Elder Services of Okaloosa County has been serving Okaloosa County since 1971. In 2018 the agency was designated by the Northwest Florida Area Agency on Aging as the Lead Agency for the Community Care for the Elderly (CCE) Program. The CCE program was created by the Florida Legislature in 1998 to assist functionally impaired elderly persons to live dignified and reasonably lives in their own homes, or homes of relatives or caregivers. The CCE program is designed to provide a continuum of care through the development, expansion, reorganization and coordination of multiple community-based services. Community Care the Elderly services assist elder individuals to remain in the least restrictive environment suitable to their needs.
Complimenting the Community Care for the Elder Program is the Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative and Home Care for the Elderly Programs. The Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative (ADI) program provides in-home respite care for persons with cognitive impairment and under the attention of a Caregiver. The agency recognizes the importance of self-maintenance when tasked with the total care of a loved one. Under Home Care for the Elderly, vulnerable adults who have a live-in Caregiver receive a small monthly stipend. The program also helps to pay co-pays associated with medical care.
The primary goal of the community care system is to prevent unnecessary institutionalization of functionally impaired and frail elderly persons by providing community-based services in the cost-effective environment suitable to their needs.
