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At its annual meeting in March, Council on Aging (COA) presented its President’s Award to Bill Thornton from Warren County.

The award is given to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the field of aging, and Thornton fills the bill in many ways. He joined the COA Board of Trustees in 2006, serving on the board for 11 years, including three years as Chairman of the Board and turns as vice chair and treasurer. When he left the Board in 2017, Thornton was immediately appointed to COA’s Advisory Council, where he continues to serve.

Throughout his almost two decades serving COA, Thornton has taken a special interest in community and government relations. He has always ensured he’s informed about the current issues facing COA and older adults, those with disabilities and caregivers. While many COA Board members participate in meetings with legislators from their respective districts, Thornton regularly attends meetings with state representatives and senators from across COA’s five-county region.

Before his many years serving COA and advocating for older adults, Thornton successfully grew and merged four business into Thornton Gardens, which he sold in 1999. He was bestowed several awards from nursery and landscaping industry organizations. He served in leadership roles with associations for small and independent businesses. He helped guide Warren County’s tremendous growth, serving in various community leadership roles. In 2000, Thornton established Leadership Warren County, and continues to lead annual classes through a rigorous curriculum designed to empower new leaders and encourage their personal investment in the success of the county they live and work in.

Thornton delights in defying the stereotypes of aging. An avid downhill skier, he has long since surpassed his goal of skiing for free at resorts that offer that bargain to skiers over age 70.

As we age, it can become harder to do daily tasks on our own. Chronic health conditions or disabilities can hinder our ability to cook a meal, drive a car, take a shower or do our own laundry. However, our inability to do any of these tasks without assistance shouldn’t automatically lead to a loss of independence.

Such was the case for Pamela, 76, of Mt. Washington. A bad fall and a set of dangerous stairs conspired to keep Pamela from doing laundry on her own. An innovative new service from Council on Aging is meeting that need for Pamela – and others like her – while also saving taxpayer money.

A self-described “old hippie,” Pamela grew up as an army brat. She was born in Lexington, Ky and attended eight schools before attending McNicholas High School as a freshman.

As a young adult, Pamela worked as a model for department stores such as McAlpin’s, Shillito’s and Pogue’s. She also appeared on Bob Braun’s Bandstand on WLWT and spent time touring the country with a boyfriend who was a member of the folk-rock band, Pure Prairie League. In her home, she proudly displays photos from her time living with friends in Vermont and hanging out at Coney Island.

At home in Cincinnati, Pamela worked for 25 years as a server at two iconic Jeff Ruby’s restaurants – The Waterfront and The Precinct. She also channeled her love of cats into the development of an animal rescue program that today is known as Ohio Alley Cat Rescue (OAR).

Fast-forward to the 2020s and Pamela says she often spends days at home alone in her 1869 Mt. Washington home – with her two cats, Alice and Archie. “I had all that fun and look at me now: I’m an old lady in an old house!”

Pamela’s home, and her independence, are important to her. That’s why – after a serious fall that resulted in multiple injuries and surgeries – she was grateful to receive a referral from The Christ Hospital to Council on Aging’s FastTrack Home Program. FastTrack provides temporary support for people like Pamela who need some time to regain their independence after a hospital or nursing home stay.

When Pamela first came home from the hospital, FastTrack Home installed grab bars in her bathroom to offer security and help prevent another fall. She also received home-delivered meals but preferred to go back to cooking her own meals as soon as she was able.

Pamela’s biggest challenge, however was navigating the steep, dark and uneven staircase that led to her basement laundry room. This single issue had become a barrier to independent living and she did not mince words when she shared her determination to stay in the place she has called home for more than 30 years: “I’d just as soon go out of this place feet first.”

Fortunately, Council on Aging had a solution. In April 2022, COA began offering clients enrolled in FastTrack Home and the Elderly Services Program (ESP) the option to use a laundry delivery service. At the time, COA was dealing with the impact of the national home health aide shortage: 55% of clients in Butler, Hamilton and Warren counties were waiting to be matched with an aide for help with household tasks, like laundry.

COA analyzed the waiting lists to identify service needs that could be met in non-traditional ways (without a home health aide). Some clients received adaptive cleaning products so they could safely manage basic household cleaning tasks on their own. Others were offered the opportunity to use the laundry delivery service.

“The laundry delivery service is a win-win for everyone,” said Stephanie Seyfried, vice president in training of managed care and aging services at COA and the architect of the service. “With this service, we are able to fill an important need for many older adults who’d been waiting months for services while also saving money and serving more people. Most importantly, clients are very happy with the service.”

COA has contracts with three laundry providers who manage the pick-up, cleaning, folding and delivery of clients’ weekly laundry. Each client uses the service approximately four times per month. Dirty laundry is collected on a designated day in a receptacle provided by the laundry provider – usually from the client’s porch or stoop – and returned cleaned and folded within 48 hours. Clients can provide input on the type of detergent used.

The laundry delivery service is saving money in FastTrack Home and the Elderly Services Program – both of which are funded by local tax levies – enabling COA to serve more people at a time when demand is high. Enrollment in the service grew 51% over four quarters with 240 clients using the service by Dec. 2024. The service costs $49-$65 per client per month, compared to $204 for the same service provided by a home health aide, resulting in $265,851 in savings to ESP over four quarters.

“Laundry is one of the primary activities of daily living many older adults need help with,” Seyfried said. “Disability, chronic health issues, location of laundry facilities in the home and transportation are all barriers that make it difficult for older adults to manage laundry on their own. It is a seemingly simple service that is having a big impact on older adults’ lives.”

Feedback from clients using the service is positive, with 97% of clients reporting total satisfaction, including Pamela: “This means so much because of the steps [to the basement]. It’s peace of mind. I’m not looking at my dirty laundry and thinking, ‘Oh, no!’”