 |
| Allen County Probate Court Judge Todd Kohlrieser presided over the organizational meeting of the Allen County Guardianship Services Board on Monday. Six members were issued the oath of office as inaugural board members. The agency’s mission is to help residents with developmental disabilities and mental health issues navigate the complexities of day-to-day life. |
LIMA — The most vulnerable members of the Allen County community got a helping hand Monday when the county’s initial Guardianship Services Board transformed from a vision into a reality.
Allen County Probate Court Judge Todd Kohlrieser issued the oaths of office to six board members as the board, which has been several years in the planning stage, became an official entity. It’s function, the judge said, is to help residents with developmental disabilities and mental health issues navigate the complexities of day-to-day life.
“This is something that’s been needed for years,” Kohlrieser said of the board.
The Guardianship Services Board is an initiative of the Allen County Probate Court, Mental Health & Recovery Services Board of Allen County and Allen County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Its mission is providing adult guardianship services for residents of Allen County who have been determined to be legally incompetent.
The three appointed members whose positions are mandated in the Ohio Revised Code are representatives of the probate court, the county Board of Developmental Disabilities and the Mental Health and Recovery Services board. Filling those seats on the new guardianship board, respectively, are Tim Hamman, Angie Herzog and Mike Schoenhofer.
Those three inaugural members, in turn, voted to welcome three more members to the fledgling guardianship board. Joining the panel by unanimous vote were Christa Bauer, representing Lima Memorial Health System; Denise Cook, representing Mercy Health-St. Rita’s Medical Center; and Laura Voth, representing the United Way of Greater Lima.
“This is a diverse group of people that make up this board, with representation from the mental health field, an attorney and representatives of the United Way, Memorial Hospital and Mercy Health,” the judge said. “They’re all volunteers and they have accepted four-year terms.”
Kohlrieser said attorney’s throughout the greater Lima area have been donating their services in recent years to help provide legal assistance. But over the years, for a variety of reasons, the number of lawyers who are available to step up when needed has declined.
“We needed an entity to care for the needs of the citizens who fall under the umbrella of the Guardianship Services Board in making sure their needs — from scheduling doctor’s appointments to scheduling other appointments to researching options for long-term care — are taken care of,” Kohlrieser said.
No comments:
Post a Comment