In the the legislative agenda, I requested additional funding in the 2016 session to be allocated for Home and Community Based services for Georgia’s Senior population.

Last Thursday, October 29th CO-AGE (The Coalition of Advocates for Georgia’s Elderly) held a meeting at the Elizabeth Bradley Turner Center at CSU. The meeting was organized to alert the public to the increasing needs of the senior population in Georgia.

CO-AGE reported that  Georgia has the 10th fastest growing 85 and over population in the United States and by 2020, one fifth of Georgians will be age 60 or older.  These statistics highlight the need for additional funding for organizations that provide services to our senior citizens. These services are a “WIN-WIN” because they enable seniors to live longer independently in their homes which saves tax payer’s dollars.

I will be a champion for these crucial programs because I believe increased and sustained funding is extremely necessary to continue providing assistance to our increasing senior population.

The River Valley Regional Commission Area Agency on Aging is an organization that provides a number of very important services to our seniors in a 16-county area. The counties covered by the agency are: Chattahoochee, Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Harris, Macon, Marion, Quitman, Muscogee, Randolph, Schley, Talbot, Taylor and Webster.

This agency has assumed the responsibility to both assess the needs of the community which include the senior population and their caregivers and also to devise an ongoing plan to address those specific needs. The agency’s goal is to continue to be the “Gateway” to both Medicaid and Non-Medicaid resources that the community offers.

A list of the various services include: CCSP Services, a Medicaid waiver program available to clients age 60 and above. There are a variety of services offered for seniors who cannot live independently or require aid with activities of daily living such as: bathing, clothing, eating etc.

• Home Delivered Services, (medical social services and home health aide assistance, personal care and assistance with meals, skilled nursing services, and physical speech and occupational therapy).
• Adult Day Health, (daytime care and supervision in an adult day center, meals, including prescribed diets, planned therapeutic activities, nursing and medical social services, physical speech and occupational therapy)
• Emergency Response Services, (In home electronic support system providing two-way communication between isolated persons and a medical control center, service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week).
• Alternative Living Services, (alternative residence for persons unable to remain independent in their own homes, meals, personal care and supervision).
• Personal Support Services, (assistance with meal preparation, hygiene and nutrition, light housekeeping, necessary errands, and other support services, in-home respite care provided by an aide).
• Out of Home Respite Care, (out-of -home overnight respite care in an approved facility with 24-hour supervision). Home Delivered Meals, ( prepared outside the home and delivered to the client. Hot meals are delivered five days a week and shelf stable/frozen meals may be delivered to be eaten throughout the week).”

Non-Medicaid provided services include: 

Home and Community-Based Services Program,
(HCBS)-  This program is” Available to elderly persons aged 60 and above regardless of Medicaid eligibility. It provides support to older Georgians so that they may remain independent and self-sufficient.

This service is available in all sixteen (16) counties” Under this program are included the following:

Congregate Meals:
IN SFY2015, a total of 66,037 congregate meals were provided at senior centers. Congregate meals are available five (5) days a week, Monday through Friday and no less than 250 days per year at all twelve (12) Senior Centers.

Congregate meals are served to individuals 60 and over and their spouses, regardless of age.  This program provides daily nutritious meals in a group setting to promote better health and reduce isolation. This service is available in twelve (12) of our sixteen counties”

Home Delivered Meals-
IN SYF 2015, a total of 145,976 home delivered meals were provided to Home Delivered clients. Home delivered meals are nutritious meals provided to persons 60 and older who are frail and homebound because of illness, physical mental impairment or are isolated and unable to cook for themselves.
The program provides a combination of hot, cold and frozen meals.  Home delivered meals are provided once a day, five days per week and no less than 250 days per year. This service is available in all sixteen (16) counties”

Homemaker-
IN SFY 2015 this service provided 14,094 hours of support to clients to help them remain in their homes. This service provides assistance to frail older persons by providing homemaker aides to perform activities such as light housekeeping, meal preparation, errands, shopping, etc. This service is available in all sixteen(16) counties”

Personal Care
IN SFY 2015 this service provided 2,143 hours of support t  clients to help them remain in their homes. This service provides hands on assistance to persons having difficulties with personal care needs such as dressing, toileting, transferring in/out of bed, feeding, bathing etc. This service is available in all sixteen, (16) counties”.

Respite Care Services
( in home and voucher program) “IN SFY 2015 This service provided 20,169 hours of support to clients to help them remain in their homes. Assistance is provided to caregivers who are caring for an impaired aging love one b allowing them a brief period of rest or relief from their caregiving duties. This service is available in all sixteen (16) counties.

Transportation-
” In SFY2015 – “ This program served a duplicated total of 2,577 clients……is operational in eleven(11) of our twelve(12) senior centers.

There are three undeniable realities to why continued funding for these programs is necessary:

• These programs allow seniors to maintain their quality of live and to live independently in their homes.
• It costs $2055/senior/month to receive HCBS services; $11,473/senior/month for CCSP services BUT!!!!!$19,200/senior/month for nursing home care. Therefore it’s a “NO BRAINER” that supporting seniors to stay in their homes is a win for seniors and a win for the stat as far as saving tax payer dollars.
• If you are blessed with longevity, you may need these crucial services one day. Please contact your state and federal officials to emphasize the need for continued funding for these programs.