SALISBURY, Md. – The MAC Center in Salisbury is leading the way on the Eastern Shore of Maryland when it comes to developing innovative and unique ways to help senior citizens stay in their own homes and navigate the challenges of aging with dignity.

“There is no other location on the lower eastern shore of Maryland that has a room designated to devices that will keep people independent in their homes,” explained Patti Tingle, executive director of the MAC Center. “Let us show you how with, just a little bit of help, from a device or a piece of technology that we have in this room, you can keep on doing it yourself.”

The goal at MAC, which stands for Maintaining Active Citizens, is to make life just a little bit easier for seniors all in an effort to help keep them in their own homes.

Sandra Gay, assistive technology specialist with MAC, focuses on finding unique and innovative gadgets to help senior citizens and their caregivers navigate through the challenges that come with aging.

“How can I take this and use it in a way that’s going to make it easier for me to do what I need to do,” Sandra said. “Our goal is to help seniors stay in their homes as long as possible and as safely as possible and do it with dignity.”

47 ABC’s Rob Petree was granted an inside look at the Caregiver Resource Center, a room filled with the most unique and out-of-the-box things that are all aimed at tackling the challenges that come with aging.

For some seniors, tasks as simple as pouring a glass of milk can prove to be challenging.

“If you’ve got a full gallon of milk, or even water, it can sit in your cabinet, but if you’ve got milk in the fridge, all you have to do is unscrew it, tilt it down, and you don’t have to worry about lifting it,” Sandra explained while showing us an item that can cradle a full gallon of milk and, with a simple tilt, can pour a glass with ease.

Other items such as a month-long pill dispenser help to ensure seniors and their caregivers are on-top of their medication needs.

“You can set four alarms for what time you need to take your medication, the alarms will go off until you come over and actually push the red button to stop it,” Sandra stated as she showed us the medication stand that features a clock with an alarm, all while cradling individual pill holders for all of the days in a given month.

Another challenge they’re tackling is for wheelchair-bound seniors who have trouble entering and exiting their homes, for this they’ve used specialized hinges that can be applied to the doors of a house allowing for enough space to get in-and-out with ease.

“It looks like standard hinge, but it now allows the door to open all the way out so that a wheelchair can come in and out, isn’t that neat!,” Sandra said emphatically as we moved on to another item that helps with the hearing impaired.

“If someone’s coming to your door, and they ring your doorbell, it’s gonna go off,” Sandra said. “You can clip it to you, again since it’s wireless, or you can leave it sitting, so when it goes off it’s gonna make that noise and let you know that something’s going on and you can feel it vibrate.”

These are just some of the many items you’ll find in the caregiver resource room at MAC and staff are constantly looking to add to their plethora of gadgets. The items are not for sale; however, with a free consultation, staff will be happy to direct you on how to purchase any of the items which are mainly found online. Appointments are necessary.

The MAC Center can be reached via telephone at 410-742-0505.