Florida Senior Safety Resource Center
Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center
Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL

Program Description

The Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at Florida Atlantic University is a Florida Senior Safety Resource Center. It offers comprehensive driving evaluations, mobility counseling, and community education regarding senior driving issues. The driving evaluations consist of both in-office and on-road assessments. The in-office evaluation includes tests of vision, cognition, and physical skills. Mobility counseling includes a review of the assessment results, recommendations regarding the advisability of driving cessation, and referrals to driving alternatives when needed.

Contact

Please contact us at (561) 297-0502 for more information, or to schedule an appointment.

Services Provided

• Driver skills assessments
  • Visual
  • Physical
  • Cognitive
    • Cognitive Stimulations Programs for persons with mild and moderate memory impairment
    • In-Home Cognitive Retraining research project for persons with mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease
    • Functional Communications research project for persons with mild Alzheimer's Disease
    • Dementia-specific clinic offering:
      • Comprehensive Evaluations
      • Counseling for clients and their family members
      • Care consultations
• On-road driving evaluation
• Mobility counseling
• Community education
• Professional training regarding senior driving issues

Florida Senior Safety Resource Center
Orlando, Florida

Program Description

The FSSRC-Orlando offers three services to the community: education and outreach, driver skill assessment, and mobility counseling. The Resource Center's staff is available to speak to senior groups and professionals about issues relating to older drivers. The Center also offers two different levels of driver skills assessment. Both levels screen and evaluate the older driver for issues that can impact an individual's ability to drive and identifies any areas that require remediation. Mobility counseling is offered to the client and his/her family members. Mobility counseling consists of transportation alternative planning and talking about the decision to retire from driving.

Contact

Tracy Rogers, Driver Safety Program Director,
Florida Senior Safety Resource Center Site Coordinator
(407) 514-1819
Rogerst@SRAFlorida.org

Services Provided

• Driver skill assessment
  • A Level One driver skills assessment consists of a vision screening, a lower limb mobility and head and neck rotation evaluation, and two assessments for attention and psychomotor processing. A Level One assessment identifies any areas that require remediation and offers mobility counseling to the client and their family members. Mobility counseling consists of transportation alternative planning and talking about the decision to retire from driving.
    For a Level Two assessment, we utilize the DriveABLE assessment tool, which consists of two components: a driving skills competence screen on a touch-screen computer and a road test. Based on the results of the assessment, drivers may be referred to a physician or occupational therapist for remediation, or some drivers may be counseled to retire from driving.
• Mobility counseling that consists of transportation alternative planning and talking about the decision to retire from driving
• Community presentations: Staff is available to speak to senior groups and professionals about driving and community mobility issues relating to older adults

Florida Senior Safety Resource Center
Getting in Gear
Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas, Inc.
St. Petersburg, Florida

Program Description

The Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas, Inc runs an aging driver intervention program. The goal is to provide programs that will help an aging driver assess his or her skills and remain safe on the road.

Contact

Sue Samson
727-570-9696 x 234
samsons@elderaffairs.org

Services Provided

Computer and Road Test that assesses driving skills in a confidential manner. Abilities assessed include sensory, attentional, perceptual, cognitive and psychomotor. Counseling is provided on appropriate driving choices and community services. Remediation is important to help an aging driver either return to driving or continue driving safely.

Coaching the Mature Driver is a defensive driving course developed by the National Safety Council. Auto discounts of up to 10 percent have been approved by the State of Florida for completing the six-hour course.

Useful Field of View is a computer test, using touch screen technology, to measure the individual's decline in visual sensory function, slowed visual processing speed, and impaired visual attention skills..

Case Management/Agency Referral is available in case a driver decides to reduce driving, stop driving at night, or give up driving altogether. Professionals link the individual with programs and services which ease in the transition taking place with the change in driving habits or lifestyle.

The National Older Driver Research & Training Center
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Program Description

The National Older Driver Research & Training Center at the University of Florida developed Independence Drive to provide services to increase the safe mobility and independence of older citizens in the Gainesville and Ocala areas. Services include driving evaluations, driving rehabilitation, mobility counseling, consultation, and community presentations. The driving evaluations are conducted by an occupational therapist specializing in driving rehabilitation. The comprehension evaluation consists of clinical tests that examine vision, cognition, physical skills, and a behind the wheel assessment to determine driving ability. All assessments are following by feedback concerning skills, driving performance, and recommendations. Driving rehabilitation is offered to those that require behind the wheel training with or without adaptive equipment such as hand controls.

Contact

Desiree Lanford
352-392-8850
dlanford@phhp.ufl.edu

Services Provided

• Clinical and behind-the-wheel driving assessments
• Driving rehabilitation services, including training in the use of adaptive driving equipment and behind-the-wheel retraining
• Alternatives to driving: mobility counseling, including identification and training in the use of alternative modes of transportation and identification and connection to resources to acquire goods and services
• Community presentations: educational programming is provided to community members, agencies, and healthcare providers. Program content focuses on knowledge and awareness of mobility issues, driver-vehicle fit, the complexity of driving, driving assessment, remediation, referral, and mobility options.

The University of Miami
Center on Aging
Miami, Florida

Program Description

The University of Miami's Center on Aging is home to one of Florida's Senior Safety Resource Centers. Our mission is to promote the safe mobility and independence of older adults by providing education, assessment, and mobility counseling to seniors, their family members, and the community. We provide seniors with education on medical illness (such as dementia) and normal, age-related changes that can affect driving safety, as well as information on public transportation and local, low-cost transportation alternatives. We also perform in-office and behind-the-wheel assessment of those abilities that are relevant to safe driving.

