The local office of Senior and Family Services report a variety of services are offered to individuals throughout the county. The most comprehensive and complicated of those is transportation.

Transportation is provided for county residents over the age of 55, handicapped of any age and those who are on Medicaid. A priority list is utilized for most efficient use of drivers' and vehicles' time. Those needs on the priority list include medical, pharmacy, grocery, needed appointments, and beauty shops, in that order.

"We do not transport clients for dialysis, at least right now, due to time restraints," said director Jeff Sieber. "This service takes a full day for drivers and we are working with one full-time and two part-time drivers. This was a policy that was put into place by the board of directors two years ago."

The agency averages between 350 and 500 trips a month. The majority of those trips are out of town for medical appointments and are time consuming for drivers. To save time, several people are transported together to accommodate everyone's appointment times.

Individuals are picked up no earlier than 8 a.m. and are returned no later than 4 p.m.

Sieber reports that the demand for transportation is much heavier in Delphi than through the Flora office. A part-time driver is available two days each week in Flora for local appointments. A Delphi driver is utilized in Flora for the other days when needed.

With only two volunteer drivers, one covers trips and the other helps with medical appointments. More volunteers are needed to allow more clients to receive services.

"The fact that we do not cover dialysis appointments upsets some people," Sieber said. "We know we can't accommodate all clients' needs. Our agency tries to make as many trips a day as possible. Dialysis was one area of appointments that we had to give up to accommodate more clients."

The agency is a non profit organization which operates on limited funding and donations. Sieber said the agency board members and staff are as bothered by the fact that services are limited.

"People have to understand that we are limited by dollars and the number of staff as to what we can do," he said.

A 24-hour notice is needed for appointments and same-day trips can not always be worked into the schedule.

Sieber said clients should book their appointments as soon as they make them so the availability of times is more likely to be open.

"It is easier to have clients book an appointment and then cancel it, rather than try and work them in at the last minute," he concluded.

To make an appointment, call the Delphi office at (765) 564-2772 or the Flora office at (574) 967-3400.

Other services:

+ Homemaker: A lady does light housekeeping, laundry and errands. This service is designed to help the elderly and handicapped live independently in their home.

+ Care Call: Offered to anyone who would like to receive a phone call from one of our receptionists each morning to make sure that everything is ok and that there is no emergency. The service has been invaluable in the past by indicating needed well-being checks and calling emergency help at times. This is a free service to anyone.

+ Low impact exercise room: Open Monday-Friday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Treadmills, low impact exercise bikes, weights, and an elliptical machine. The service is free of charge for those 55 and older. Located at the Delphi office location only.

+ Flora and Delphi Senior Center offers bingo, bridge, cards, blood pressure checks and foot care. Monthly supper clubs and outings are also planned.

The Senior & Family Services Administration Office is located at 1001 S. Washington Street, Delphi. The Delphi Senior Center is at 700 N. Washington Street, and the Flora Senior Center is at 115 N. Division Street.