Legacy Health Endowment has teamed up with Covenant Care at Home, a nonprofit healthcare provider, to fund a critical new program to help senior citizens avoid premature placement or re-entry into hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities.
With a $110,000 grant from LHE, Covenant Care is a launching a transitional care program to identify and assist Medicare-eligible seniors who are at risk of re-hospitalization. The goal is to support seniors at a time of fragile health and to prevent re-hospitalization, keeping seniors safe and comfortable in their home environment.
“No senior — or their family — should ever fear unnecessary re-entry into a hospital or other facility. When communities implement Transitional Care programs, the value proposition far exceeds the costs of having a Medicare patient re-enter the hospital,” Jeffrey Lewis, president, and CEO of LHE said. “America is long overdue in helping seniors avoid the fear of re-entering a hospital because other services were not available. Today, we put a stake in the ground and say no more. If Congress won’t, we will create the solution right here — real solutions to change people’s lives in Stanislaus and Merced counties. The need is great, the time for action is now.”
The new transitional care program was specifically created to help Medicare-eligible adults who are at high risk for re-hospitalization who may experience one or more of the following:
Diagnosis of heart failure; Multiple hospital admissions; Multiple falls in the home or a fall with injury; Lack of a primary care physician.
Once patients have exhausted their Medicare Home Health benefit, the transitional care program will fill the gap. Eligible participants will have access to up to 10 hours of private duty nursing, access to personal care aides to assist them with activities of daily living, help filling their medications, and access to a primary care doctor if they do not have one.
“We are proud to work with LHE to bring this solution to our community. No family should ever worry that care is not available or affordable. The LHE grant allows us to immediately address those fears. We have worked with LHE over the past 12 months in developing this solution, and are grateful for the organization’s funding and support,” said Ronda Malmberg, director of the CCH program.