Contact

Sara Czaja, PhD, Program Director
305-355-9081
spurcell@med.miami.edu

Services Provided

• Education - information on medical conditions that affect driving safety, as well normal, age-related changes that impact driving. Information on use of public transit, other means of transportation, and safe mobility are also provided.
• Assessment - both in-office and behind-the-wheel driving assessment.
• Mobility Counseling - When appropriate, information on how to prepare for retirement from driving is provided, including the costs of using private transportation, and identifying and accessing local transportation to maintain one's mobility.

What are the Florida Senior Safety Resource Centers?
The Florida Senior Safety Resource Centers (FSSRCs) have been developed as a partnership between non- profit community-based organizations, universities and the State of Florida. They have grown from a pilot project funded by the Florida Department of Transportation. Their purpose: "To ensure the safe mobility of Florida's elderly and to enhance public safety through detection of drivers who are at risk." There are four FSSRCs across the state (see contact list below).
Customers of the FSSRCs include:

• Aging drivers
• At-risk drivers
• Family & friends of at-risk drivers
• Medical Professionals
• Judicial Professionals
• Memory Disorder Clinics
• Alzheimer support organizations
• Vendors to drivers

The FSSRCs are non-profit agencies and are not part of any government entity.

What do the FSSRCs do?
The Florida Senior Safety Resource Centers provide a variety of driver and safe mobility services to help customers learn how to stay safe on the roads for as long as possible and to stay connected to their communities. Among the specific services:

• Driver safety education of consumers and professionals who work with seniors.
• Vision screening
• Objective, science-based driver skill screening
• Referral to other professionals in the community if additional services are needed from occupational therapists/driver rehabilitation specialists, eye care professionals, memory disorder clinics, physicians, and aging service providers, etc..
• Mobility counseling
• Information about transportation options in your community
• Advocacy for expansion of transportation alternatives.
• Community resource for information on driver safety and access to a speakers' bureau of experts on this issue.

How do the FSSRCs help improve driving skills?

• The FSSRCs conduct community education for consumers and professionals from many disciplines who work with seniors.
• They conduct driver screening and assessments to individual drivers that provide objective information about their driving abilities. The assessments examine a person's physical and mental fitness to drive, provides information on ways individuals can maintain their fitness to drive, and gives drivers and their families the information they need to make informed decisions about the most appropriate action to stay safe on the roads and connected to the community. Many seniors go to FSSRCs for an annual "driving checkup."
• The FSSRCs provide mobility counseling - a service to assist older adults when planning for their future mobility needs, and to assist in the transition when facing the need to limit or stop driving. The FSSRCs also can perform vision screening in the privacy of an office setting. Such screenings are vital in light of the changes in vision that happen as a normal result of the aging process and because of Florida's vision testing requirement for persons over the age of 79 who are renewing their driver license.

Is the driver screening confidential?
Yes, absolutely. Before any driver screening is done, the FSSRCs privacy policy (HIPAA) is explained to the driver. The driver is asked to decide to whom, if anyone, the results may be shared. Many folks will share the results with their doctor or a family member. It's up to the individual!

Can the FSSRC staff remove the driving privilege?
No. Only the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has the authority over the driving privilege.

What does it cost for a driver screening at a FSSRC?
Costs vary center to center. Fees for Level 1 screening tests can range from $25-$50.

Does Medicare pay for a driver screening?
No. Medicare pays for acute care costs such as hospitalizations and physician charges. Beginning in 2006, Medicare will begin to provide prescription drug benefits.

FSSRC - St. Petersburg
Contact: Susan Samson,
             FSSRC Driver Safety Program Director
Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas, Inc.
9887 4th Street North, Suite 100
St. Petersburg, Florida 33702
(727) 570-9696 Ext. 234
Email: samsons@elderaffairs.org
Website: http://www.agingcarefl.org
Serves the West Coast Regional Site.
(Pasco and Pinellas Counties)
(Hardee, Hillsborough, Highland, Manatee and Polk Counties)
(Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota Counties)

FSSRC - Orlando
Contact: Tracy Rogers,
             FSSRC Driver Safety Program Director
Senior Resource Alliance
988 Woodcock Road, Suite 200
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 514-1819
Email: Rogerst@SRAFlorida.org
Serves the Central Florida Regional Site.
(Brevard, Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties)

FSSRC - Boca Raton
Contact: Dr. Denise Sparks,
             FSSRC Driver Safety Program Director
Memory and Wellness Center - AZ 79
Florida Atlantic University
777 Glades Road
Boca Raton, Florida 33431
Phone: 561-297-0502
E-mail: msparks@fau.edu
Website: http://www.fau.edu/memorywellnesscenter/index
Serves the Southeastern Coastal Regional Site.
(Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie Counties)

FSSRC - Miami
Contact: Dr. Adam L. Bank,
             FSSRC Driver Safety Program Director
Center on Aging
University of Miami School of Medicine
1695 NW 9th Avenue
Suite 3204 (D-101)
Miami, FL 33136
Phone: 305-355-8288
Fax: 305-355-9076
E-mail: abank@med.miami.edu
Serves the South Florida Dade-Broward County Regional Site.
(Broward County)
(Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties)