June 20, 2023 • 20 mins
This summer we are talking with the Center for Independent Living of Northwest Florida (CILNWF)'s Executive Director, Carolyn L. Grawi, MSW, LCSW, LMSW, ACSW, ADAC. The Center for Independent Living of Northwest Florida promotes independence for people with disabilities in Northwest Florida since 1980.
Carolyn and her team at Center for Independent Living of Northwest Florida are amazing and I'm so grateful for the wonderful service they provide in this area!
As promised in this episode, here are the ways to connect with Carolyn and her team:
Contact info:
Address:
21 South Tarragona St.
Suite 101
Pensacola, FL 32502
Phone number: (850)595-5566
--
Info to donate to CIL:
Please Text CILALWAYS to 44-321 to donate!
CIL is always Engaged!
CIL is always Essential!
CIL is always Here to Assist!
--
If you learned something good from this episode or know someone who would benefit from this information, please share this podcast with them. Thanks for listening and have a great day!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Everyone and welcome to Making Medicare Fund where we talk about what to do,
what to know and what to ask.
Now that you're on Medicare today,
we're talking with the executive director of the Center of Independent Living of Northwest Florida here in Pensacola,
Florida,
Carolyn Rowley.
And she's a friend of mine from the Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce.
(00:22):
And when I met her and what she's doing to independent living with people who have disabilities,
I just knew that she needed to come on the podcast and share what she is doing to help Northwest Florida.
So,
how are you doing today?
I'm doing just great.
Thank you so much for having me on your show.
I greatly appreciate that.
(00:42):
And,
you know,
one thing I will say right from the start is it's a team.
It's not just me.
Yes,
certainly.
I'm very proud to make the difference that I get to make every day.
It's definitely a worthy effort that I put in,
but my whole team does.
It's not just one person and it's so great to have folks like yourself out in the community,
(01:04):
making a big difference as well.
Well,
I love working with people on Medicare.
And I know you do too.
And so we just want to know what you all do,
how you all serve the Medicare community.
Um And then we'll ask a little bit later how to get connected.
But uh tell us a little bit about what the center of independent living of Northwest Florida does.
So the Center for Independent Living has been an organization that's been here for 43 years and we work with and on behalf of people with disabilities towards their successes in the community.
(01:36):
So we help to facilitate and provide opportunities that individuals choose for themselves.
So we as long as a person has a disability,
any type of disability.
And so a lot of persons who are on Medicare,
whether they're younger with disability or they're over 65 with disability with Medicare,
(01:57):
excuse me,
they may be a person who could qualify for services with us.
They determine that they are a person that needs a service.
And if they determine that they would like some assistance,
we will be happy to help provide that service.
We have five core services and those core services are information and referral,
(02:19):
independent living skills,
peer mentoring advocacy and the advocacy could be individual advocacy or systems advocacy.
So for an individual that might be a one time thing where we need to help get strength or information about a particular area so that they could understand it better and get the services that they need or a systems advocacy piece might be trying to get further information to,
(02:46):
um,
change or make something bigger or better out in the community.
Maybe it's related to sidewalks or health care or something related to how they're being treated wherever they're living or their family or something else that's bigger than just themselves.
Um,
and then we also do something called transition and diversion services and that would be being able to maintain the living environment of which they would like to be in versus ending up in institutional care.
(03:17):
Of course,
if somebody is needing institutional care or wanting to be in a group type living,
a group home or a nursing facility,
then that's of course,
a choice that they can make for themselves.
But we want to have individuals choose to live where they'd like as independently as they choose for as long as they choose.
(03:37):
And so that's a big piece.
What do you love about your job?
Because I know you work with a lot of people and you all get results.
What about what you do?
Just makes you love coming into work every day.
Well,
every day is different.
So every day we nothing's a cookie cutter here.
(03:57):
Um,
each person is their own person,
even if you have two people with the same disability,
it's not cookie cutter.
