— by Lin McNulty —
Marla Johns is the Orcas Senior Center Coordinator. That’s her full-time position. But there is something else that Marla oversees—Orcas CARES, a partnership focused on doing the right thing and doing it well.
EMS personnel encounter patients almost daily who do not need emergency care, but require some sort of ongoing care. What happens when the paramedic is “done” with the call but the patient should not really be left alone, or has other needs that are not being met? The patient may have fallen and although no serious injury was sustained that requires being flown off island, paramedics may discover that the patient is not able to regularly get out of the house and there is no food to be found, there are no safety bars in place to prevent another fall, or the patient may require ongoing or follow-up care. That’s where Marla and her team come in, with a burning desire to reach our underserved population.
In the past, it was not unusual for OIFR EMS personnel to spend hours on a call, after the emergency had been resolved, to make the sure the patient was stabilized and comfortable. That task now falls into the capable hands of Orcas CARES.
Marla gave a presentation to the OIFR Board of Commissioners last week to bring them up to speed on this program, and to answer the question,”What the heck do those CARES people do?”
With 34.9 percent of San Juan County’s population aged 60 or over, there are many unmet needs. A brief outline of CARE’s mission includes:
- Durable medical equipment
- Life Forms/paperwork
- Psychiatric assistance
- Respite arrangements
- Agency referral
- Purchase and/or pick up of required medications
- Medication Organization
- Ensure followup with MDs
- Contact/locate family
- Welfare checks
- Death/dying supportive services
- Meal prep and/or delivery
- Legal supportive services
- Client education
- Non-emergency transport
- Temporary caregiver
- Home safety (clean-up, equipment, etc.)
- Family/caregiver support
Currently working under the auspices of OIFR, since June of 2013 four volunteers have donated an amazing total of nearly 13,000 hours of service. This program has been shown to decrease the number of EMS transports and calls.
Moving forward, it is becoming imperative to increase the volunteer base to expand access and delivery. They are currently looking for a grant facilitator to increase funding so required assistance doesn’t need to keep coming from the personal pockets of the volunteers and Marla. They also could use a technology person to help with recordkeeping, logging miles traveled and hours donated.
Marla Johns and the CARES program may be reached at 376-2677 or by email at marlaj@sanjuanco.com.
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Thank you, Lin, for covering this important service. Marla Johns is an island treasure – we are so lucky to have her, and the enthusiasm and passion she has for working with seniors and enrichment for them.
Many people don’t know that Marla’s duties go far beyond being an engaged presence in the Center as Senior Center Coordinator, doing such a fantastic job of being the fun and warm greeter and announcer at lunches, announcing activities, writing the newsletter, and helping to make the Center hum with many activities and life enrichment programs (along with the Operations Committee).
Marla Johns, besides being a caring advocate for seniors at the Center, also wears a beeper – she is “on call” 24/7 almost every day, to make herself available to seniors, to outreach to the people who DON’T attend the Center, to go to people’s homes if there is a need, talk with relatives and caregivers, and reassure them that someone cares and is looking out for them. I am happy she has some help with all this, and grateful our community has her.
Thank you Lyn for a wonderful article about the Cares program of OIFR. The presentation given was specific to the “emergency response” portion of the program. At present, myself and three other individuals (Rita Harvey, Alan Stamison, and Pat Ayers) share in this wonderful volunteer opportunity.
The Cares program also seeks to bring together various providers to present educational topics to the senior community. Together with the Senior Center, Lahari, the Medical Center and Hearts & Hands we have presented two educational seminars which were quite well attended.
Cares will also refer to a number of agencies on the island who provide assistance to seniors (the Food Bank, Lions Club, all three medical providers, etc.). Thank you to those as well. As you say in your article, I am also “happy (she) has some help with all this” and I am grateful to the community for supporting the program.
I’m sorry, a correction to my previous comment . . . the quote in my last sentence was not from Lyn’s original article but from Sadie Bailey’s most generous comment. But it does not change the sentiment of gratefulness I have to all who help – directly and indirectly – with the Cares program. Thank you.
A hearty thank you to Marla Johns, Rita Harvey, Alan Stameisen, and Patricia Ayers! Your commitment to help our community is tireless! As an example, over the last two days a CARES member was assisting one patient for over 29 hours. We are fortunate on Orcas Island to have so many partners in service including Lahari, the Lions, Hearts and Hands, the Senior Center, and the list goes on…
Incidentally, if you’d like to know a little more about Marla and her husband Steve, you can read about them in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, What the Dog Saw. There’s a chapter on homelessness, and Marla and Steve’s previous life and work in Reno is highlighted as it pertains to one man who lived there. You can check out the book from the library, but not yet since I still have it.
It’s time to co-ordinate and disseminate information about the “partners in service” that Kevin speaks about. These groups are so dedicated, willing, and able, but we, the recipients (maybe) of their attention don’t always know who to turn to. We need a “Coalition of Care”