For more information on this program, contact the Butler County Elderly Services Program at (513) 868-9281 or (800) 215-5305.
HAMILTON — Patrick McGee is a people person. He overflows with stories about his cross-country travels, people he’s met and days growing up in Hamilton.
But being outgoing doesn’t insulate McGee from loneliness.
After McGee’s twin sister Patricia died in January 2009 — both were born March 29, 1928 in their Millikin Street home — and his older sister Helen died in July, dark thoughts crept into McGee’s life.
McGee has never been married and has no children. He spent much of his adult life in Salt Lake City, moving back in 1992 to be closer to his sisters. “If I’m here, maybe I can do something for them,” he said was his rationale then.
Now they were gone. And he was alone.
“I was very depressed,” he said. “I’m thinking, ‘Aw heck, what’s the point of living?’”
Luckily, his Butler County Elderly Services Program caseworker suggested a new program that brings counselors into the homes of elderly residents facing depression. It only took a few visits before he started feeling better. It wasn’t anything special she did, he said, but just giving him someone to talk to.
“When you’re by yourself too much, you’re thinking ‘what am I here for?’” McGee said.
This is one of two new programs launched as joint ventures of the Butler County Mental Health Board and the Council on Aging of Southwest Ohio.
In addition to the one that brings counselors into homes, another puts them in doctor’s offices, where elderly residents regularly visit, often complaining of depression symptoms but not thinking to ask for mental help.
“That’s what a lot of this is about, making it easier for them to access mental health care,” said Jim Beiting, executive director of program administrator Community Behavioral Health.
Today, McGee is busy as treasurer of the residents association of the Henry A. Long Tower in Hamilton. He collects money for holiday parties and keeps the group’s books.
He can usually be found collecting dues in the building’s TV room on Wednesday afternoons, chatting away.
'We're really excited about the number we've gotten'
As people age, their world can close in on them, experts warn. Their spouses sometimes die, their children move away and their health declines.
“These things all kind of compound,” said Jim Beiting, executive director of Community Behavioral Health. “There’s that certain amount of loneliness that can breed into depression.”
Mental health experts estimate one in five senior citizens suffer from mental health issues.
Making matters worse, many senior citizens don’t have transportation and see a stigma attached to asking someone for mental health help.
Working together, the Butler County Mental Health Board and Council on Aging of Southwest Ohio are trying to address these issues with two new programs.
The programs are administered by Community Behavioral Health, which is reporting an overwhelming response.
One program puts a therapist in doctor’s offices frequented by senior citizens in Oxford, Middletown, Hamilton and Fairfield — “every corner of Butler County,” Beiting said.
That way, the resident’s primary care physician can walk down the hall and get someone if they have a patient showing signs of depression: including problems sleeping, eating or listlessness.
The other program brings therapists to people’s homes to provide counseling.
Council on Aging CEO Suzanne Burke said the effort is based on a successful pilot program.
“We learned that it was possible to bring mental health services into seniors’ homes and alleviate mental suffering among those who couldn’t seek help on their own,” Burke said.
Launched in the fall with $600,000 annual funding from the two local agencies — which helps cover the cost for people who don’t have insurance or Medicare — the program has already had 55 referrals and is treating 40 people.
To be eligible for the program, you must be over age 65 and impaired in daily activity or a client of the Elderly Services Program.
“We’re really excited about the numbers we’ve gotten,” Beiting said. “I think there’s several thousand people in Butler County that could take advantage of this program.”
Mental Health Board officials said this is the only program of its kind in the state, and could be a model for helping elderly people stay in their homes.
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