Um,
when,
uh,
I may have,
uh,
myself,
I am a person with vision impairment,
but I may meet somebody else with vision impairment and their situation may be different.
But because we have disabilities,
(04:19):
we are able to identify with somebody who has another disability because we've,
we've sort of been there,
done that kind of thing.
So we can be here in that scenario and be able to understand it maybe a bit more in that way.
Um But being able to help somebody obtain some of their successes on their journey is really rewarding.
(04:41):
Being able to know that there's an opportunity for outcome that might be a little bit different than what they thought they could achieve.
Being able to see people happy with their next steps,
being achieved is really rewarding.
Is there still always more to,
to grow and achieve,
of course,
(05:02):
is everything going to be solved in just a couple of minutes?
No,
but we work really hard and we're really proud of the work that we get to do every day.
Yeah,
on your flyers that you all have,
you know,
the brochures,
one of the questions asks,
what are your goals?
Exactly.
And that to me is just a question that goes right to somebody's heart,
(05:23):
you know,
like you guys really wanna help them.
Um And I feel like y'all can do that in so many ways.
I know you've talked about some of them.
But can you just describe maybe a story to talk about how you guys have asked someone?
What are your goals and they've answered and you guys have been able to help them.
Yes.
So for example,
uh,
when somebody,
(05:44):
um,
is looking for,
let's say a piece of employment,
whether they are now retired or a person is with disability and are younger and are trying to figure out how,
you know,
they might be able to make a few dollars or change their employment because they've been injured and they can't do the same work that they were doing before trying to assess what their strengths and see what might be something of interest and then finding some of those skill sets that would be something to be able to apply those strengths to and help them find their successes.
(06:29):
Um whether that be in the same type of field that they were in before,
but doing something different or being able to find an entirely new field that they may be successful in and being able to help them find that either part time job or for some individuals,
sometimes they might be able to go back to work full time and then being able to explain to them how their benefits will extend.
(06:54):
So as an example,
when somebody does go back to work,
if they get gainful employment,
there's a time period where they get to keep their disability and their Medicare will stay with them and then helping them understand what their benefit plans are or how their benefits will be impacted by going back to work full time or by working part time,
(07:15):
how that will be adjusted or what that would look like.
And so being able to have people be there both educated about their choices and circumstances.
This is huge for the work I do just because I see what you're talking about and other people's lives.
I'm thinking about a parent right now who's listening to this,
(07:36):
who has a child who's disabled and who's on Medicare and what a joy it would be for them to take their child here and who's a little bit older in their twenties,
come here and have you ask them,
hey,
what are your goals?
Yes.
And so often people are in the community and are not treated,
(07:56):
what I would say is humanely,
which is to include them in the discussion.
A lot of times people are talked about or talked around and not talked with or talked to.
And so they're not included in the process.
So what we try really hard to do is to make sure that the person is the focus of the conversation that the person is making the decisions.
(08:22):
This is something that I know about and I can offer to you.
And here's what I see.
But what are you wanting?
If,
if,
if it was this,
this or this,
what would you want if it was a B or C?
And if you wanted C and it meant that you had to do 12 and three.
(08:46):
But you really want three in order to get three.
We also have to do X Y and Z first.
And are you willing to do those steps?
Then we have to make a plan to help you get there.
And sometimes that's a lot of work.
Well,
it doesn't mean that I'm trying to make life harder for you or my team is trying to make life harder for you,
(09:09):
But that some things are not simple.
Yeah,
it's kind of like being on a team,
like you said earlier,
you know,
you're on a team and you join the team and sometimes there's gonna be challenges,
but there's gonna be people there to help you and get you through it.
And like you said,
you know,
you just have to be willing,
you know,
you have to make the decision.
Um you know,
you have to make your mind up that this is what you want to do and you guys are here for them,
(09:30):
you guys are here and you guys are ready to help and increase self confidence.
I just,
I love,
I did not realize that you all did that part uh for people about getting them from point A to point B I did not,
I did not realize I walk with them through that.
