Keeping Older Adults in Their Homes as They Age

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Keeping Older Adults In Their Homes As They Age

The first article I read was about the program PACE, or Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. PACE makes sure that people who are eligible for nursing home housing can still live in their own community. In Cambridge Massachusetts 200 patients are in the PACE program however 16,000 patients are treated nationwide. Most patients that are in the program qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid.

To qualify for the program a patient must be 55 years or older and need nursing home care yet be able to safely live in their own homes. Eighty years old is the average age of the clients that are treated, and a lot of times take up to as many as 8 medications at a time. The program usually receives 85%-90% of the nursing home costs that the older adults Medicaid program would have paid. Regardless of what the cost is for the patient it stays as a fixed amount, which a lot of the times helps keep costs down for the patient. While the patients are in the PACE program, PACE is responsible for insuring the clients and paying for all medical costs while they are in the program.

A benefit to the program is that they have more flexibility with the money used for the older adults then with just regular health insurance. PACE helps with things from glasses and dentures to air conditioner units and better shoes. They believe that using preventative cares with adults will help them stay out of hospitals and nursing homes. PACE also provides transportation to activities, medical appointments, or adult-day cares. The drivers are all medically trained so the older adults are in good hands at all times. To make sure there is a family feeling within the program the PACE staff makes sure to meet with clients twice a year to stay on the same page about cares as well as how they are feeling about everything.

I think this program effects older adults greatly, but in a very positive way. PACE is such a wonderful way for older adults to have the freedom they still want of living in their own homes. PACE organizes preventative cares for the adults to make sure they stay out of the hospitals and nursing homes. This, in the long run, makes them happy that they get to live a longer, healthier life.

There is nothing that isn't great about this program and I fully support what PACE is doing for the older community. It's nice for the adults to not have to worry about bills and money when PACE is doing that for them and for a fixed amount, which is convenient for the patient. This program is defiantly one that I would look into for my parents when they start to get at that age. Hopefully more and more people work towards programs like these so our parents and loved ones can stay in their homes as long as they want.

My second article is about the top 3 challenges of older adults living in their homes and what the cost-effective ways to solve these issues are. The first challenge is managing medications, which is often the number one reason why older adults can't live by themselves. Mixing up pills, forgetting to take them, not taking them the right way or the right time are some of the big reasons that pills are an issue. The first attempt to fix this issue was the plastic pill containers that have the days of the week on them. This is nice for some, but doesn't help solve issues of forgetting to take pills or even pills that need to be taken at certain times. The new and improved pillbox allows you to have up to four different times to take pills throughout the day. The issue of forgetting to take the pills is out the door because if the sensor senses that the pills haven't left the dish they poured out onto it will set off an alarm that is handy if perhaps the adult is taking a nap. If the pills