Seniors Have New Advocate at Agency on Aging

Orange County’s newly appointed head of the Area Agency on Aging wants to create a three-digit hotline similar to 411 where senior citizens can immediately gain access to a variety of services like housing, food and transportation.

Pamela Mokler took over the county agency after working for years as president of a company that developed programs for retirement housing. She said she will focus efforts on helping poor seniors in Orange County, who she says are not being adequately served.

“A lot of people have no idea where they can go to get help,” she said. “This really affects the poorest seniors.”

Mokler said a hotline would connect seniors and their families with intake workers, who would then direct them to county contractors and nonprofit organizations.

Seniors can get information now by calling a toll-free number ([800] 989-6565), but Mokler said many people in need simply don’t use it or don’t know the number.

The new number, which could take a few years to establish, “would be the linchpin of a seamless, coordinated system,” in which seniors and their family members could easily locate resources.

Mokler was officially welcomed to her job last week after the position had remained vacant for 18 months. County supervisors and senior citizens groups said that Mokler’s appointment begins a new era of greater priority for seniors issues.

Advocates say an increasing seniors population requires more attention. The number of people older than 60 in Orange County jumped 27% between 1990 and 2001, according to census statistics and estimates from Chapman University. Forecasters say that population will nearly double by 2020--from 391,000 now to 733,000.

Support for the proposed hotline appears strong.

Ann Morgan, who works at the Rancho Senior Center in Irvine, said she often hears seniors complain that “if you are trying to find something, you have to call around. I know [the services] are all separated from each other.

“It becomes a problem, especially if [seniors] are [sick] and have health problems or they don’t hear well. They can’t work the system,” she said.

A hotline “would be wonderful, marvelous, if there were a human being to answer your questions. That’s rare today. You usually get phone mail and push this button as an answer.”

Lee Sarno, a 78-year-old Laguna Woods resident, said the phone line or any cooperative effort among agencies would help seniors who have trouble looking up information.

“There are a lot of things that people don’t know about. If you are one on one with someone on the phone, you can get information you might not get if you are hard of hearing or your eyesight is bad,” said Sarno.

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When she was growing up in the tiny town of Hubbardsville, N.Y., Mokler spent many afternoons volunteering at the Hubbardsville Manor Rest Home. She was given a job there at age 14. Later, she was a volunteer for Orange County’s Council on Aging and visited many of the area’s nursing homes checking on abuse complaints.

She has a master’s degree in gerontology from California State University at Long Beach and previously owned a company that developed programs in senior housing. She has also worked as a senior housing and marketing consultant for SCAN Health Plan and as assistant administrator at Alamitos-Belmont Rehabilitation Hospital.

The new job “is a dream come true. This is my passion. I really have the chance to make a difference,” Mokler said.

Laguna Woods Mayor Brenda Ross, whose city contains the Leisure World retirement community, said she believes Mokler’s appointment signals a change in direction.

“Give Pam six months and it will be different. Right now, everyone has a little piece of senior services, but everyone is not working together,” she said.

Mokler said by June she will submit a budget proposal to the county Board of Supervisors, who have indicated they are ready to allocate more money for senior programs.

“We have a responsibility to serve those who have served this community well,” said Supervisor Todd Spitzer, speaking at Mokler’s welcome ceremony.

Supervisor Charles V. Smith said many seniors have complained they cannot reach people in the agency to refer them for services and he hopes things will change.

“What we would expect Pam to do is to come up with a plan,” Smith said. “Then we would try to put a dollar figure with it. Right now we are just trying to get the [agency] up and running. . . . Ever since I’ve been on the board, there hasn’t been the emphasis put on this agency.”

Mokler said supervisors have promised her a larger budget, and she is hopeful that the county’s senior centers and agencies will soon work hand in hand even more. She wants to create more affordable senior housing and improve public transportation for the county’s oldest residents.

Seniors “can deteriorate quickly without certain services,” Mokler said. “It happens, and it’s something that can be prevented. There are wonderful programs that exist with dedicated and passionate staffs. They need funding and they need to work together.”

Marilyn Ditty, executive director of South County Senior Services, said that changes will come only if the supervisors restore funding to nonprofits and to programs that will help low-income seniors.

“I don’t care who walks through the door [as director],” Ditty said. “Unless there is more money, we will not get much done.”