Senior Services
Here are some senior services (non-profit and for-profit) serving Butler County.
• Partners in Prime, 140 Ross Road, Hamilton. (513) 867-1998
• Butler County Elderly Services Program, Hamilton. (513) 868-9281
• Home Instead Senior Care, 6860 Tylersville Road, Mason. (513) 701-3141
• ComForcare, 7419 Kingsgate Way, West Chester Twp. (513) 777-4860
WEST CHESTER TWP. — As Harold Spaw sat in a living room chair last week, his knee started to shake involuntarily because of his Parkinson’s disease.
Manana Smitty, his caregiver with Home Instead Senior Care, pointed out Spaw’s bouncing knee.
“Oh, I’m just imaging I have a blond sitting on it,” said the feisty 83-year-old World War II and Korean War Navy veteran.
Spaw is one of thousands of seniors in Butler, Warren and Hamilton counties who have an in-home caregiver. Jim Burton, owner of the Home Instead office in Mason, said there’s a battle of sorts between aging parents and their children, especially when the parents need a lot of care and attention.
“This is a real problem for family caregivers worried about the safety of a senior loved one who might be forgetting food on the stove or neglecting to take their medications,” said Burton.
When Stella, Spaw’s wife of 58 years, died three years ago, he was suffering from Parkinson’s and had an infection. He could barely walk. A stepchild wanted to put Spaw in a rest home, but he resisted it.
The Home Instead program was the only way the doctor would allow him to stay at home, he said. Spaw tried a few caregivers before Smitty, who’s cared for the widower for 2-1/2 years. She spends five days a week with Spaw.
“It was difficult for me (to have a caregiver) because I was always independent,” Spaw said. “I didn’t want any one to pamper me.”
Smitty didn’t pamper him.
“It’s not my style to let people sit down and watch them die,” Smitty said. “He’s a part of my family.”
He now doesn’t need a walker, and only occasionally uses a cane.
In-home care businesses can be beneficial for families, said Partners in Prime spokeswoman Christy Quincy. She said according to AARP, more than 90 percent of people want to stay in their homes as they age.
“A lot of times we see that family members stretched to the point that they are helping all that they can but short of living there 24 hours a day,” Quincy said. “At that point, these services become vital.”
The Butler County Elderly Services Program also helps the elderly stay in their home longer, she said. The EPS provides home-delivered meals, transportation and adult day services.
Seniors staying at home also helps the community, Quincy said.
“These folks remain taxpayers for their property taxes and houses are full and we have multi-generational neighborhoods when they get to stay in their own homes,” she said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or mpitman@coxohio.com. Follow at
About the Author
