Enhancing
the ability of a family to meet the needs of its own members is the
cornerstone of the Living at Home Network. The program organizes and
reinforces what resources the family already has for meeting its own
needs, and supplements those resources with a mix of services and
supports from the neighborhood.
Neighborhood residents needing help are identified in several ways:
- by the local LAHN creatively reaching out to identify potential residents in need,
- by residents themselves,
- by family members,
- through word of mouth from friends,
- from contacts by churches and other community organizations,
- by referrals from hospitals, physicians, social service agencies
The program builds on neighborly interest in each other's well-being among local residents.
Service Coordination/Volunteer Assistance/Non-nursing Support.
Each new participant is contacted by the Program Director or
Senior Care Coordinator. An initial assessment is completed and
arrangements are made to supplement what resources the family already
has for meeting this person's needs.
Services from both formal and informal agencies are
arranged and supervised by program personnel, who are (ideally) all
neighborhood residents.
Where possible, the plan for care focuses on
assisting the resident to overcome barriers to independence, encourages
and reinforces maintaining the current social and family support
networks, and encourages the building of new networks as appropriate.
Volunteers from the neighborhood are recruited and
trained to provide needed assistance and support. The list of services
described previously exemplify what can be done. Generally, the program
tries to provide or help arrange whatever may be needed and to develop
a tailored, personally specific approach for each participant.
Included in this case management is a gatekeeping function ensuring
that only necessary services are delivered and that quality care is
provided. Determination of an individual's needs is done in conjunction
with the family and the family's physician when appropriate. In home
professional and support services are coordinated with all services
provided. Professional judgment determines the types and level of
services necessary for maintaining an elderly person at home.
The LAHN may:
- Arrange for a volunteer to teach and support the family to meet as many needs as possible
- Arrange for a volunteer to deliver and supervise care that the family is not able to provide
What are the Program's principal benefits?
Better Service
Care in the home is usually more satisfying to participants than
long-term care in an institution. Without the Living at Home Network
many elderly residents with temporary health problems or a general
decline in functional/cognitive status and health would have fewer
alternatives to a nursing home.
The Living at Home Network makes care in the home possible in two ways:
- through resources to supplement the capabilities of families to meet their own needs, and
- by
identifying and responding to needs for help sooner than the
traditional service system, making it easier to remedy some conditions
and to prevent others from occurring.
The Living at Home Network draws on
neighborhood resources not available to traditional health providers,
building on a spirit of community self-help that extends the resources
of a family. The program works with established training programs and
institutions for a coordinated mix of volunteer, allied health
professional and professional services. No comparable scope of service
is available from conventional health and social service sources.
Traditional services that are available usually require a host of
narrowly trained personnel coming into the client's home to perform
discrete tasks. The Living at Home Network avoids such disruption and
fragmentation by combining job descriptions so that only a very few
people are needed to perform a wide variety of tasks in one
participant's home.
It puts coordination and supervision of all
personnel and support services under one individual, the Program
Director or Service Coordinator.
Lower Costs
Four factors contribute to a lower over-all cost of care:
-
for people who can be helped to remain independent, care at home is less expensive than care in an institution
- The Living at Home Nework has developed
methods to make in-home care less costly than is typically possible
through the services of professional home care agencies. These methods
include the use of local resources, savings on mileage and travel time
cost, enhancement of the family's ability to meet its own needs, and
the use of allied health professionals and volunteers, all with
professional supervision
- only appropriate services in the amounts necessary are provided
- early
diagnosis and treatment of health problems and the prevention of more
serious problems both contribute to reduced long-term health care costs.
Proper Incentives
Unlike the conventional medical system, incentives under the Living at Home Network favor:
- maximum self-reliance and minimum use of costly professional services
- early intervention and treatment of disabling illness
- prevention and recovery rather than long-term treatment
- and coordination and integration of services rather than fragmentation and specialization.
Quality of Life
Most important is the enhanced quality of life for elderly persons,
their families and all who volunteer and contribute. Neighborhood
volunteers care for their neighbors, and a sense of community ownership
elicits the contribution of time, talent and dollars from the
citizenry.
