Engage As You Age believes everyone deserves social interaction and enrichment — especially those who can’t easily (or ever) leave their homes or retirement communities. That’s why we pair talented, caring and intelligent Activity Specialists with isolated or immobile seniors. Because we know how important it is to have access to meaningful conversation and enriching learning opportunities.
This month, Medicare is finally taking notice that physical health care also can be provided at home.
The new healthcare plan soon rolls out a new program, Independence at Home, that will send doctors and nurse practitioners to check up and treat 10,000 of the most vulnerable seniors for whom leaving home is impossible and even dangerous.
To be eligible for the project, patients must have multiple chronic conditions and be unable to perform normal daily activities like bathing and dressing. They must also have been hospitalized or needed other high- cost care in the last year.
Independence at Home was inspired by successful house call programs in several cities, which demonstrated that they can keep seniors healthier while saving on health care costs by avoiding hospitalizations and emergency department visits.
While we commend Medicare and health care reformers for recognizing the importance of sending medical professionals into seniors’ homes, it’s still a reactive effort — that is, waiting until seniors are so frail and unhealthy that a medical house call is necessary.
We believe all seniors — and their caring families — would be better off with a more proactive approach. Engage As You Age is proactive about aging by providing the kind of social engagement and cognitive stimulation that keeps people healthier and happier.
