Senior ServicesResources

The Area Agency on Aging for North Florida serves as the designated Aging and Disability Resource Center for the Panhandle and Big Bend areas. Great resources available to caregivers of elder family members.

Examples include:

• The SHINE Program (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) provides Medicare and health insurance counseling from unbiased and trained volunteers. 
• The Emergency Home Energy Assistance for the Elderly (EHEAP) is a program that provides assistance for home energy emergencies to qualified low-income households with at least one person who is 60+.
• Healthy Promotion and Disease Prevention Programs are delivered through our community partner, Big Bend Area Health Education Center (AHEC).
• The Elder Abuse Prevention Program ensures that older adults, caregivers and professionals receive education and training relevant to elder rights.

Contact the Senior Citizen Centers for information about the Meals for Seniors programs. Some meals are pick up, some offer delivery, and some are groceries. For eligible seniors.

The general senior helpline number is 800-963-5337.

SSI provides monthly payments to people with disabilities and older adults who have little or no income or resources.

Who can get SSI:

Adults and children might be eligible for SSI if they have: 

Little or no income, and 

Little or no resources, and 

A disability, blindness, or are age 65 or older.

For more information or to apply for benefits, please go to the website.

The Florida Department of Health and each local emergency management agency in the state developed an online registry for persons with special needs to register to receive assistance during a disaster. Once you submit your information, a nurse from the health department will call you about your registration and to discuss the special needs shelter closest to you.

Please keep in mind this is a shelter of last resort if you do not have an evacuation plan. Most times, the shelter is operated in a closed school building outside the county with cots available. Special needs patients are encouraged to being a caregiver with them to the shelter, all medications prescribed and diet-specific foods/snacks. Nurses are staffed at the shelters to assist patients during the response.

You will be contacted periodically to verify the information provided is correct and to make any necessary changes.

Lynda Willis. Receive a telephone call every Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. to make sure that the participant is alright.

"To promote the well-being, safety, and independence of Florida's seniors, their families, and caregivers"

Please check out the website or call the phone number for information.

The Alzheimer’s Project provides comfort, support, and assistance to persons with memory disorders and their caregivers across the Big Bend area.

The Alzheimer’s Project is a non-profit organization funded by grants and private donations, and many of the services are delivered through volunteers. Our Day Respite Program and other support services help caregivers stay physically and emotionally healthy. We also deliver professional knowledge through seminars, training classes and peer support groups.

One of our main goals is to help caregivers sustain a healthy quality of life as they care for their loved one and to provide a comfortable, dignified, quality of life for people living with dementia. In many cases our support helps delay the institutionalization of those living with the disease. Services are provided free of charge, donations for services are encouraged.

OMBUDSMAN [awm-budz-man]

An ombudsman is an advocate for people who live in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and adult family care homes. All services are confidential and free of charge.

The mission of the Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is to improve the quality of life for all Florida long-term care residents by advocating for and protecting their health, safety, welfare and rights.

Office hours are Thursdays, 9-5 pm office hours. Liberty Manor provides rental apartments to people age 62 and older, as well as individuals with disabilities at any age. They do not have a website, but you can call the Manager for more information.

 E Triple C of Franklin County Inc. is a countywide, community organization serving elders in Franklin County. E Triple C is the bridge connecting seniors to a community of support through advocacy, enhancement and expansion of services. 

E Triple C activities are Franklin County wide and include:

-hot lunch Monday through Friday for dining in and delivery to home bound elders.

-outreach and advocacy to link people to existing services funded through Area Agency on Aging in North Florida

– providing fans, blankets and household items to those in need. New Year’s Baskets.

-advocacy and support to elders where we provide limited respite, handy person chores and friendly visitors

-linkage to local transportation services and providing rides to those in need for appointments and commitments

Many of our activities and educational programs happen at the Holy Family Senior Center in Apalachicola including: Daily lunch, Monday through Friday; social activities for all holidays and special lunches; speakers and information on health, wellness, gardening, nature, art, music, dance and games. We also partner with local organizations to support services in Franklin County. Yoga is Tuesday and Thursday at 9am for all levels and all ages.

Education Encore is offered by Continuing Education at Gulf Coast State College and provides non-credit enrichment education classes on a variety of topics for active and senior adults. The learning environment is fun and stress-free while offering diversity, insight, and wisdom. 

This program is for:

• Patients who do not need the level of service home health provides but would benefit from periodic check-ins.
• Improve access to care
• Providing services to help prevent hospital readmissions

How you can help:

• Refer patients who would benefit from additional care for follow-up, check-ins, medication education, safety checks, and fall prevention
• Refer patients who use ER’s for non-emergency

contact: [email protected]

This program is for:

• Patients who do not need the level of service home health provides but would benefit from periodic check-ins.
• Improve access to care
• Providing services to help prevent hospital readmissions

How you can help:

• Refer patients who would benefit from additional care for follow-up, check-ins, medication education, safety checks, and fall prevention
• Refer patients who use ER’s for non-emergency

"Considering the best options for care at the end of life can be difficult. We are often asked, “Is my loved one eligible or even ready for hospice care?” We are here to help you navigate the best path. We have team members ready to listen and help you day or night, 24/7, with all of your questions."

