News
2009 Inspire Awards
January/February, 2009. By Joe Treen, AARP The Magazine.
Ten Who Inspire: These go-getters are putting their passion into action to make the world a better place.
Click here to read the full story.
Should seniors re-take driver's test?
June 24, 2009. By Paul Briand, Baby Boomer Examiner
Liberty Mutual is getting involved in the discussion by offering an online driving test, meant to simulate some of the challenges that elderly drivers face when they're out on the road.
Click here to read the full article.
Suited Up As A Senior
June 23, 2009. By Daniel D'Ambrosio, Fairfield County Weekly
Is there anything that gets better at the age of 85? Well, maybe, but I can tell you from experience it isn't driving a car. Not that I'm that old — yet — but in a clever event staged by Boston-based Liberty Mutual insurance company last week at Rentschler Field, I got a taste of what it's like to drive a car at an advanced age.
Click here to read full story.
Too Old To Drive? When It’s Time To Surrender The Keys
June 23, 2009. By SACHA PFEIFFER. 90.9 WBUR
A handful of recent high-profile car accidents involving elderly drivers has state lawmakers considering legislation that would require extra testing for older drivers.
Click here to read the full article.
A difficult drive in a suit designed to mimic effects of aging
June 18, 2009. By Vivian Nereim, Boston Globe
Globe Correspondent Vivian Nereim took part in a driving course while wearing a restrictive suit during a Liberty Mutual event on Wednesday marking the release of their "Driver Seat Game," an online video game designed to simulate the physical and cognitive limitations experienced by many elderly drivers.
Click here to read the full story.
Senior Drivers, the Video Game
June 18, 2009. By Brad Drazen, WVIT-TV (Hartford NBC)
The Driver Seat Game, is a flash-based video game that makes you feel like you have physical and cognitive limitations that older drivers might experience while they’re behind the wheel of a car. Liberty Mutual and ITNAmerica are behind the video game experience.
Click here to read the full story.
Never get old
June 17, 2009. By Susan Campbell, Hartford Courant
Susan Campbell's blog talks about Liberty Mutual launching an online "Driver Seat Game" that gives baby-boomers (and others) a taste of what driving is like for their parents.
Click here to read the full story.
Behind the wheel as an elderly driver
June 17, 2009. By Erin Cox, WTNH-TV (New Haven ABC)
A new program is designed to put people in the driver's seat of an elderly person to see how age impacts driving.
Click here to read the full story.
Senior Driving Challenges
June 17, 2009. By Jim Cline, WGGB-TV (Springfield ABC)
Retesting older drivers is gaining more interest.
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What it's like to be an elderly driver
June 17, 2009. By Veronica Cintron, WWLP-TV (Springfield NBC)
Liberty Mutual is raising awareness with a senior safety driving event at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. A company official took 22News for a ride to show the effects old age has on driving.
Click here to read the full story.
Game Tests Effects Of Aging On Drivers
June 17, 2009. By Miko Kopelman, WFSB-TV (Hartford CBS)
Liberty Mutual holds demonstration about older drivers.
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Mobile Mission
May, 2009, AARP, My Generation
Katherine Freund is a driving force, helping older adults keep their independence.
Click here to watch AARP My Generations broadcast.
Car Service Helps Older Adults Stay Independent
January 1, 2009, by Joseph Shapiro, National Public Radio, Morning Edition.
Two years ago, Dick Bowman's children approached him to say it was time for him to quit driving. The then-89-year-old had caused a couple of fender benders, including scraping another car while driving his Volvo in the parking lot at his tennis club.
Click here to listen to the interview.
Click here to read a PDF of the story.
Where There's a Wheel, There's a Way
"Cause," Junior League of Charleston, October, 2008, By Elizabeth Kelly
For nearly two years, ITNCharlestonTrident has been opening more than just car doors around the Lowcountry; it is opening opportunities for seniors and businesses in our community.
Click here to read the full story.
ITNCharlestonTrident provides 10,000th ride!
Friday, November 21, 2008. By Jasiri Whipper, The Post and Courier.
ITNCharlestonTrident celebrated 10,000 rides Monday.
Click here to read the full story.
Providing transportation to seniors
November 17, 2008. By Heather Olinger, WCBD (Count on News 2)
Life is a journey. The irony is that much of it actually is spent driving a car. Few of us think, and even fewer plan for, the day when we’ll have to turn in our keys. But each year, more than one million Americans aged 70 and older stop driving and become dependent on others to meet their transportation needs. And their numbers are growing almost as rapidly as the population is aging.
Independent Transportation Network® (ITN) allows seniors to maintain their independence and their dignity. With safe transportation, older adults remain vital to the economic and social health of their communities. Mobility empowers them. They stay connected to family, friends and community. Businesses retain their valuable customers, and more importantly, adult children find relief from a daunting and complex problem.
