A pilot program that offers seniors and disabled residents services in their home will continue for another year, as the Turlock City Council extended a contract with Legacy Health Endowment.

The Council voted at their Oct. 10 meeting to allocate $400,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds to extend the Person-Centered Care program through Sept. 30, 2024.

The goal of the program is to prevent residents who still live at home from being unnecessarily displaced into long-term care facilities or homelessness by providing services to them at home. Services include respite care, homemaker services, mental health assistance, palliative care, food assistance, medication assistance, home modifications, durable medical equipment support, and access to primary care providers through this program. The program aims to provide an added layer of support for families who are caring for aging or chronically ill individuals in this their homes by increasing their access to medical and non-medical resources and services in the community. 

The City’s participation in the pilot program for Person-Centered Care started as a recommendation in a report from the City’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Homeless that was presented to the City Council on Feb. 22, 2022.  The program aims to help ensure that residents never have to be afraid of entering a nursing home prematurely or succumbing to homelessness.

Legacy Health Endowment CEO Jeffrey Lewis said that the program is focused on those seniors who are aging in place and the family members who are trying to help care for them.

“The impact on a child of an aging parent is enormous,” said Lewis, who talked about a survey that found children of aging parents often leave their jobs to stay home full-time to care for their loved one, resulting in an average of $630,000 loss income and retirement benefits over their life. “Every day we are intervening to help those people. This program was designed to provide those services in ways in which typically middle-income families on who are older do not qualify…we are filling in a gap in ways that have not been done before.”

Up to 50 participants in the program are from Turlock, said Lewis. Sixty-eight percent of those enrolled in the program being female and the average age of enrollees being 68 years old.  Eighty-two percent of Turlock enrollees reported three or more chronic conditions and 95% of enrollees reported needing assistance with two or more Activities of Daily Living, like dressing, eating, showering, etc. 

Other than health and respite services, Patient-Centered Care has provided specialty medication, food subsidies, mattresses, wheelchair ramps and other items that are needed but may be above the family’s budget to provide.

“Most importantly, we’re providing that series of services that 99% of cities across America, urban and rural, do not provide. You’ve allowed us to partner with you to provide a gift to the community,” said Lewis.

Looking forward, Lewis said they have been working with the Turlock Fire Department to help identify senior citizens who may benefit from the Patient-Centered Care program.

For more information about the program, visit: legacyhealthendowment.org