SOONER RIDE
Attention!! Are you drawing Medicaid and need
transportation? SoonerRide is a non-emergency Medicaid Transportation Program
offered throughout Oklahoma. This program is for medical transportation such
as: doctor, pharmacy, dentist, eye
doctor, cancer treatments, dialysis, and physical therapy. If you draw
Medicaid, call SoonerRide toll free, at
1-877-404-4500. There is no charge for this ride. A 3 day advance notice
is required. Before calling OIL, please call SoonerRide to see if you
qualify.
OIL hopes
this will allow us to provide services to those not eligible for Medicaid.
BUS TRANSPORTATION FOR ELDERLY AND DISABLED
The following is a list of available
transportation help in S.E. Okla: 1. Oklahomans for Independent Living, 321 S.
3rd, Suite 2, McAlester, OK 74501 tele: (918)426-6220; 2. Big 5 CAA, Coal
County, 210 N. Main St., Coalgate, OK 74538 tele: (580)927-2381; 3. Deep Fork
Community Action - McIntosh Co., 112 W. Pine Eufaula, OK 74432, tele:
(918)689-3132; 4. KiBois Area Transit System (KiBois CAF), PO Box 727200 SE “A”
St., Stigler, OK 74462, tele: (800)299-4479; 5. Little Dixie Transit - Antlers,
601 SW “B”, Antlers, OK 74523, tele: (580)298-2921; 6. Senior Citizen’s Center
of (McAlester), JI Stipe Center, 801 N. 9th, McAlester, OK 74501, tele:
(918)423-0060; Most Senior Citizens Centers have a form of transportation,
check with the one nearest you.
ONLINE CHAT WITH DOCTORS
AmericasDoctor.com operates an interactive
internet healthcare and resource information destination for consumers,
featuring its free, 24-hour doctor chat service that enables website visitors
to have live, online one-on-one chats with doctors and other healthcare
professionals.
ADAPTIVE ASSURANCE UPDATE
Adaptive Assurance Auto Coverage provides
specialized auto insurance for adaptive equipped vehicles.
More states continue to be added to the plan and Oklahoma is one of them.
Benefits are priced individually and made
available only through membership in Paralysis Society of America, or PSA. PSA
members may request additional details about benefits by calling our benefits
coordinator, Will Morrison, at (888) 867-6207 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. If you have not yet joined PSA, please call Membership
Services toll-free, at (888) 772-1711 to request an application.
HEALTHY BEGINNINGS
Healthy Beginnings, a new project in the community
through the Pittsburg County Health Dept., is a home visitation program, that
collaborates with the McAlester Health Center, Social Work Division.
The target of the program is families of newborns
as well as teenage mother’s-to-be (prenatal). The goal is to provide support
and education at a time when young parents most want and need such services.
The program is an in-home weekly (intensive) service to strengthen the family
unit and help families in meeting the needs of everyone in their family. If we
can lessen the stressors in over-burdened families and reach them earlier in a
child’s life, we may decrease the chance of more negative outcomes such as
neglect and child abuse. For more information contact Mary Martin-Tharpe at
(918)423-1267.
LIVING WELL WITH MS
Living well with any disability or chronic disease
requires a combination of self-determination, luck, and support, but when that
disability is one that fluctuates, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), even more
ingenuity is necessary. Two new resources can make everyday life a little
easier and more manageable for people dealing with MS. The first book, 300 Tips
for Making Life with Multiple Sclerosis Easier is available through Demos
Medical Publishing for $20.95. Call 1-800532-8663.
The second book, Multiple Sclerosis: A Self-Care
Guide to Wellness, costs $9.00. It can be purchased through the Paralyzed
Veterans of America Publications Center, call 1-888-860-7244.
IDEAs
For parents of children with attention deficit
and/or hyperactivity disorders (AD/HD), the phrase “other health impairment”
has special significance: it is the category under which children with these
disorders can obtain special educational services. What You Need to Know
About AD/HD Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Pacer
Center, 1999) by Matthew Cohen, JD explains how students with AD/HD qualify for
these services, and provides other information relating to the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and children with AD/HD. The 4-page fact sheet is available at no charge from
CHADD (Children & Adults with Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder),
8181 Professional Pl., Ste. 201, Landover, MD 20785; tel 800-233-4050 or
301-306-7070; fax 301-306-7090; e-mail national@chadd.org;http://www.chadd.org.
DRS AND DEVICES FOR THE DEAF
A variety of equipment and Interpreter info for
People who are Deaf is available through the Dept. of Rehabilitation Services.
To see if you qualify contact your local DRS Office. McAlester Office is
(918)423-8800.
RELAY SERVICE
The Telecommunication Relay Service is a service
for people who uses TTYs (aka TDDs, telecommunication devices for the deaf, or
teletypewriters) to converse by telephone with the rest of the world. It works
by using a toll free number to a TDD operator which will assist you in
contacting the person you are calling and will relay the message back and forth
by using a TDD and his/her voice. The Relay operator number is 1-800-722-0353.
