Joe Montagna
The service coordinator award recognizes the excellent work in meeting the social service needs of seniors and assisting them with maintaining their independence as long as possible. A service coordinator is a highly trained professional who provides supportive services to apartment communities that provide services to elderly and disabled adult residents that assists them in maintaining their independence as long as possible. These support services include:
- Health care coordination
- Benefits/entitlements/insurance services
- Meals
- Home management
- Monitoring services
The first Advocacy award recipient is Joe Montagna, founder and President of the Arizona Chapter of the American Association of Service Coordinators.
Imagine an elder having trouble with a Medicare payment or a leaky faucet. As a service coordinator, Joe Montagna is there to help. But that describes only a part of his duties. It’s the human element that is also important and, as a former psychology major, it is one that Joe knows extremely well. After three years at National Church Residences, here are a few examples of how Joe assists the 100 residents in three complexes. If you don’t have a car and need to shop for food and supplies, Joe helps through the mobile food drives he sponsors to bring you food and household supplies. If you want to get on the Internet to communicate with family and friends, Joe is working on building a computer lab in your building and bringing in volunteers to help train you on the use of a computer. No way to get to your doctor’s appointment? Joe is working on a transportation system that will provide on-demand transportation for doctor’s appointments, shopping and dining.
Residents of National Church Residences are pleased to know that Joe is a volunteer on three local community boards and when he sees something that is needed by one of his complexes, he can spring into action and write a grant request to a local foundation or community organization.
A recent HUD report revealed that service coordinators contribute greatly to the lives of their residents by enabling them to live independently for a longer period of time versus facilities without service coordinators. Mr. Montagna, today we honor your commitment and dedication to the residents of National Church Residences. Thank You.
Tickets are available at a donation of $90 each at: http://dgosf3awards.eventbrite.com/