SCAN Health Plan Grants Another $165,000 to

Support Emergency Assistance for Seniors in Need

(LONG BEACH, CALIF. – June 20, 2011) — For the second year in a row, SCAN Health Plan has granted 11 California nonprofit organizations $15,000 each to establish emergency assistance funds. The funds are to be used to provide one-time financial support to older adults and their caregivers faced with unexpected expenses.

“Especially in these difficult financial times, money problems can interfere with seniors’ ability to remain independent and in their own homes as they age,” said Lena Perelman, director of community outreach for SCAN, a senior-focused not-for-profit health plan. “With these emergency assistance funds, locally based organizations can work directly with seniors in their communities who are facing immediate challenges.”

The funds may be used to cover expenses such as: transportation; food assistance; respite; housing assistance; adult daycare programs; utility payment; adaptive devices, such as ramps, bath benches and grab bars; home repairs; or support for other basic necessities.

The organizations chosen by SCAN for 2011 funding are: AgeWell Senior Services in Orange County, Avenidas in Santa Clara, Catholic Charities of San Joaquin Valley, Curry Senior Center in San Francisco, Human Services Agency in Los Angeles, Independence at Home in Long Beach, Rehabilitation Services of Northern California, Riverside County Area Agency on Aging, Senior Community Services in San Diego, Senior Concerns in Thousand Oaks, and Smiles for Seniors Foundation in San Bernardino.

In 2010 Human Services Agency (HSA) in San Joaquin received a $15,000 emergency assistance grant from SCAN. In one example of how the money is used, HSA was able to help out a gentleman in his seventies who lost everything he owned due to fire. HSA helped him acquire clothing and replaced his destroyed bicycle – his primary mode of transportation.

Rehabilitation Services of Northern California (RSNC), which received funding from SCAN in 2010 and 2011, used some of its money to help out an elderly veteran after a hospitalization. “His houseboat had been ransacked and burglarized while he was in the hospital,” said Debbie Toth, chief program officer for RSNC. “We were able to fill his cupboards with food, replace his television and microwave, offer him assistance getting onto the boat, and arrange his tiny home to accommodate his needs.”

SCAN’s community-giving program is focused on helping to meet immediate needs – and assist with closing gaps – in community services. Funding is provided to community-based, nonprofit organizations that provide direct services to seniors.

“We are honored to have our agency recognized by SCAN as worthy of carrying out this program,” said Toth. “This is an incredible opportunity to serve our seniors in need.”

For more than 30 years, SCAN Health Plan has been focusing on the unique needs of seniors and is now the country’s fourth largest not-for-profit Medicare Advantage plan. Further information may be obtained at scanhealthplan.com.