EMPLOYMENT
On August 7, 1998, the Rehabilitation Act was
consolidated into a broader bill with a large number of employment programs
under HR 1385; the Workforce Investment Act. President Clinton signed the bill
into law bringing dozens of federal employment related program together under
one roof--called a “one - stop” center. The goal of the Workforce Investment
Act is to encourage the competitive employment of traditionally unemployed or
under-employed persons through the integration of federal and state programs
and services. “One -stop” centers offer a variety of core services for all
consumers, as well as, programs for specific populations including: youth;
adult and juvenile offenders, criminal offenders, Native Americans, migrant and
seasonal farm workers, veterans, dislocated workers, welfare-to-work
participants, persons with disabilities, and older workers. Workforce Oklahoma
(employment office) is located at 1201 E. Wyandotte, McAlester, OK. The
listings of the local agencies are : OIL, DHS, JTPA, Education Opportunity
Center, Adult Ed, Vo-Tech, DRS. If you
need more information on this, please call Gina Lewis at OIL, or Kitty
Corder at (918)423-6830.
S.W. BELL OFFERS SERVICES
Southwestern Bell stated in last months phone
bills that sometimes a phone is as essential as food and water. That’s why
Southwestern Bell offers basic local residential service to everyone from $9.47
- $14.34 per month. Qualifying
low-income customers can receive Lifeline service from $5.97 - $10.84 per month
with no charge for toll restriction. Price includes dial tone, single-party
service, flat rate phone line with local calling, Touch-tone , mandatory
expanded local calling (where applicable), access to interexchange (long
distance) service, access to emergency services, access to operator services,
and access to directory assistance. Other options with lower monthly prices and
additional charges for local calls may be available in your area. Prices
vary area to area.
Even if you have an existing service, if you
qualify, it might be at a lower price.
Some of the qualifications are that you are on Medicare, Medicaid,
Social Security, AFDC, and Food Stamps. For more information call SW Bell at
1-800-585-7928.
WEDDING SHOWER!!!
The OIL Freespirits will be holding a wedding
shower for Russell Bigelow and Kristie Harden on Friday, March 10, in the OIL
Multi-purpose room. The shower will
start at 2:00 p.m. and all consumers are welcome to attend. Free transportation
will be provided to and from the shower is scheduled in advance. For more information contact Kathy or B. J.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS NEWS!
The OIL Freespirits team took 5 athletes to the
Winter State Games in Norman. The team did real good and had a great time
participating in the bowling event. Russell Bigelow and Shaun Johnston took
first place and Earl Roberts, Kathie Garner and Kristie Harden took 3rd place.
Congratulations to you all!!
GED CLASSES
Would you like to receive your GED? If you are 16 years of age or older, classes
are available for you. GED classes are
offered at various places in Pittsburg county and all you have to do is contact
the ACE Office at 423-4008. On Monday and Wednesday evenings, a GED class is
held here at OIL to help with accessibility problems. Remember, you are never too old!!
TRANSPORTATION PASS
The Pass
cost $10 and covers 5 round trips or 10 one-way rides. Kenetha will mark off the cost of your trip
until you have used your $10. The cards
are available at the office or, from
Kenetha on the bus.
OIL’s demand response, first come first served
transportation program is open to the public. Prior day notification is
required and the bus is lift equipped to help meet your needs. The hours of
operation are from 8:45 am to 4:45 pm, Monday thru Friday. For more information, call Kenetha.
OIL OFFERS TRAINING
As a person with disability, do you know of any
type of training that you would like to see OIL offer that would help you in
your everyday life to be more independent?
This could be any one of many skills such as budgeting/check writing,
reading, improve math skills, tips on cooking or house cleaning, either standing, or from a wheelchair, or maybe
some basic word processing on a computer.
If you know of anything that might be of benefit,
call Terry.
DIABETES SUPPORT GROUP
McAlester Regional Health Center Educational
Coordinator Angela Bennett ask that you accept her apology for not being
prepared for the meeting. The person who was to lead the group, is no longer at
MRHC. However, she states that they
will be able to provide this service to you, but the meeting date will have to
change to the last Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. Their will not be a meeting in March. The Alpha and the Wellness group will be combined, so that experience
and education can be shared. The next scheduled meeting will be April 25th. For
more information call Ms. Bennett at 421-8380, or Terry at OIL.
OIL SOCIAL
The Social will be on Thursday, March 9th, at 6:00
p.m. The group will meet at Golden
China, 1710 E. Carl Albert. Call in advance for transportation.
BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUP
The Brain Injury Group will be suspended until
interest is re-generated.
All donations to OIL are tax deductible.
The contents of this newsletter were developed
under a grant from the Department of Education. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policy
of the Department of Education and you should not assume endorsement by the
Federal Government.