The Alzheimer’s Project provides comfort, support, and assistance to persons with memory disorders and their caregivers across the Big Bend area.

The Alzheimer’s Project is a non-profit organization funded by grants and private donations, and many of the services are delivered through volunteers. Our Day Respite Program and other support services help caregivers stay physically and emotionally healthy. We also deliver professional knowledge through seminars, training classes and peer support groups.

One of our main goals is to help caregivers sustain a healthy quality of life as they care for their loved one and to provide a comfortable, dignified, quality of life for people living with dementia. In many cases our support helps delay the institutionalization of those living with the disease. Services are provided free of charge, donations for services are encouraged.

OMBUDSMAN [awm-budz-man]

An ombudsman is an advocate for people who live in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and adult family care homes. All services are confidential and free of charge.

The mission of the Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is to improve the quality of life for all Florida long-term care residents by advocating for and protecting their health, safety, welfare and rights.

New Name (Used to be St. James)

Services include:

Skilled Nursing

Rehabilitation Care

Long Term Care

Assisted Living

Memory Care

Personal Care

We are a 120 bed, skilled nursing facility located in Port St. Joe. We provide both short term rehabilitation, and long term care.

Our courteous and professional staff are here to help each resident reach their highest rehabilitative potential in a loving, clean, friendly environment. Our sub-acute level of services include off-site dialysis, tracheotomy care, wound care and more.

Choosing the right skilled nursing facility can be a difficult task. Our knowledgeable staff are here to help you navigate your way through this process with a feeling of security and comfort in knowing you have made the right choice in choosing Gulf Shores Care Center as your healthcare provider.

Quality and affordable senior care in a home-link community surrounded by caring staff.

Visit their Facebook page: Beacon Hill Senior Living Community

This VITAS hospice office serves as a "home base" for our care teams, which includes physicians, nurses, home health aides, chaplains and social workers. At VITAS, we provide hospice care wherever our patients call home and on an inpatient basis as needed, when symptoms cannot be managed at home.

Home health care agency providing a wide variety of skilled nursing services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, medical social worker, and home health aides for bathing, dressing and grooming.

Diabetes Management

Pain Management

Medication Management

Skilled Observation and Assessment

Our registered nurses, therapists, and home health aides are here to help you live comfortably in your home. They work with patients and families to identify key ways to maximize independence and learn to live comfortably in your home.

Nursing services include:

• Medication & health monitoring
• Patient education
• Wound care
• Ostomy care
• Pain management
• Palliative care

Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy services include:

• Home exercise programs
• Therapeutic exercises
• Fall risk management
• Strengthening and balance exercises
• Post-surgical mobility care
• Heart and lung deficiency exercises
• Prevention, diagnosis, and rehabilitation of communication and swallowing

Home Health Aides provide compassionate care and supervision of routine daily activities during recovery from surgery or an illness, such as:

• Bathroom safety
• Getting dressed
• Eating
• Personal Hygiene
• Prescribed exercise programs
• Light housekeeping

Social workers can help provide constructive support to patients and their families. Working closely with nurses and therapists, they advise on a number of home health care issues, including:

• Identifying local support programs and services
• Transferring to alternate levels of care
• Proposing coping strategies for patients and their families
• Helping to find financial assistance resources
• Providing counseling for emotional difficulties

Home health care is a temporary plan of care that helps bridge the gap between an illness or injury and wellness. It improves a patient’s quality of life allowing them maximum independence.

Services include skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition education, speech therapy, medical social worker, telehealth, home health aides, phone monitoring, and more.

Check out their website for a full list of services.

Care specialties include:

Alzheimer's and Dementia Care

Behavioral Health Nursing

Care Transitions

Chronic Disease Management

Fall Prevention

Heart Disease

Home Health Aides

Infusion Therapy

Medical Social Work

Medication Management

Nutritional Consult (including in-home assessment)

Occupational Therapy

Pain Management

Patient/Caregiver Training

Personal Emergency Response System (PERS)

Physical Therapy

Skilled Nursing

Smooth Transition from Hospital Discharge to Home Health

Speech Therapy

Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing

Hospice care

"When a loved one is facing a life-limiting illness, they need care that goes beyond pain and symptom management. Our teams of nurses, social workers, volunteers, aides, and chaplains attend to people’s emotional, spiritual, and physical needs during this challenging time so patients and families can make the most of every moment."

Home Health and Hospice.

Delivering high-quality, compassionate care is our purpose. Through advanced technologies, enhanced clinical collaboration and superior patient-focused care, we’re helping patients achieve their specific health care goals at home.

Home health