So and then understanding the Medicare benefits and what it would take to lose that you all are knowledgeable on it,
(09:53):
which is,
I mean,
that's why I'm here today to learn about this,
you know,
to be able to tell my clients and then for them to be able to share this episode with someone who they think about who would benefit from knowing the service you all offer and getting connected with you all.
So,
um how do we get connected with the center of independent living of Northwest Florida?
(10:15):
So anybody can uh call or write to us and they can also visit our website to look at things.
So if you call us,
it would be 8505955566.
Or you could write us an email at info at C I L N W F as in Frank dot org.
(10:39):
And again,
it's I N F O at C I L N W F dot org.
And then you could visit our website at C I L N W F dot org as well and we'd be happy to have anybody come by and visit us or,
or make an appointment to see us.
(11:00):
Obviously making the appointment is great because that means then it'll be devoted time to you.
But if you came by and is a drop in,
we would be happy to be able to,
to see you,
you know,
for the few minutes or to set up that next appointment at some other time as well.
And of course,
visiting our website,
you can do 24 7.
So we would be happy to see anybody who would be interested.
(11:23):
Some of the other programs that we do have though are uh we do have um the A,
the A T program which is called Fast,
which is the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and technologies.
We have a whole lot of uh products that we have that can be assisted in different ways.
So some things might be reaches or tools for eating or things for enlarging information.
(11:49):
If you look across the room while we're recording this,
you can see some devices that are in the showcase.
Ok.
We have other devices that are throughout the building.
Uh And so those are all uh items that can be demonstrated and how they're usable.
They can be loaned out for up to 30 days.
They're,
it's sort of like a try before you buy program.
(12:10):
We don't sell anything.
Um but it allows people to see if an item is the right item for somebody to use before they waste their money at a store or an order from a catalog or whatever they're gonna do to see if it's an item that they need,
right?
We also have a,
a loan and reuse program.
So if somebody needed a roll later or a walker or a wheelchair,
(12:32):
if they needed to um be able to get something fixed on their own power wheelchair or things like that,
we are able to help with some of these things and be able to help people to stay independent.
And so that's another program.
Do you do power chairs or you just help fix power chairs?
Well,
we don't,
we don't actually fix every power chair.
(12:55):
We're not a wheelchair seating space,
but sometimes we're able to help fix like a minor item or if somebody can't afford to,
um,
replace a battery or if their,
um,
joystick broke and it wasn't gonna be covered by their insurance.
We,
we try to help fill in the gap.
So a lot of people um,
(13:17):
may have the Medicare or the supplemental policy,
but then there's like a,
a gap between what they would have coverage for and what they can't afford.
Or um as an example,
uh Medicare or Medicaid or their supplemental policies will only buy one wheelchair every five years.
(13:37):
Well,
after the warranty expires a wheel,
a wheel goes flat and they need a new wheel.
Well,
who's gonna pay for that wheel or who's going to make sure that they can safely get the brake fixed on it or something like that if they can't.
Well,
we do fund raising and we do other things to try to help fill in those gaps.
(14:00):
We write grants,
we do different things to try to help make that happen.
Wow.
Thank you for doing that.
Yeah,
that's huge.
Another huge program that we have for um,
persons especially who are seniors and,
or anybody else who may have a hearing loss is that we have the F T R I program,
the Florida Telecommunications Relay Incorporated program.
(14:21):
And that program provides anybody with hearing loss the opportunity if they have a landline to have a landline phone or if you have internet capability at your home or a cell phone,
you could have a Bluetooth phone,
one phone you can have though through that program to able to be able to have something louder or captioned for your house.
(14:50):
So that's another opportunity for a service that would be available through the center.
Yeah,
that's great.
I mean,
this is,
this is more than I thought it was that you all did.
I mean,
do you guys do more?
Are there more things?
There are more things.
Um We also just recently had a grant that became available through uh the federal government that we received uh because we were a Center for Independent Living and it's a public health outreach grant.
