About the Resource Center and the Aging and Disability Resource Center Grant

The Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Grant provides the funds for The Resource Center in Natrona County. The Resource Center is designed to be a consumer-directed, one-stop information and referral resource for accessing long-term care services. This first pilot center is located in Casper and also provides information and referral within Converse County by appointment. These monies are part of a federal grant offered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Administration on Aging (AOA). These federal dollars are administered by the Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities (WIND) at the University of Wyoming and Wyoming Independent Living Rehabilitation, Inc. (WILR) in Casper.

The University of Wyoming, College of Health Sciences applied for this federal grant through the Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities (WIND). The grant period began in October of 2005 and will continue through 2008. As the grant manager, WIND provides direct guidance and support to the Resource Center staff in Casper.

The initial three year Aging and Disability Resource Center grant was intended to focus its first year on opening the pilot centers for individuals aged 50 and over and moving into year two the grant will broaden its focus to those individuals aged 21 and over who have disabilities. Year three will continue this expansion will include a study of the needs of individuals who are 21 and over and who have a mental illness.

The Resource Center staff consists of the Director and Donna Langelier, a Service Care Specialist who actively assists individuals to determine their needs and course of care. The staff can be reached from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Resource Center by calling (307) 232-9365 or by visiting the Casper office at 305 West 1st Street. If you are in Converse County please call to set up an appointment and one of the staff will assist you.

The Resource Center staff receives on-going training in many areas of the long-term care system, including:

1. Social Security services
2. Wyoming State Health Insurance Information Program (WSHIIP)
3. Medicare/Medicaid services
4. Department of Family Services processes
5. In-home support services
6. Assisted living and nursing home procedures
7. Community supports and much more

Connect Wyoming is providing service information and support data to the Resource Center and will continue to enhance its database to focus on long-term care in the counties with pilot centers. The ADRC grant relies on the support of its local task force and state advisory council to meet grant requirements and initiate sustainability. In, addition, the ADRC grant support staff has developed an information and awareness presentation to educate service providers across the state about the need for statewide expansion and support of the project.

About Our Partner

The Resource Center in Casper is housed in the Wyoming Independent Living Rehabilitation, Inc. (WILR) building at 305 West 1st in Casper. The staff at WILR works in conjunction with the Resource Center and provides a cohesive team to support the growth of the project. WILR is a registered, private, non-profit agency, in existence to provide people with severe disabilities the opportunity to secure their highest possible level of personal independence. Independent Living services are consumer-oriented and individualized, based on that person's need for independence. The consumer decides what they need. A variety of direct and referred services are offered in conjunction with that of the Resource Center.

Our State Advisory Council and Local Task Force

The Aging and Disability Resource Center project uses a local task force and a state advisory council to monitor project activities in a broad sense and to see that grant requirements are being met. They provide local information and support to the project, and look for resources to sustain the project past the initial three-year grant.

Our State Advisory Council consists of these state and local professionals:

• Millard Meredith, Council Chair ~ AARP (Riverton)
• Loisjean Hallberg, Vice Chair ~ WSCI - Coordinator/WSHIIP (Cheyenne)



• Patty Butler, Laramie Care Center (Laramie)
• Greg Gruman, Wyoming Department of Health Medicaid (Cheyenne)
• Keith Hotle, Wyoming Department of Health (Cheyenne)
• Kathy Matson, Douglas Senior Center (Douglas)
• Bev Morrow, Aging Division - Wyoming Department of Health (Cheyenne)
• Chris Newman, Wyoming Dept of Health Developmental Disabilities (Cheyenne)
• Rita Ortiz, Regional Ombudsman (Casper)
• Terry Williams, Wyoming Department of Family Services (Cheyenne)

Our Local Task Force:

• Lisa Ashland, Meals on Wheels
• Lynette Bernardis, Wyoming Medical Center
• Brenda Berry, Department of Family Services
• Marguerite Blount, Consumer
• Doris Boysen, Consumer
• Rosie Cardenas, Community Health Center
• Wayne Clements, Central Wyoming Senior Services
• Marcie Endresen, Department of Family Services
• Mary Hein, Alzheimer's Affiliation
• Mary Janssen, Department of Public Health - Nursing
• Brenda Kellogg, Department of Family Services
• Mary Ann Lembke, Community Health Center
• Rob Lempka, Park Place Assisted Living
• Kathy Matson, Douglas Senior Center
• Sandy Neubauer, Poplar Living Center
• Rita Ortiz, Regional Ombudsman
• Debbie Reddy, Faith Initiatives of Wyoming
• Wanda Shane, Department of Family Services

About Connect Wyoming

Connect Wyoming provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date human services information for the state of Wyoming. It currently lists programs covering everything from education and employment to health care, child care and more.

Through the Pathways Plus database, people may search for program information by title and keyword, and the results may be filtered geographically. Pathways Plus has both a Basic Search for quick, easy searches, and an Advanced Search for more selective searching. The full version of the Pathways Plus database may be accessed through the Connect Wyoming web site or by selecting the Pathways Plus link at the top of the page.

About the Site

The WIND Web Team has attempted to make the Resource Center directory both aesthetically pleasing and easy to use. Because of this, the Resource Center search page has been made as clean and simple as possible with the drop down lists that visitors can select from.

If you find you have difficulty accessing any part of this site or would like to receive this information in an alternative format, please contact:

Disclaimer

Connect Wyoming makes every reasonable effort to ensure that the information in the Pathways Plus database is as current as possible. However, details of program descriptions, eligibility requirements, fees, etc., are supplied by each program itself and are not independently verified by us. Therefore, Connect Wyoming does not guarantee accuracy or reliability nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for it. Some program listing pages contain live hyperlinks to documents maintained by other organizations. Connect Wyoming does not control or guarantee the accuracy of information contained on such pages.