Total Dollars Awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (8/1/00 to 7/31/04): $ 458,025

Grantee: South East Senior Housing Initiative, Baltimore, MD

Co-funders:

• The France Merrick Foundation
• The Weinberg Foundation
• The Knott Foundation
• The Erickson Foundation
• The Middendorf Foundation

Primary Objective: Maintaining and improving quality of life for senior adults by preventing falls and injuries, reducing emergency room visits, hospital stays and nursing home admissions; and contributing to the stabilization of communities by keeping older residents in their homes and neighborhoods.

How Safe At Home Works:

1. Doctors, nurses, and senior center staff, therapists, social workers or family members, refer clients to us.
2. Eligible clients are screened on intake for all appropriate services and benefit eligibility (e.g. medical assistance, nutrition, transportation, socialization, etc.
3. Our occupational therapist and/or social worker make an assessment visit to the senior’s home. A plan for home modifications and other services is developed. The plan is shared with client, caregivers and physician.
4. With the client’s agreement, we provide home modifications, safety repairs and install assistive devices. Client is taught safe use of assistive devices.
5. The Maryland Home Rehabilitation Program is accessed to provide major renovations or rehabilitation.
6. Our staff maintains on-going supportive relationships with our clients, and provides periodic contact and revisits to assess changing needs and conditions. Feedback is provided to physicians, family and caregivers.

Accomplishments: Over 500 clients have been referred to our program to date. Initial data collection suggests a client satisfaction rate of over 95%. Indicators are showing significant levels of increased independence in activities of daily living. During our final demonstration year the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health will be conducting an in-depth analysis of out outcomes.

The Future: Many of our services are eligible for reimbursement under Medicaid, Medicare or the Maryland Medicaid Waiver program. We have obtained our provider numbers and are now billing for the covered services. We hope to also receive Senior Home Repair funding from a HUD Community Development Block Grant. We are working with our congressman and senators to find additional sources of funding to sustain this prevention oriented program. Considering it costs the government about $50,000 per year to maintain a senior in a nursing home, we believe we can sell the idea of spending less than $3,000 per year to help senior remain safe, secure, healthy and independent in their own homes and neighborhoods.

Graduates 2003