Allowing elderly patients who come to UNMC/NHS to remain independent members of their communities is the focus of a recently awarded three-year, $180,000 grant from the Nebraska Health Care Cash Fund.
The grant was awarded to the NHS Senior ASSIST (Assisting Seniors to Stay Independent through Services & Teaching) program for individuals age 65 or greater who meet any of the following requirements: multiple chronic illnesses; a disability or multiple disabilities; frequent hospitalizations; impaired mental functioning; or social isolation.
“The purpose of Senior ASSIST is to improve health outcomes and to help elderly patients stay independent in their own homes, lessening the need for nursing home placement,” said Carol Smith, director, NHS Geriatrics and Rehabilitation Services. “The goals of the project are to improve the ability of the frail elderly to manage chronic mental and medical diseases and remain independent.
“This will result in decreased long-term care placement and reduction in the use of costly services such as hospitalization, emergency room visits and long-term nursing facility care.”
The grant will expand Senior ASSIST by providing an additional registered nurse to oversee chronic disease management, mental health counseling and monitoring. The project will serve between 100 and 120 people who reside in Douglas County and parts of Sarpy, Saunders, Cass and Washington counties over the three-year period. The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging (ENOA) and the Alzheimer’s Association will collaborate with Senior ASSIST to identify target subjects.
“We’re pleased to have received this funding,” Smith said. “It helps us to continue to provide this very important service to the community.”
The $180,000 grant is the second aimed at improving elderly care within the past year. In May 2001, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation awarded UNMC a four-year, $2 million grant intended to increase education and training in geriatrics for physicians in Nebraska. Jane Potter, M.D., UNMC’s chief of geriatrics & gerontology, is charged with leading that project.
“As physicians, we need to understand that approximately half of our time is spent caring for the elderly,” Dr. Potter said. “UNMC and NHS are committed to providing quality care for those older patients, who are part of a rapidly-growing segment of our society.”
Currently, more than 200,000 Nebraskans are over the age of 65. By 2010, that number is expected to have grown significantly as the oldest Baby Boomers reach retirement age.