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AERS Fund Named in Honor of Donald L. Lewis

Advocates for the Aging of Frederick County (AAFC) has received a major charitable gift from the estate of the late Donald L. Lewis, former county commissioner and mayor of Thurmont.  The gift establishes an endowment for Advocates at the Community Foundation of Frederick County.

Mr. Lewis, a WWII veteran who was in the first wave of soldiers ashore in the D-Day invasion of Normandy and a Purple Heart recipient, passed away in 2018 at the age of 99. A well-known businessman in Thurmont who served as Thurmont’s mayor from 1964 to 1970, he was then elected to two terms as a Frederick County commissioner. He and his wife Freda were strong supporters of local charities, service clubs and conservancy organizations during their lifetimes. After Mrs. Lewis’s death, Don Lewis honored her memory with a gift naming the physical and occupational therapy wing of Frederick County’s new Citizens Care & Rehabilitation Center. He also created an endowment fund at the Community Foundation to support continuing education for Citizens’ staff members.

The income earned on the endowment funded through the Lewis gift to Advocates will help support the organization’s overall activities on behalf of Frederick County’s poorest and frailest seniors. In recognition of Mr. Lewis’s investment in the care and support of vulnerable seniors, AAFC has named one of its targeted programs in his honor, establishing The Donald L. Lewis Fund for the Frederick County AERS Program. Created in 2017, this fund supports the needs of low-income elderly clients of the county’s Adult Evaluation and Referral Services (AERS) program at the Frederick County Health Department that cannot be met through regular sources, and that are deemed to improve a client’s quality of life/and or health and well-being. Over the last two years, the fund has assisted with the purchase of a variety of services and supports, including a prosthetic limb, an electric wheelchair, safety alert systems and smaller needs, such as an alarm clock, shoes, a vacuum and other items enabling seniors to age in place. Charitable gifts to the Lewis Fund provide this support.

Frederick, MD — A charitable fund supporting specific needs of low-income seniors being served through the Adult Evaluation and Review Services (AERS) program at the Frederick County Health Department has been created by Advocates for the Aging of Frederick County, a non-profit organization devoted to advocating on behalf of the county’s poorest and frailest seniors through public policy and partnership development.

The state-wide AERS program conducts in-home evaluations and assessments for aged and/or disabled adults who meet eligibility guidelines, with the goals of helping individuals live independently in their homes whenever possible and reducing unnecessary admissions to long- term care facilities. AERS nurses and social workers follow-up assessments by linking clients to home and community-based services, and by providing a continuum of care and oversight once a client’s care plan is in place.

“We know that some of the problems seniors face in living independently can be solved with a specific service or product, but often there will be no available funding for that item,” explained Melanie Cox, Advocates for the Aging president, in announcing the new fund. “It could be as simple as a microwave oven for reheating meals when using a range has become difficult to use, or something larger, such as a wheelchair ramp or an alert system. Our goal is to provide the resources to meet those specific needs on a case-by-case basis using the expertise of our AERS professionals.”

The AERS Support Fund at Advocates for the Aging (AAFC) allows individuals and businesses to make tax-deductible contributions knowing that the funds will be used for these specific community needs that have been determined to be part of an individual’s care plan and are overseen by the AERS staff, and that AAFC maintains transparent records available to the public through the organization’s annual financial report. Gifts to the fund may be made online at www.advocatesforaging.org or by mail to PO Box 3625, Frederick, MD 21705.

“Advocates for the Aging of Frederick County is not a direct service provider,” Cox noted, “so we are not accepting requests for funding from individuals or caregivers. This fund specifically serves individuals receiving care through the AERS program, and we encourage anyone knowing of a senior in need to contact the AERS program at 301-600-1736 to schedule an in-home evaluation or for more information on AERS services.”

Members of the AAFC Board of Directors and employees of the Frederick County Department of Aging’s Adult Evaluation and Review Services (AERS) gathered to celebrate creation of the AAFC AERS Support Fund.

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A local organization focused on qualify of life for area seniors sponsored six Frederick Regional Health System professionals attending Johns Hopkins Hospital’s 2017 conference on geriatric health care.

Advocates for the Aging of Frederick County provided scholarships for the six clinicians to the 44th annual Edmund G. Beacham Current Topics in Geriatrics presented by the University’s Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology and the Johns Hopkins Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program. The annual three-day event provides “scientifically-based practical, clinical talks focused on improving the health care of individual seniors,” according to the conference directors.

Over three days, participants attended presentations, panel discussions, and a series of clinical case sessions. The more than 30 topics covered this year included caring for the caregiver, behavioral approaches to changing behaviors, pain management in older adults, frailty assessments, patient-centered care, and the fascinating session and question of “How Old Would You Be if You Didn’t Know How Old You Are?”

“AAFC was delighted to support these medical professionals interested in geriatric care continuing education, and our collaboration included their willingness to come back and share their knowledge with colleagues through in-house education and training,” according to Melanie Cox, president of the AAFC board of directors.

Dr. Rachel Mandel, FMH assistant vice president for medical affairs, notes that the sponsored participants described the conference as extremely informative and useful in their hospital and primary care practices.

“We are very appreciative of AAFC’s support of this important professional education for our doctors and nurses,” she said. “Our participants are excited to share new ideas and information with their colleagues, raising awareness of geriatric needs and encouraging us to be innovative in our services and acre.”

The mission of Advocates for Aging of Frederick County is a public voice for the needs to low-income and poor senior citizens and to facilitate and support partnerships and collaboration between government, for-profit and non-profit organizations to meet those needs.

For more information, visit the AAFC website at www.advocatesforaging.org and follow AAFC on Facebook.