Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By P.J. GLISSON
Hurley — Iron County has a new elder benefit specialist who happened upon the job quite naturally.
“I originally had been working at White Cross Pharmacy, and part of what I did there was deliver medication to the elderly,” said Jerri Sokol.
In a Monday interview with The Globe, she added that she really enjoyed those interactions.
So when the elder benefit position opened in Hurley, Sokol regarded it as “a good fit.”
Since August of last year, she has been working in the Iron County Aging and Disability Resource Center of the North.
Sokol is a lifelong resident of Hurley, where she is raising her two teen-age children and where she also spent many years managing her family’s restaurant, The Bell Chalet.
Now, she said of her responsibilities with ADRC, “I help older citizens with their Medicare and Social Security, and I offer assistance with the Homestead tax and FoodShare.”
For instance, in relation to FoodShare Wisconsin, she helps residents to determine whether they meet the specific income qualifications. Qualified persons then receive a preloaded debit card.
Sokol works as part of a team in her office that neighbors the Iron County Senior Center.
“We have several people in the office,” she said, citing a dementia specialist and the ability to advise on housing and other matters. “We mostly work with the disabled or elderly population, and we work in conjunction with the Senior Center.”
In fact, she noted that, on the first Monday of each month at the Senior Center, all agents plan to be available for a few hours during the lunch period in order to share with local citizens what benefits are available.
Agents may be able to help arrange in-home personal care, housekeeping, home modifications, adaptive equipment, home-delivered meals, prescription drug coverage, advocacy and other services.
Trista Olson, the ADRC/Aging manager, shared that ADRC of the North has two information and assistance specialists. Miranda Anderson is one of those assistants, and the other position is open. Theresa Buccanero is the administrative assistant.
As Olson explained, “The ADRC of the North-Iron County branch is part of a regional model in which Iron County is part of a five-county consortium with Ashland, Bayfield, Price and Sawyer counties.”
According to Olson, Iron County services for the elderly or for adults with disabilities include community resources, as well as the facilitation of connections to local and state program sources such as Wisconsin Medicaid and assistance with benefit questions for Wisconsin Foodshare, Medicare and Medicaid services.
“We also provide transportation and the Iron County Senior Nutrition program,” noted Olson.
“We provide rides if they have doctor’s appointments or if they need to buy groceries,” said Sokol.
She said that a small bus is used for such purposes and that some volunteers also transport people with cars.
According to Sokol, seniors also may participate in a low-impact exercise group or a wellness group that focuses on both diet and exercise.
Beyond that, she emphasized, “We’re open to hearing whatever ideas they may have. We’re always open to suggestion.”
The office for ADRC of the North is located at 307 3rd Ave. South and is open from Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call Sokol at 715-561-2108, ext. 5 and Olson at ext. 4.