(15:16):
And so we're trying to help make sure that the community is informed of what's available regarding general vaccinations and of course,
related to staying informed of the COVID vaccinations and we have free COVID tests that we can provide to folks as well.
Um And so we can help make sure that those are available.
(15:36):
We've been sending them out,
of course to all of our constituents that we have.
If there's anybody who hears this broadcast and you'd like a COVID test,
please be in touch with us and we'll be happy to mail that out to you as well.
Yeah.
And their,
um,
their contact information is going to be in the description of this podcast.
Um,
but again,
their phone number is 8505955566.
(16:00):
And,
um,
that's the center of independent living of Northwest Florida and the counties that they cover are Escambia,
Santa Rosa,
Okaloosa and Walton counties.
Right.
That's correct.
Ok.
That's correct.
And if you happen to live in a different county in the state of Florida,
there is a center for independent living in Florida that covers every county.
(16:20):
And if you know somebody anywhere in the country and there is a center for independent living that should be responsible for you anywhere in the country.
And if you contact us and you know,
somebody,
we would be happy to get you in touch with the proper center for Independent Living wherever that is.
Yeah,
we uh we have a last question that we ask every guest,
you know,
what,
what would you say to someone on Medicare to encourage them to make Medicare more fun from your experience as the executive director of the Center of Independent Living,
(16:50):
you know,
here in Northwest Florida,
what would you say to encourage someone listening to this right now to make Medicare are more fun to them?
So I think the biggest piece is that in order to make things more fun,
we have to be open minded,
be positive,
be resilient and have patience.
And I don't mean to have patience,
(17:10):
like just sit back and wait on it.
I mean,
by having patience is giving things some time but also be persistent,
be follow through,
um be able to make sure that you're taking the best care of yourself,
asking the questions,
be your own best advocate,
be involved,
(17:31):
be engaged.
And I know we're saying a lot of words,
but in doing so,
you know,
get involved,
be here at the center,
come come be part of it.
We do have this peer support group that happens here.
That's part of our peer mentoring.
It happens once a month.
But one of the things that we've talked about is trying to have other activities and that can happen even more often.
(17:54):
Sometimes we've had a movie that takes place.
Sometimes we've had hand cycling,
we've had different kinds,
the things that go on,
get on our E newsletter or we can also have opportunities for you to go on and watch our webinars that have been recorded.
Those are on our website through all different kinds of things,
but you can have fun by you being engaged in your life because you make those choices and the center just wants to be along on your journey as you make those choices as you're going from A to B in your life.
(18:25):
Thank you for doing that.
Just like just thank you because it's such a service that you provide here and the fact that you all care about the individual and you want to hear their goals and what's going on in their life and to be able to help them through the process of ABC D,
you know,
whatever it is because sometimes that list can feel so long and it can feel so defeating.
(18:47):
But you all are a team and y'all are here to support.
So I like have goose bumps.
This is an awesome guest,
Carolyn,
you're a great guest for making Medicare fun.
Like if anybody's listening to this and you're like,
oh,
I don't know,
you know,
Carolyn cares about you and she really wants to see you get through those different challenges that are in front of you.
(19:09):
Again,
they're promoting independence with people who have disabilities since 1980.
You know,
you guys said 43 years or how many years?
43 43 years.
Wow.
So thank you again for that.
And if you want to know more about what I do,
I am a Medicare specialist here in Northwest Florida,
serving my clients and we do this podcast just to encourage our listeners,
(19:32):
encourage my clients to make Medicare more fun by knowing what your plan offers.
Knowing the local groups like the Center for Independent Living and Northwest Florida that are here that want to help you that want to get you connected and that want to help you make Medicare more fun.
So if you want to see more about what I do go to insured by Ricky dot com.
(19:53):
That's insured by R IC K I dot com.
And I look forward to serving you Carolyn.
Thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you so much for having me and everyone out there contact the center for independent living when you need our services.
Thank you so much,
Carolyn was a great guest.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you enjoyed this episode,
(20:13):
please rate and review this podcast below.
