The following guest article comes from Care Resources.
West Michigan offers a wide range of housing and care options for older adults. Determining the best fit can be difficult decision.
Year after year, surveys show the majority of adults prefer to remain in their own home and in their community as long as possible, rather than in a nursing facility. These wishes are in line with the goals of Care Resources, a community-based program that promotes healthy and independent living for people 55 years and older in West Michigan.
As a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, Care Resources provides services tailored specifically to the needs of individual participants to help them avoid hospital or nursing home placement to the greatest extent possible.
While the organization’s ultimate goal is to keep participants living independently, there are circumstances where other options must be considered. That’s where housing alternatives like adult foster care and assisted living come in. These residential settings can provide an enhanced level of care for individuals who cannot live alone but want to avoid nursing facility placement.
To help meet the needs of participants in these situations, Care Resources partnered with Corewell Health (formerly Spectrum Health) to open adult foster care homes in 2022 for qualifying participants. The three homes on Kalamazoo Avenue, all adjacent to Care Resources, can house a total of 30 residents with staff working three shifts to provide support at all hours.
“Residence aides are on-site around-the-clock to help serve meals, monitor medications and provide any other one-on-one attention that may be needed,” Care Resources Social Services Manager Paula Lett said. “Our wraparound support services – doctors, therapists and social workers – also come directly to participants in the homes to provide specialized care.”
The homes are designed just like a regular house with bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen and common area where the residents can socialize. There’s also a small gym area for physical therapy and exercise.
“It’s an intimate setting with a personal home-life touch,” Lett said. “The participants enjoy meals together and really get to know the staff there – it becomes like a small family.”
While residents can live in the homes permanently, short-term respite stays of one to two weeks are more common.
“I like to explain it as a little bit of tune-up for those going in for respite,” said Kelly Malski, a social worker at Care Resources. “Participants get extra TLC, start taking their meds properly and get stronger while also giving their caregivers a break. It’s amazing what getting a temporary amount of this level of care can do for caregivers and participants alike. It can have an all-around positive impact.”
Lett and Malski shared other common scenarios for utilization of the housing:
- Hospital discharge: Participants coming out of a hospital stay who need a higher level of care or closer medication monitoring in order to transition from hospital to home.
- Unplanned, immediate need for support: Caregivers who are experiencing an emergency and have a sudden need for a safe place their loved one can go for proper supervision and care.
- Families going on vacation: Families who are unable to take their loved one with them on a trip and cannot find coverage for in-home support while they’re away.
So, how do caregivers know which housing alternative is right for their loved one? Participants of Care Resources can simply connect with their care team to start the conversation. For those not in the program, Malski recommends examining the situation from a few angles.
“If you’re at the point where you think your loved one should be placed into a nursing facility, it may be time to find out whether a program like Care Resources can help provide other solutions for keeping them in the home longer,” Malski said. “That could be a matter of increasing in-home care, visiting a day center more often, providing therapies or accessing other services.
“If you’ve felt you’ve exhausted all those options, then a housing alternative may be the best choice to avoid needing permanent placement in a nursing facility.”
To find the right fit, individuals can start with a call to Care Resources at 616.913.2006 or find more information online at CareResources.org.
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