Baylor Gerontology Institute Receives Grant To Reconcile Medicare Questions
Baylor University's Institute of Gerontological Studies has received a three-year $370,000 grant from the Administration on Aging to fund Senior Texans on Patrol (STOP), a program designed to help reconcile questions between Medicare beneficiaries and health care providers in Central Texas.
Baylor University's Institute of Gerontological Studies has received a three-year $370,000 grant from the Administration on Aging to fund Senior Texans on Patrol (STOP), a program designed to help reconcile questions between Medicare beneficiaries and health care providers in Central Texas.
The announcement of the grant was made by Dr. Ben E. Dickerson, director of the Institute of Gerontological Studies, U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards and Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. during a news conference Wednesday in Waco.
STOP will consist of a group of trained volunteers and professional staff who will work with beneficiaries and providers in 13 Central Texas counties, including McLennan, Falls, Hill, Bosque, Limestone, Freestone, San Saba, Lampasas, Bell, Milam, Coryell, Mills and Hamilton counties. The institute will collaborate on the program with the Heart of Texas Area Agency on Aging and the Central Texas Area Agency on Aging.
"The Institute of Gerontological Studies at Baylor University is pleased to join with the Heart of Texas Area Agency on Aging and the Central Texas Agency on Aging in working toward ensuring health care for aging Texans," Dickerson said. "We anticipate providing meaningful education in this effort of utilizing Medicare dollars more effectively."
The STOP program has six objectives: conduct research and develop education programs for the ongoing training of both a volunteer corps and professional network staff in aging services; recruit, retain and place a corps of trained volunteers to serve as peer counselors to educate Medicare beneficiaries and their families and to make appropriate referrals; implement successful outreach strategies to Medicare beneficiaries; utilize professional Area Agency on Aging staff to serve as a clearinghouse for any suspected problems with the use of Medicare funds; publish a project evaluation to serve as a best practice model for all of Texas; and reconcile questions between Medicare providers and beneficiaries in order to promote a more efficient and effective system of health care delivery.
STOP receives assistance with all of these activities from the regional Health Care Financial Administrative Office, Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Medical Foundation, Texas Department on Aging, Attorney General's Office, Texas Department of Human Services, and the local aging networks, which include community-based providers such as the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and Friends for Life.
Administrators of the STOP program are Dickerson, who will serve as principal investigator; Connie Beran, budget director; and Pamela D. Senter, grant manager and aging specialist.
For more information, call the STOP office at the Baylor Institute of Gerontological Studies at (254) 710-8702 or access the STOP web site at www.txstop.net .