Seniors in Whitman County may have noticed services previously offered by the Council on Aging & Human Services/COAST have moved to new community partners.
Lynn Kimball, executive director of Aging & Long Term Care of Eastern Washington, said multiple programs have been successfully transitioned to local providers since the Colfax nonprofit terminated its contracts with the area agency in November.
The council has quietly phased out of the community by taking down its social media pages and websites in recent weeks. While the nonprofit was unable to comment on the organization’s status upon request from the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Kimball mentioned that Aging & Long Term Care received notice there are no employees at the nonprofit.
Aging & Longterm Care specified in a December announcement that MedStar has taken over senior transportation for medical and essential travel.
Rural Resources Community Action is providing a centralized access point for aging and disability resources in Whitman County.
The nonprofit is operating the Kinship Navigator Program, Kinship Caregiver Support Program, and the Community Living Connections helpline. It will also continue delivering Medicaid in-home case management and providing family caregiver support.
More information on these organizations can be found by visiting bit.ly/3N62OwW.
Aging & Long Term Care is still working to find a local senior nutrition services provider, like home-delivered or congregate meals. Kimball estimates the agency will have more updates to announce in the coming weeks.
“We’ve been super grateful for the Pullman Community Council on Aging and the Whitman Hospital (& Medical Clinics), that both have continued with home delivered meals,” she said
Kimball added that the agency has been working with Mom’s Meals, a national company, to provide folks outside of community service areas with frozen meals delivered through mail.
Kimball said the programs are supported through a combination of federal and state funding that the area agency receives to contract providers. She added that the agency prioritizes working with local partners rather than national ones, especially in rural communities, because it’s meaningful to support jobs within the community.
“I’m so appreciative of the support of volunteers, community members and community agencies,” she said. “Everybody has really pulled together … to rebuild these systems and make sure people can get those services.”
More information and future updates can be found by visiting altcew.org.
Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.
Services transfer as Council on Aging phases out
