CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging Inc. has expanded of the Nursing Home Transition Program in Clearfield County.
The NHT Program began in Pennsylvania in early 2005 as a joint initiative of the Office of Health Care Reform and the Departments of Aging and Welfare. Persons 18 years of age and over who were also residents of nursing facilities were eligible to be considered for services that could transition them back into the communities where they had lived by providing them with appropriate community supports.
During that period, statewide more than 400 people were successfully transitioned back to the community.
Beginning immediately, an enhanced version of the NHT program will begin.
Within the first 30 days of a new admission to a nursing home, each new resident will be assessed by a registered nurse from the Area Agency on Aging for the likelihood of returning home at some point in the future.
“One of the important lessons we have learned from Nursing Home Transition activities is that early identification and education is critical for a successful transition,” stated John Kordish, CCAAA executive director.
“Our new function will be the same as we currently perform when a nursing facility resident is being assessed for Medicaid eligibility; the difference is the timing and the intensity of the counseling. Providing education and information at this early stage will ensure that consumers and their families or caregivers have the information they need to make the appropriate choice about how they receive their long term care services,” Kordish explained.
A nurse from the Area Agency on Aging will serve as the Nursing Home Transition Coordinator. New nursing facility residents age 60 and over who are identified by the NHT Coordinator as appropriate for future return to community living will receive assistance with their discharge plans from other Area Agency on Aging staff. Those new residents age 18-59 seeking to return home will be referred to Life and Independence For Today (LIFT), the regional Center for Independent Living agency which serves Clearfield County.
LIFT will then continue to assist those nursing facility residents as they plan for discharge.
“Certainly for some, Nursing Home Transition won’t be a viable option due to compromised health or mental status,” Kordish stated. “But it is widely accepted that some new residents, if given the option and an adequate array of services, will choose to return to their own homes when they are well enough for discharge.”
The Clearfield Area Agency on Aging staff will work collaboratively with the staff of the four nursing facilities in the county — Christ the King Manor, DuBois Nursing Home, Mountain Laurel Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Ridgeview Elder Care and Rehabilitation Center.
Nursing facility residents or their families wanting more information on the Nursing Home Transition program can contact the Area Agency on Aging at 765-2696, or toll free at 800-225-8571, or they can contact the nursing facility and ask to speak to the Nursing Home Transition Coordinator.
Programs and services of the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging are funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging Inc., Mature Resources Foundation and local and client contributions.