Stay behind the wheel – or retire – with confidence 
                    Parma Hospital offers safe driving assessments for older adults

Older drivers and their families have a new advocate for evaluating driver safety skills.

Parma Hospital’s ElderCenter now offers Beyond Driving with Dignity, a valuable service to the older population that is a program of Keeping Us Safe, a national organization founded by a retired Ohio State Highway Patrolman to keep older drivers safe on the roads.

Lisa Profio, a coordinator at Parma Hospital’s ElderCenter, has been professionally certified to assess drivers through Beyond Driving with Dignity. An LPN with 36 years of experience, primarily working with older adults, she assists people every day in finding constructive and rewarding connections and bolstering their skills. At ElderCenter’s Club program, Profio leads her participants with early stage dementia or Alzheimer’s disease in memory enhancement, civic projects, exercise and socialization.

“The driver makes the decision at the end of our session based on how they do with all the tools and exercises,” Profio says. “The outcome is either that they drive, perhaps with restrictions such as no nighttime driving, or they retire from driving. In the end, it’s their choice.”

The program costs $250 for the assessment, which includes a workbook and resources to keep. For more information or to register, call 440-743-2777.