Arizona seniors hurt by home care shortfall
Some of Maricopa County’s (AZ) homebound seniors who rely on help from public agencies for shopping, cleaning, and health care may fall victim to unexpected funding cuts.
The area Agency on Aging announced in early February that it has to reduce its home care services by as much as half because of funding shortages. The reduction will affect about 4,440 homebound people currently receiving care through the agency.
The cutbacks will mainly affect people who need help with laundry, housecleaning, grocery shopping, and medical and personal care, says Laraine Stewart, deputy director of the agency. Home care provided by nurses won’t be affected unless the patient no longer needs such services, she adds.
Officials of the agency and the state Department of Economic Security are trying to find other sources of money to make up the difference. Any cuts will be on hold until the analysis is completed.
The money shortage apparently resulted from factors such as a 10% cut in federal social service block grants and stop-and-start funding following the shutdown of the federal government last year.
All client cases will be analyzed individually to determine the kinds of reductions in care that can be implemented, Stewart says. It might involved cutting twice-weekly visits by aides to once a week, or asking family members to help with some of the care. In addition, the 100 or so people who drop out of the program each month won’t be replaced by others on the waiting list.
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