If you enjoyed this episode,
also,
feel free to share it with your friends.
We'll talk to you all in a couple months this fall and we're going to be talking about annual enrollment.
So be sure to like and subscribe to this podcast,
sharing it with your friends and family.
Those who may enjoy this information to help Medicare be more fun for them.
(20:38):
You'll have a great summer,
drink lots of water.
If you're one of my clients,
thank you for your business and I look forward to talking with you all in a few months.
Stay tuned.
Everyone and welcome to Making Medicare Fund where we talk about what to do,
what to know and what to ask.
Now that you're on Medicare today,
we're talking with the executive director of the Center of Independent Living of Northwest Florida here in Pensacola,
Florida,
Carolyn Rowley.
And she's a friend of mine from the Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce.
(00:22):
And when I met her and what she's doing to independent living with people who have disabilities,
I just knew that she needed to come on the podcast and share what she is doing to help Northwest Florida.
So,
how are you doing today?
I'm doing just great.
Thank you so much for having me on your show.
I greatly appreciate that.
(00:42):
And,
you know,
one thing I will say right from the start is it's a team.
It's not just me.
Yes,
certainly.
I'm very proud to make the difference that I get to make every day.
It's definitely a worthy effort that I put in,
but my whole team does.
It's not just one person and it's so great to have folks like yourself out in the community,
(01:04):
making a big difference as well.
Well,
I love working with people on Medicare.
And I know you do too.
And so we just want to know what you all do,
how you all serve the Medicare community.
Um And then we'll ask a little bit later how to get connected.
But uh tell us a little bit about what the center of independent living of Northwest Florida does.
So the Center for Independent Living has been an organization that's been here for 43 years and we work with and on behalf of people with disabilities towards their successes in the community.
(01:36):
So we help to facilitate and provide opportunities that individuals choose for themselves.
So we as long as a person has a disability,
any type of disability.
And so a lot of persons who are on Medicare,
whether they're younger with disability or they're over 65 with disability with Medicare,
(01:57):
excuse me,
they may be a person who could qualify for services with us.
They determine that they are a person that needs a service.
And if they determine that they would like some assistance,
we will be happy to help provide that service.
We have five core services and those core services are information and referral,
(02:19):
independent living skills,
peer mentoring advocacy and the advocacy could be individual advocacy or systems advocacy.
So for an individual that might be a one time thing where we need to help get strength or information about a particular area so that they could understand it better and get the services that they need or a systems advocacy piece might be trying to get further information to,
(02:46):
um,
change or make something bigger or better out in the community.
Maybe it's related to sidewalks or health care or something related to how they're being treated wherever they're living or their family or something else that's bigger than just themselves.
Um,
and then we also do something called transition and diversion services and that would be being able to maintain the living environment of which they would like to be in versus ending up in institutional care.
(03:17):
Of course,
if somebody is needing institutional care or wanting to be in a group type living,
a group home or a nursing facility,
then that's of course,
a choice that they can make for themselves.
But we want to have individuals choose to live where they'd like as independently as they choose for as long as they choose.
(03:37):
And so that's a big piece.
What do you love about your job?
Because I know you work with a lot of people and you all get results.
What about what you do?
Just makes you love coming into work every day.
Well,
every day is different.
So every day we nothing's a cookie cutter here.
(03:57):
Um,
each person is their own person,
even if you have two people with the same disability,
it's not cookie cutter.
Um,
when,
uh,
I may have,
uh,
myself,
I am a person with vision impairment,
but I may meet somebody else with vision impairment and their situation may be different.
But because we have disabilities,
(04:19):
we are able to identify with somebody who has another disability because we've,
we've sort of been there,
done that kind of thing.
So we can be here in that scenario and be able to understand it maybe a bit more in that way.
Um But being able to help somebody obtain some of their successes on their journey is really rewarding.
(04:41):
Being able to know that there's an opportunity for outcome that might be a little bit different than what they thought they could achieve.
