For Sam Waldrep, life has come full circle.
As a child growing up on a farm in Spartanburg County, he watched his mother struggle to care for both of his grandmothers, who each suffered from dementia.
"Back in the late '60s and '70s, there wasn't much support for aging in place," says Waldrep, 72, of Columbia. "It was strictly family and informal supports that helped to keep people at home."
The experience left an impression. After college, Waldrep entered a graduate program to study gerontology and went on to work for more than three decades at the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. He served in a variety of roles, including as deputy director for Long Term and Behavioral Health.
Now retired, Waldrep continues to support aging-related efforts in his community as a volunteer with AARP South Carolina -- including advocating on behalf of the state's nursing home residents. Waldrep received the 2024 AARP Andrus Award for Community Service, the organization's top volunteer honor in the state.
He is being recognized for a lifetime of work in the health care arena and for helping people as they age, says Charmaine Fuller Cooper, AARP South Carolina's state director.
Fuller Cooper describes Waldrep as gentle and caring but also committed and disciplined -- a reputation that, she says, has followed him throughout his career. And to complement his sunny persona, Waldrep also dresses with flair.
"Since the day I met him, he walks in and he has these nice, lovely colors on," she says. "He'll have on a peach sweater vest, or this perfect shade of paisley green."
For the past six years, Waldrep has been an active volunteer with AARP South Carolina, serving first as a legislative volunteer and now as a member of the organization's Executive Council. He's played a key role in shaping AARP's advocacy efforts in the state, especially around long-term care services and Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care program for low-income residents and people with disabilities.
This year, Waldrep is leading the organization's push to increase the state's personal needs allowance -- the monthly amount nursing home residents on Medicaid can keep for expenses such as toiletries, clothing and cell phone bills. In South Carolina, the allowance has remained at $30 a month since 1988. It's tied with Alabama for the lowest rate in the nation.
That puny amount "really buys nothing," Waldrep says. AARP is urging lawmakers to increase it to at least $100 a month.
Waldrep is also a volunteer and president of the board for The FriendShip, a volunteer-driven program in Columbia that helps older residents age in place with services such as transportation to appointments, educational workshops, group outings and assistance with small tasks at home. Part of the national Village to Village Network, the program is designed to keep older adults active, connected and independent in their communities.
South Carolina's State Long Term Care Ombudsman, Dale Watson, has worked with Waldrep for nearly three decades. She says Waldrep is the epitome of an advocate.
"I don't think people understand the thread in the quilt that he is, so to speak. He's just quietly woven things together over the years," Watson says.
She's confident that by leveraging his deep understanding of Medicaid, connection with AARP and experience in advocacy, he can help get the increase of the personal needs allowance over the finish line this year.
Watson recalls visiting Waldrep's home one holiday season and finding a Christmas tree in every room -- including the bathroom -- each with its own theme. The festive tableau summed up Waldrep perfectly, she says: "Whatever he does, he does it passionately. ... He's not going to touch it if he can't give it his best."
Stacey Shepard, a California-based journalist, writes about health care, the environment and other issues.