Affordable senior housing may just hold the next key demographic for home care agencies, as evidence shows in-home services are effective in helping older people remain healthy and independent.
New Housing Plus Services use affordable senior housing properties as platforms for the delivery of health and supportive services to older adults, “many of whom have low incomes and complex medical conditions,” writes Robyn Stone in a recent The Huffington Post article. Stone is the vice president of research at LeadingAge.
Stone makes the case for Housing Plus Services models, noting that The LeadingAge Center for Applied Research has found plenty to like about them.
“Delivering health and supportive services in affordable senior housing settings can reduce the likelihood that residents will need to move to higher levels of care, or use expensive health care services like the emergency room,” she says.
The model may also slow the growth of Medicare spending among participating residents, and is attracting interest from stakeholders nationwide.
Yet, there are still some concerns surround the new model. Consumers worry that Housing Plus Services models might become unregulated assisted living “if we’re not careful,” she says.
Stone argues that Housing Plus Services programs and assisted living are very different options.
Residents in an assisted living community need a high level of support, whereas Housing Plus Services models serve people who are living independently in their own apartments.
“The services delivered at a housing property aren’t targeted to the very frail individuals who assisted living communities typically serve,” she says.
Read the article here.
Written by Cassandra Dowell
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