Being able to see people happy with their next steps,
being achieved is really rewarding.
Is there still always more to,
to grow and achieve,
of course,
(05:02):
is everything going to be solved in just a couple of minutes?
No,
but we work really hard and we're really proud of the work that we get to do every day.
Yeah,
on your flyers that you all have,
you know,
the brochures,
one of the questions asks,
what are your goals?
Exactly.
And that to me is just a question that goes right to somebody's heart,
(05:23):
you know,
like you guys really wanna help them.
Um And I feel like y'all can do that in so many ways.
I know you've talked about some of them.
But can you just describe maybe a story to talk about how you guys have asked someone?
What are your goals and they've answered and you guys have been able to help them.
Yes.
So for example,
uh,
when somebody,
(05:44):
um,
is looking for,
let's say a piece of employment,
whether they are now retired or a person is with disability and are younger and are trying to figure out how,
you know,
they might be able to make a few dollars or change their employment because they've been injured and they can't do the same work that they were doing before trying to assess what their strengths and see what might be something of interest and then finding some of those skill sets that would be something to be able to apply those strengths to and help them find their successes.
(06:29):
Um whether that be in the same type of field that they were in before,
but doing something different or being able to find an entirely new field that they may be successful in and being able to help them find that either part time job or for some individuals,
sometimes they might be able to go back to work full time and then being able to explain to them how their benefits will extend.
(06:54):
So as an example,
when somebody does go back to work,
if they get gainful employment,
there's a time period where they get to keep their disability and their Medicare will stay with them and then helping them understand what their benefit plans are or how their benefits will be impacted by going back to work full time or by working part time,
(07:15):
how that will be adjusted or what that would look like.
And so being able to have people be there both educated about their choices and circumstances.
This is huge for the work I do just because I see what you're talking about and other people's lives.
I'm thinking about a parent right now who's listening to this,
(07:36):
who has a child who's disabled and who's on Medicare and what a joy it would be for them to take their child here and who's a little bit older in their twenties,
come here and have you ask them,
hey,
what are your goals?
Yes.
And so often people are in the community and are not treated,
(07:56):
what I would say is humanely,
which is to include them in the discussion.
A lot of times people are talked about or talked around and not talked with or talked to.
And so they're not included in the process.
So what we try really hard to do is to make sure that the person is the focus of the conversation that the person is making the decisions.
(08:22):
This is something that I know about and I can offer to you.
And here's what I see.
But what are you wanting?
If,
if,
if it was this,
this or this,
what would you want if it was a B or C?
And if you wanted C and it meant that you had to do 12 and three.
(08:46):
But you really want three in order to get three.
We also have to do X Y and Z first.
And are you willing to do those steps?
Then we have to make a plan to help you get there.
And sometimes that's a lot of work.
Well,
it doesn't mean that I'm trying to make life harder for you or my team is trying to make life harder for you,
(09:09):
But that some things are not simple.
Yeah,
it's kind of like being on a team,
like you said earlier,
you know,
you're on a team and you join the team and sometimes there's gonna be challenges,
but there's gonna be people there to help you and get you through it.
And like you said,
you know,
you just have to be willing,
you know,
you have to make the decision.
Um you know,
you have to make your mind up that this is what you want to do and you guys are here for them,
(09:30):
you guys are here and you guys are ready to help and increase self confidence.
I just,
I love,
I did not realize that you all did that part uh for people about getting them from point A to point B I did not,
I did not realize I walk with them through that.
So and then understanding the Medicare benefits and what it would take to lose that you all are knowledgeable on it,
(09:53):
which is,
I mean,
that's why I'm here today to learn about this,
you know,
to be able to tell my clients and then for them to be able to share this episode with someone who they think about who would benefit from knowing the service you all offer and getting connected with you all.
So,
um how do we get connected with the center of independent living of Northwest Florida?
(10:15):
So anybody can uh call or write to us and they can also visit our website to look at things.
So if you call us,
it would be 8505955566.
