Senior resources in Berks County
The organizations we send families to for the rest, and the ones that send families to us, each with a phone number.
Who to call for what
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Berks Encore
Senior centers around Berks County, with exercise classes, lunch, volunteering, and other people to talk to. There's usually a center within a few minutes of home. Berks Encore also runs the county's Meals on Wheels program, which delivers meals to people who can't get to a center or cook for themselves. In 2016 we and Paramount Living Aids gave $2,500 at its #sharethelove event.
berksencore.org, 610-374-3195. Meals on Wheels eligibility is on the program's page.
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Berks County Area Agency on Aging
The county office for aging services. If Medicare, Medicaid, or a waiver program is what your family has to work with, this is the first call, because we can't accept those and the Agency knows the programs that can. They also run caregiver support and publish the county's guide to home care agencies, which we're listed in.
berksaging.org, 610-478-6500.
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Alzheimer's Association, Delaware Valley chapter
Berks County is in the Delaware Valley chapter. Support groups for families, education, a help line, and the Walk to End Alzheimer's, which we've fielded a team for. If a dementia diagnosis just landed in your family, call them and read our memory care page.
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Paramount Living Aids, our sister company
Stair lifts, ramps, lift chairs, sit-to-stand chairs, grab bars, and handrails, for the house that's become the problem. They do a free in-home consultation, and our administrative coordinator works for both companies, so the two offices talk. If a caregiver of ours notices the tub is the hazard, this is who we mention.
paramountlivingaids.com, 484-509-5024.
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InTouch by SAH
A local company that provides medical alert and personal emergency response systems. The button on the wrist for the hours nobody is in the house.
intouchbysah.com, 610-898-6595.
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Berks County Veterans Affairs
If you or your spouse is a veteran, call. There may be benefits available that pay for home care, and many veterans have no idea. We work with Veterans' benefits and will help with the paperwork once you know what you qualify for.
Berks County Veterans Affairs, 610-378-5601.
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AAA Reading Berks
Driver classes and information for senior drivers, through the RoadWise Driver program. The driving conversation is one of the hardest a family has. A class is an easier place to start it than the kitchen table.
readingberks.aaa.com, 610-374-4531.
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Family Caregiver Alliance
A national nonprofit for the person doing the caring. Plain information on what caregiving involves, what it costs you, and how to keep doing it. Pair it with our respite care page if you're the one who needs the break.
caregiver.org, 800-445-8106.
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AARP
Information on aging, insurance, and caring for a parent. Not local, but the caregiving guides are worth an evening.
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American Heart Association and American Stroke Association
No local chapter in Berks County, but the website is where we send families after a stroke or a heart event, for the recovery information and the warning signs to watch.
If you're one of these organizations, or a discharge planner
The facts you need to hand a family our number are on the transition home care page, in a table. Non-medical, locally owned since 2003, employees not contractors, shifts of 6 to 12 hours, office staff on call 24/7, and Kristin Galle, RN, BSN, for case management. Call 610-796-4737. We'd also like to list you here if we've missed you.
If none of these is the right call, we probably are.
Tell us what happened. If we're wrong for it, we'll say which of the numbers above to try.
Office staff on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.