Click here to read the full story.
When is right time to give up the keys?
July 22, 2008. By Brenda Rindge, The Post and Courier.
For many seniors, asking for rides is the hardest part. Knowing that there won't be a problem getting to their regular activities and social events is a big comfort.
Click here to read the full story.
Giffen nominated for Jefferson Award
Dick Giffen, former Executive Director of ITNCharlestonTrident, has been nominated for the Jefferson Awards -- founded in 1972 as a Nobel Prize for public and community service. Dick is among six honorees selected from the local group for consideration for the national award. One finalist travels to Washington DC to represent the Post and Courier Jefferson Awards.
You can read more about Dick by clicking here.
Congratulations to Dick for being recognized for all his hard work on behalf of older Americans.
Transportation Model Finding Success In Charleston, Elsewhere
March/April 2008, National Aging in Place Council.
Access to affordable and reliable transportation for the elderly is a concern for many communities, especially in rural areas where service is practically nonexistent.
A group of business people in Charleston, S.C. may have found a clever solution. With guidance and support from Portland, ME-based ITNAmerica, members of the South Carolina Aging in Place Council formed the ITNCharlestonTrident last November to offer round-the-click transportation services for people 65 and older, and the visually impaired. ITN stands for Independent Transportation Network®.
Click here to read the full story.
Franklins dedicated to helping aged
Reprinted from an article by Prentiss Findlay
The Post and Courier, Sunday, December 9, 2007
You're not likely to find senior citizens Paul and Barbara Franklin rocking on the porch, but you might see them running on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge or pumping iron at the gym.
If they ache afterward they might take a Bayer aspirin, because that's the company where they met more than two decades ago. The job that brought them together, resulting in a second marriage for both, also brought them here. Now retired, they're as busy as ever working to bring an array of services to senior citizens aimed at keeping them in their homes as long as possible.
Paul Franklin founded the South
Carolina Aging in Place Coalition.
Photo by Jessey Dearing, The Post and Courier
Four years ago, Paul Franklin, 65, founded the South Carolina Aging In Place Coalition, which consists of about 75 organizations dedicated to helping seniors plan for aging. The Franklins, who have traveled the world from Antarctica to Iceland, are at the forefront of meeting a growing demand by Lowcountry seniors for safe and reliable transportation to nearby destinations such as the doctor's office or the grocery store.
An offshoot of the Aging In Place Coalition, ITNCharlestonTrident matches a network of mostly volunteer drivers with the needs of seniors looking for help getting to their destination and back again. In its first year, ITNCharlestonTrident has provided more than 3,300 rides for people 65 years and older, the majority of them to medical appointments. Demand for the service is booming, and more drivers are needed.
The catalyst for the coalition was the Franklins' experience with the long-term illness of Barbara Franklin's father, who died from Alzheimer's disease. Her mother worked hard to keep her husband in the home as long as possible, but eventually an institution was the only feasible alternative.
"We saw a need for a coalition of providers that could step in and help families in these types of situation. That's really what stimulated us to get the coalition together," Paul Franklin said.
The Franklins married in 1985 in Pittsburgh; Bayer brought them here in 1987. Paul has two sons by his first marriage, ages 39 and 37. The older son and a grandson live here. Barbara is 59 and has no children. After retiring, the Franklins started Franklin and Associates, a long-term care planning and finance firm, and Franklin Funding, which specializes in reverse mortgages.
The Aging In Place Coalition is a network of for-profit, not-for-profit, government agencies and medical institutions designed to help seniors live safely, comfortably and independently in their homes. ITNCharlestonTrident started on Nov. 15, 2006. The transportation network happened because Paul Franklin, coalition chairman, joined with other coalition members to look for a solution to the transportation needs of the elderly and the visually impaired.
ITNCharlestonTrident is an independent, mostly volunteer-driven transportation network serving Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Although most of its trips are for doctor's appointments, participants also can get a lift to the grocery store, beauty salon, pharmacy or the movies. Franklin described the service as "dignified transportation."
The annual membership fee for the service is $35 per person, and arrangements are made for those who can't afford the fees, Franklin said.
Franklin said independence and control are vital issues for seniors. "The aging don't want to count on friends and family to take them everywhere," he said.
Franklin said the coalition is an information clearinghouse for seniors wanting help with a variety of issues such as healthy lifestyle, a safe and secure residence, legal and financial advice, supportive relationships and transportation.
The coalition focus is planning for aging, rather than waiting until a health crisis hits, he said. "If your ideal retirement home is under your feet it won't happen by accident. When a crisis comes your options are limited," he said.
ITNCharlestonTrident operates a fleet of donated cars and employs part-time drivers for late-night transport when volunteers are not available. The agency matches the schedules of volunteer drivers to the needs of the elderly.