Or you could write us an email at info at C I L N W F as in Frank dot org.
(10:39):
And again,
it's I N F O at C I L N W F dot org.
And then you could visit our website at C I L N W F dot org as well and we'd be happy to have anybody come by and visit us or,
or make an appointment to see us.
(11:00):
Obviously making the appointment is great because that means then it'll be devoted time to you.
But if you came by and is a drop in,
we would be happy to be able to,
to see you,
you know,
for the few minutes or to set up that next appointment at some other time as well.
And of course,
visiting our website,
you can do 24 7.
So we would be happy to see anybody who would be interested.
(11:23):
Some of the other programs that we do have though are uh we do have um the A,
the A T program which is called Fast,
which is the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and technologies.
We have a whole lot of uh products that we have that can be assisted in different ways.
So some things might be reaches or tools for eating or things for enlarging information.
(11:49):
If you look across the room while we're recording this,
you can see some devices that are in the showcase.
Ok.
We have other devices that are throughout the building.
Uh And so those are all uh items that can be demonstrated and how they're usable.
They can be loaned out for up to 30 days.
They're,
it's sort of like a try before you buy program.
(12:10):
We don't sell anything.
Um but it allows people to see if an item is the right item for somebody to use before they waste their money at a store or an order from a catalog or whatever they're gonna do to see if it's an item that they need,
right?
We also have a,
a loan and reuse program.
So if somebody needed a roll later or a walker or a wheelchair,
(12:32):
if they needed to um be able to get something fixed on their own power wheelchair or things like that,
we are able to help with some of these things and be able to help people to stay independent.
And so that's another program.
Do you do power chairs or you just help fix power chairs?
Well,
we don't,
we don't actually fix every power chair.
(12:55):
We're not a wheelchair seating space,
but sometimes we're able to help fix like a minor item or if somebody can't afford to,
um,
replace a battery or if their,
um,
joystick broke and it wasn't gonna be covered by their insurance.
We,
we try to help fill in the gap.
So a lot of people um,
(13:17):
may have the Medicare or the supplemental policy,
but then there's like a,
a gap between what they would have coverage for and what they can't afford.
Or um as an example,
uh Medicare or Medicaid or their supplemental policies will only buy one wheelchair every five years.
(13:37):
Well,
after the warranty expires a wheel,
a wheel goes flat and they need a new wheel.
Well,
who's gonna pay for that wheel or who's going to make sure that they can safely get the brake fixed on it or something like that if they can't.
Well,
we do fund raising and we do other things to try to help fill in those gaps.
(14:00):
We write grants,
we do different things to try to help make that happen.
Wow.
Thank you for doing that.
Yeah,
that's huge.
Another huge program that we have for um,
persons especially who are seniors and,
or anybody else who may have a hearing loss is that we have the F T R I program,
the Florida Telecommunications Relay Incorporated program.
(14:21):
And that program provides anybody with hearing loss the opportunity if they have a landline to have a landline phone or if you have internet capability at your home or a cell phone,
you could have a Bluetooth phone,
one phone you can have though through that program to able to be able to have something louder or captioned for your house.
(14:50):
So that's another opportunity for a service that would be available through the center.
Yeah,
that's great.
I mean,
this is,
this is more than I thought it was that you all did.
I mean,
do you guys do more?
Are there more things?
There are more things.
Um We also just recently had a grant that became available through uh the federal government that we received uh because we were a Center for Independent Living and it's a public health outreach grant.
(15:16):
And so we're trying to help make sure that the community is informed of what's available regarding general vaccinations and of course,
related to staying informed of the COVID vaccinations and we have free COVID tests that we can provide to folks as well.
Um And so we can help make sure that those are available.
(15:36):
We've been sending them out,
of course to all of our constituents that we have.
If there's anybody who hears this broadcast and you'd like a COVID test,
please be in touch with us and we'll be happy to mail that out to you as well.
Yeah.
And their,
um,
their contact information is going to be in the description of this podcast.
