Elder Options is well known in our community as the go-to place for guidance and assistance in handling many of the issues that confront us as we grow older. 

But now Elder Options has come up with a new package to help elders confront some of the extra stress that comes with independent living and the effort made to maintain that independence. The agency’s new Anchor program offers geriatric care management services that help older people and their families navigate their way through concerns that go beyond daily living needs. 

“The goal of Anchor is actually to assist individuals in areas that Elder Options cannot,” said Katina Mustipher, Elder Options Chief Executive Officer. “And that includes helping people who may have family who live in Florida, but they live out of state, and their parents, grandparents, or some other person may need assistance. Anchor can do that for them. 

The Anchor program is a one-of-a-kind initiative that is organized around a carefully thought-out pay-for-service fee program that exists nowhere else in the country. “It’s just us, no one else,” Mustipher said.  

“The focus of Anchor is to provide services beyond the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. route. What it allows us to do is support Elder Options’ mission, with the fees that we receive through Anchor, assist us in meeting our goals in areas that federal and state dollars don’t cover,” Mustipher added.  

Debbie Sahay, the Director of Operations for Anchor, was there to kick off the program launch earlier this year.  

 “There is a need for Anchor in society,” Sahay said. “There’s a need for people to have that flexibility in services. We’re not here to be part of a major shareholder in a profit-making business. We’re there to make sure we provide the best possible care for our anchor customers.” 

Bette Simpson, 83, who once worked as a consultant with Elder Options, is one of the people who is using Anchor’s services and considers it a lifeline for her and her husband.  

“Right now, I am fortunate enough to have Debbie calling me every day to check in and make sure my husband and I are doing okay,” Simpson said. For me, that is one of the most valuable services because we have no children. …so, people don’t call me regularly. Knowing that Anchor is going to call me, that Debbie’s going to call me, lets me feel confident that at least somebody will know if I’m in a pickle.” 

That is exactly what Sahay sees as Anchor’s strength, both for those like Simpson, or for others like a California woman whose mother is alone in Gainesville and worries because she can’t be there all the time, as her mother adjusts to life in an assisted living facility. 

“One of the things that she was most impressed with is actually having a telephone number for a person, so she can, at any time, call me or a member of my Anchor team…and we will talk her through every step of the way of the support she needs,” Sahay said. “When you’re a part of the Anchor family, you know you can pick up the phone and somebody who is physically present in the area where your loved one is can get to your loved one and can be that advocate for you.”  

Mustipher said she first started planning for the program in 2019, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the idea was put on hold. As society collectively entered the post-pandemic period, Mustipher felt it was time to resurrect the Anchor idea.  

How did they come up with the name? By thinking about what an anchor is really meant to be, in the sense of a mainstay.   

“An anchor is something stable, secure, so we came up with anchor, and we came up with the concept of an anchor,” Mustipher said. 

Think of Anchor as an add-on service to everything Elder Options already does. The agency offers classes for caregivers, fraud awareness, health and wellness, including some balance classes and orientations about Medicare. Their SHINE counselors help people navigate the Medicare sign-up process during the annual open enrollment period or when someone becomes Medicare eligible, generally at age 65. 

This month, in recognition of May as Older Americans Month, Elder Options and Anchor offered a special series of virtual panel discussions that focused on topics that included wealth management, brain health, and balance and nutrition. It also included an end-of-month tea party at the Senior Recreation Center on May 26. In June, there will be events to recognize Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15. 

They also sponsor the Elder Helpline (1-800-262-2243), a service that connects older adults, adults with disabilities, their caregivers, and family members to support the community.  Mustipher says the helpline gets about 4,000 calls a month. 

But Anchor offers something more – individualized support and backup.  

“When someone calls our Elder Helpline, we can assist them with getting services within their home. But what we find is that we can only assist with that,” Mustipher said. “A lot of individuals actually need someone to come to their home, to actually help them gather the paperwork, or talk to physicians, that type of thing. Well, in our Elder Options hat, which is funded through federal and state dollars, we can’t do that. With Anchor, individuals can pay for that service, and we can actually go beyond what Elder Options can do.” 

Simpson stressed that for her, these additional services that Anchor can provide make all the difference in giving her a greater sense of ease and tranquility, as she looks ahead.  

“We (Simpson and her husband) have collected some things over the years that have some value. And I have never made a list of all of our things, both for insurance purposes and if you will, inheritance purposes,” Simpson said. “One of the things I’ve been talking with Anchor about is helping me make an inventory of our possessions.”   

Simpson wants to be sure that when she and her husband pass, there will be clear guidance as to who inherits what. 

Anchor offers a membership program designed to give seniors and adults with disabilities comprehensive, ongoing support. At the same time, the agency stresses its ability to provide peace of mind for families, including those who live out of state. Members get access to services and resources that go beyond hourly or one-time support. 

Fees range from $69 an hour working with Anchor associates, all of whom have passed Level 2 background checks, to a premier membership of $699 monthly for 15 hours of service in a month.  

In other words, people can use Anchor as they need it or want it – people who are planners and want to take care of things ahead of time, like getting help in putting paperwork in order, or people who may be in crisis who need assistance right away to take care of some unfolding issue.  

“When someone becomes a client, it depends on the person,” Sahay said. “They might need you one time only, or for a month, or it can be month by month, or it might become permanent. It all depends.” 

Anchor and Elder Options serve 16 counties in North Central Florida: Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee and Union.   

Editor’s note: This is the latest story in Mainstreet’s award-winning Aging Matters series. It was independently reported by Ronnie Lovler and underwritten by the University of Florida’s Institute on Aging.