Presented by ASA’s Healthcare and Aging Network (HAN)

ASA Members: Register now for FREE

Not a Member? Join ASA or Register for this event for $49

Includes complimentary CEUs

Most dependent elders and their family caregivers want their older loved ones to remain in their own homes and communities, and hope to delay institutionalization. Without appropriate supports, the ability to safely maintain older family members in the community decreases. Rural elders face additional risks, as they may be isolated physically and socially from informal and formal support systems.

A study of rural Pennsylvanian home- and community-based alternatives to nursing home care was recently conducted. It examined five key outcomes: the scope of home- and community-based care alternatives; the current need for rural home- and community-based care alternatives among constituent groups (individuals ages 60 and older who cannot safely remain independent in a community setting; and persons with disabilities who are younger than age 60 and meet the aforementioned criteria); the supply and demand for rural home- and community-based care alternatives compared to nursing homes and identify existing and potential gaps in service; to identify current funding issues that enhance or impede the provision of rural home- and community-based care alternatives to nursing homes; and, to formulate policy recommendations regarding the development, growth and maintenance of rural home- and community-based care alternatives to nursing homes.

Crucial policy recommendations were identified to continue to support and enhance home- and community-based alternatives to nursing home care. These recommendations are divided into two categories: funding recommendations and service recommendations.

Participants in this web seminar will be able to:

• Identify strengths and weaknesses of the current rural network for providing home- and community-based care alternatives to nursing homes in Pennsylvania;
• Understand the funding models of successful rural home- and community-based care alternatives to nursing homes within other rural states; and,
• Ascertain policy recommendations regarding the development, growth and maintenance of rural home- and community-based care alternatives to nursing homes in Pennsylvania and as it relates to other rural areas of the United States.

Presenters:

Janet Ann Melnick, Ph.D., was in clinical practice and administration in local agencies that specialize in work with older adults for more than 20 years. Currently, she is a senior instructor, program coordinator and field coordinator for the Human Development and Family Studies program at Penn State Worthington Scranton.

Heather Shanks McElroy, Ph.D., chairs the education program at Keystone College in La Plume, Penn. She has an extensive clinical and research background in aging issues, including caregiver stress, and barriers to service use in rural and non-rural areas of Canada and the United States.