Um,
but again,
their phone number is 8505955566.
(16:00):
And,
um,
that's the center of independent living of Northwest Florida and the counties that they cover are Escambia,
Santa Rosa,
Okaloosa and Walton counties.
Right.
That's correct.
Ok.
That's correct.
And if you happen to live in a different county in the state of Florida,
there is a center for independent living in Florida that covers every county.
(16:20):
And if you know somebody anywhere in the country and there is a center for independent living that should be responsible for you anywhere in the country.
And if you contact us and you know,
somebody,
we would be happy to get you in touch with the proper center for Independent Living wherever that is.
Yeah,
we uh we have a last question that we ask every guest,
you know,
what,
what would you say to someone on Medicare to encourage them to make Medicare more fun from your experience as the executive director of the Center of Independent Living,
(16:50):
you know,
here in Northwest Florida,
what would you say to encourage someone listening to this right now to make Medicare are more fun to them?
So I think the biggest piece is that in order to make things more fun,
we have to be open minded,
be positive,
be resilient and have patience.
And I don't mean to have patience,
(17:10):
like just sit back and wait on it.
I mean,
by having patience is giving things some time but also be persistent,
be follow through,
um be able to make sure that you're taking the best care of yourself,
asking the questions,
be your own best advocate,
be involved,
(17:31):
be engaged.
And I know we're saying a lot of words,
but in doing so,
you know,
get involved,
be here at the center,
come come be part of it.
We do have this peer support group that happens here.
That's part of our peer mentoring.
It happens once a month.
But one of the things that we've talked about is trying to have other activities and that can happen even more often.
(17:54):
Sometimes we've had a movie that takes place.
Sometimes we've had hand cycling,
we've had different kinds,
the things that go on,
get on our E newsletter or we can also have opportunities for you to go on and watch our webinars that have been recorded.
Those are on our website through all different kinds of things,
but you can have fun by you being engaged in your life because you make those choices and the center just wants to be along on your journey as you make those choices as you're going from A to B in your life.
(18:25):
Thank you for doing that.
Just like just thank you because it's such a service that you provide here and the fact that you all care about the individual and you want to hear their goals and what's going on in their life and to be able to help them through the process of ABC D,
you know,
whatever it is because sometimes that list can feel so long and it can feel so defeating.
(18:47):
But you all are a team and y'all are here to support.
So I like have goose bumps.
This is an awesome guest,
Carolyn,
you're a great guest for making Medicare fun.
Like if anybody's listening to this and you're like,
oh,
I don't know,
you know,
Carolyn cares about you and she really wants to see you get through those different challenges that are in front of you.
(19:09):
Again,
they're promoting independence with people who have disabilities since 1980.
You know,
you guys said 43 years or how many years?
43 43 years.
Wow.
So thank you again for that.
And if you want to know more about what I do,
I am a Medicare specialist here in Northwest Florida,
serving my clients and we do this podcast just to encourage our listeners,
(19:32):
encourage my clients to make Medicare more fun by knowing what your plan offers.
Knowing the local groups like the Center for Independent Living and Northwest Florida that are here that want to help you that want to get you connected and that want to help you make Medicare more fun.
So if you want to see more about what I do go to insured by Ricky dot com.
(19:53):
That's insured by R IC K I dot com.
And I look forward to serving you Carolyn.
Thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you so much for having me and everyone out there contact the center for independent living when you need our services.
Thank you so much,
Carolyn was a great guest.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you enjoyed this episode,
(20:13):
please rate and review this podcast below.
If you enjoyed this episode,
also,
feel free to share it with your friends.
We'll talk to you all in a couple months this fall and we're going to be talking about annual enrollment.
So be sure to like and subscribe to this podcast,
sharing it with your friends and family.
Those who may enjoy this information to help Medicare be more fun for them.
(20:38):
You'll have a great summer,
drink lots of water.
If you're one of my clients,
thank you for your business and I look forward to talking with you all in a few months.
Stay tuned.
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