Berkshire Senior Online

by Catherine R. May

Executive Director

Annual Report 2002

The year just concluded was a successful and secure one for some Berkshire elders who are eligible for services. Those who are eligible, and indeed in need, but were not served, were impacted by reduced state funding. From FY 2001 to 2002, while costs of purchased services grew, Elder Services state funds were reduced. The challenges occasioned by the shrinking Massachusetts revenues required cutbacks and constraints in services; nevertheless, thousands of services were provided to Berkshire elders, and because of these services, these elders are able to continue to live at home.

Please read in the annual report how many were served in Fiscal ‘02 - 1592 in home care, 7973 elders assisted by 407 volunteers, while 189,000 Meals on Wheels were delivered. Thank you to the able and committed staff and dedicated volunteers who accomplished this !

In January, the state’s Executive Office of Elder Affairs required all Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) to restrict intake of new clients, so that we ended the fiscal in year in June serving fifty less older persons than we had been in January. State funding fell from 5.3 million in the previous year, to 5.2 million in FY 02.

We served fewer elders, because we had fewer dollars.

Federal monies for Meals on Wheels remain stagnant; costs of food, packaging, and delivery grow. Yet, we resist waiting lists, for denying a meal to a frail homebound elder is not what Elder Services is about. Increased use of volunteers and fund-raising have avoided that hideous option.

Elder Services’ mission is to provide Berkshire elders the opportunity to live with dignity, independence, and self-determination, and to achieve the highest possible quality of life.

How does Elder Services cope with the current difficult fiscal times, and still achieve its mission?

With guidance and support of the Board of Directors, we seek new sources of revenue to provide services, we launch new initiatives to meet elder needs, we write grant proposals to address determined needs, we seek increased support from the BUW, NBUW, and the WCC, we seek and receive support from Northern Berkshire Health System’s REACH Foundation, and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, we look increasingly to volunteers, and we very actively advocate with policy makers and legislators to adequately fund home care for elders in the community – where elders want to be!

Elder Services today has 123 on payroll, that is down from 136 a year ago. We have not had layoffs - we have successfully avoided that through attrition and very cautious hiring decisions, through redistributing responsibilities, and eliminating some staff functions.

Under new initiatives - as of this month, Elder Services has become a PCA Management agency, that is, we are approved by Medicaid to train and support Medicaid enrolled persons who are eligible to employ directly a personal care assistant, to help them with their activities of daily living. PCA users can have many more hours of personal care assistance services than we can provide through ASAP Home Care services. Elders appropriate for PCA services can receive more service than any current Home Care client does, through a model that fosters independence and autonomy with the client being the direct employer of the PCA worker.

To those who come to Elder Services seeking care at home, the PCA program will alleviate some of the strain on traditional ASAP services, while offering PCA consumers more choice and more service - possibly up to twenty three days per day, as opposed to the limited services available to home care clients - which can only total $232 per month, barely one hour per day.

Community Choices, another new initiative that will use Medicaid funds to better serve elders in the community will start immediately. Thanks to effective communication and advocacy, and the resultant strong support of the Berkshire, legislative delegation, Elder Services will be able to use Medicaid long term care dollars, totaling about $1500 per month per person, to serve some few nursing home eligible persons. This Community Choices pilot marks the first time that the state legislature has directed that Medicaid long term care dollars follow the client and be available to provide service at home. Thank you, Berkshire legislators, for supporting this small but historic change in how Medicaid long term care dollars are spent. We do hope it signals a shift in the "institutional bias" characterizing how long term care dollars are spent.

Another very new initiative is Elder Services’ plan for conversion of the Lee Central School into housing for thirty eight area elders, who will be very low income and in need of significant supportive services. Thanks to the efforts of Congressman Olver and Senators Kerry and Kennedy, Elder Services will be awarded $3.9 million dollars in 202 funds from the federal Dept of Housing and Urban Development, to renovate a portion of the school site for elderly housing. When completed, this housing will offer individualized services to the elder tenants, as well as other supportive services, provide a new site for the Lee Senior Center and a congregate mealsite. Elder Services has moved into this housing opportunity to provide combined housing and services. We, as the Aging Services Access Point (ASAP), the Nutrition Program, and a PCA management agency, are the only Berkshire entity able to directly provide services to low income tenants who reside in their individual apartments in senior housing.

Advocacy to ensure that Berkshire elders receive their fair share of state and federal revenues is an increasing need and the Board, Advisory Council and the community have risen to meet that need. Those who accept the state’s poor fiscal health as a reason to cease advocating for services for elders are not aware of the political realities. Legislation and budget decisions do respond to the spoken will of the people. If legislators hear little re elders’ needs, while being barraged by advocates for children, the developmentally disabled, and other special needs groups, the needs of elders will not be addressed. Advocacy is essential - in tough fiscal times, perhaps more than in better times.

Twenty eight years ago this organization was founded, as Berkshire Home Care, an agency to help low income elders.

Today, as Elder Services, we focus on those same elders and the home care services they need, but also offer help to all elders and their caregivers by providing information, assistance, and support to them, through staff and volunteers. We have looked at the environment and determined where to grow, to expand, and to change to make certain that Elder Services of Berkshire County is a strong, healthy, and forward looking organization, an organization that will be here for many years, for all Berkshire elders.