[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 82 (Friday, May 10, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING JOSEPHINE BENSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GUS M. BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 10, 2024

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the 
unique contributions made to our community by one of my constituents, 
Josephine Benson, who is a member of the Pasco County Senior Leadership 
Team. In June of 2023, in order to avoid disruption of services for 
vulnerable seniors in Pasco County, the county stepped up to the plate 
to provide state and federally funded essential case management and 
services to seniors via three major programs: Community Care for the 
Elderly (CCE), Home Care for the Elderly (HCE), and the Alzheimer's 
Disease Initiative (ADI). When the former lead agency was unable to 
continue it that capacity, Pasco County Senior Services Leadership Team 
acted swiftly because they understood the importance of ensuring 
seamless continuity of services to seniors. As such, the team spent 
hundreds of hours researching and writing a 750-page grant that they 
did not have experience writing, preparing services that they had never 
offered, and standing up a new team to complete the services, whereby, 
almost doubling the size of its current Division. They did so while 
continuing their normal services to seniors throughout the county. In 
the end, the county was awarded the honor of becoming the new ``Lead 
Agency.'' This ensured that over 500 at-risk seniors in Pasco would not 
go without critical care. The Pasco County Senior Services Leadership 
Team also took on new duties and extra challenges during the transition 
period. All Program Coordinators took specific parts of the new grant 
or accompanying duties to learn and provide feedback on or they took on 
extra work to allow other team leaders to do so. This team truly 
collaborated with each other and several other departments to make this 
Lead Agency bid a reality. Taking on this new tier of services 
demonstrates how this team exemplifies the term ``Heroes Among Us.''
  It is clear that Ms. Benson and the Pasco County Senior Leadership 
Team has made a profoundly positive impact on our community, and I am 
grateful for their service.

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