| Center offers aid to elderly AIKEN - South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer opened the state's first one-stop social service information center for seniors and the disabled Wednesday, even though the online version isn't up and running yet. The Aging & Disability Information Center, on Wagener Road next to the headquarters for the Aiken Electric Cooperative, is designed to help older adults, disabled people and caregivers in Aiken and Barnwell counties get information and fill out applications from nearly three dozen agencies. The idea, Mr. Bauer said, is to prevent people from having to visit each agency in person and fill out multiple sets of applications for the services they need. "Seniors don't care about the process. They don't want to hear that the General Assembly couldn't do something. They want results," he said. Once the center's Web site is fully up, people will be able to visit the center or look up information on their computers. "We want to reduce the frustration that consumers face about long-term care, and the vast majority of people have no idea where to start when they need that kind of information," said Lynnda Bassham, the director of human services for the Lower Savannah Council of Government, who helped plan the program. The State Bureau of Senior Services, now called the Lieutenant Governor's Office on Aging, was moved July 1. Using a $842,000 federal grant routed through the state Department of Health and Human Services, the center combines information from state and local service agencies and faith-based organizations. Ms. Bassham said the center may pave the way for as many as nine more to be built in South Carolina. When a person calls the center, Ms. Bassham said, the phone will be answered by someone trained to point them in the right direction about information on everything from nursing homes to counseling.
Reach Karen Ethridge at (803) 648-1395, ext. 109, or karen.ethridge@augustachronicle.com.
Information Center Web site: www.adicsc.org Phone: (803) 649-7981 or toll free at (866) 845-1550 Address: 2748 Wagener Road, Aiken
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