Aging in Place: A State Survey of Livability Policies and Practices

Nearly 90 percent of people over the age of 65 want to stay in their home for as long as possible. However, for older adults to age in place, their physical and service environment must be able to accommodate their needs.

NCSL partnered with the AARP Public Policy Institute to examine promising state land use, transportation, and housing policies that may enable aging in place. These policies include integrating land use, housing and transportation; efficiently delivering services in the home; providing more transportation choices; and improving affordable, accessible housing to prevent social isolation.

Aging in Place – In Brief: A two page summary of the report’s major findings
Full Report - Aging in Place: A State Survey of Livability Policies and Practices

Sharing Best Practices: Transition Management in Ontario Home First Implementation Guide & Toolkit

Home First is an evidence-based, person-centred, transition management philosophy focused on keeping patients – specifically high needs seniors - safe in their homes for as long as possible with community supports. If/when acute hospital care is required, Home First aims to support patients to return home on discharge prior to assessment for and/or admission to a Long Term Care (LTC) home or other appropriate care setting. Under Home First, transferring patients from hospital to a LTC home is considered only after all other community options are considered.

Home First was first introduced in Ontario by the Mississauga Halton (MH) Local Health Integration Network in 2008 to address significant patient flow issues within hospitals that were resulting in increased numbers of individuals designated as ALC (alternate level of care).

Because of the variation of practices across the province and the early stages of implementation that many of the LHINs are at, the benefit of developing this Implementation Guide & Toolkit (herein referred to as the guide) as a “how-to” manual for LHINs was identified.

The purpose and focus of this guide is on the transition management of patients from institutional care to the home setting. It is meant to act as a manual for the LHINs in implementing Home First and reflects the diversity of approaches across all LHINs. Given the unique local circumstances within each LHIN, this guide does not endorse or recommend one specific model or approach to Home First; rather, LHINs have the ability to adopt the tools described in this guide at their discretion. Specifically, the purpose of this guide is to:

• Promote a provincial philosophy of Home First
• Be a resource guide for LHINs to implement Home First
• Outline common risks and challenges associated with Home First and strategies to address them
• Provide a set of provincial performance metrics to be used across all LHINs to measure the progress and success of Home First
• Provide a set of tools and templates for LHINs to use in rolling out Home First

http://tinyurl.com/6datbdl

How can local authorities with less money support better outcomes for older people?

From the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, written by the UK Centre on Policy on Ageing, this "Solutions" document provides examples of imaginative, affordable and effective ways of supporting older people’s health, well-being, social engagement and independence.

The projects demonstrate the importance of:

• involving people who use support and services in shaping them;
• investing in collective solutions, small grants or seed-funding for self-help groups, and developing local markets to provide the support people want and value;
• greater emphasis on the assistance that older people need and choose, and their experiences rather than on conventional social care and/or services;
• developing place-based approaches that reflect the whole of people's lives, and delivering value for money, for example by including transport, leisure, and fire and rescue services to co-ordinate support. 

http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/authorities-supporting-older-people-summary.pdf

Aging in Place 2.0: Rethinking Solutions to the Home Care Crisis

This report explores steps that need to be taken to develop a health care delivery system for individuals who wish to age in place.

Published by the Mature Market Institute, MetLife’s research organization on the multi-dimensional and multi-generational issues of aging and longevity, the report envisions a coordinated system that incorporates efficient use of available resources, technology integration, home adaptation, and care management models to meet needs. The report also explores technologies that will permit health-related monitoring.

http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/2010/mmi-aging-place.pdf

The Future of Living Independently

According to a report issued by the International Longevity Center-USA (ILC-USA), most of the boomer generation wants to live independently for as long as possible, but to do so will require advanced planning and the creation of a meaningful social dialogue on aging. The report resulted from concerns that a culture of fear and denial exists about the dangers of isolation for many people in the face of an aging population, often resulting in a failure to plan for old age.

“The Future of Living Independently” study brought together experts to develop recommendations for creating the ideal independent living environment.

The report seeks to address issues such as individual and societal reluctance to engage in preventative health activities or to actively promote new social relationships.

Recommendations include planning for both the worst and the best case scenarios for physical and cognitive capabilities, including open discussions of advancing and anticipated impairment, including death.

Other steps suggested include establishing support systems by staying engaged, active and socially-connected through pleasurable and meaningful activities such as volunteerism.

The study finds that seniors should select livable, walkable communities which foster social interaction and provide opportunities for intergenerational or multigenerational contacts, and it suggests that boomers think strategically about access to health care including how to incorporate health care delivery in the home.

Topics included are: geriatric medicine, public health, caregiving, architecture and home health care technology, which addressed the challenges facing both consumers and policymakers when considering solutions to the problems associated with independent living.

http://www.ilcusa.org/media/pdfs/Future%20of%20Living%20Independently.pdf

Green House Project lets Elders Age in Homes

National Public Radio (NPR) looks at what works in elder care in its Talk of the the Nation series. Talk of the Nation is a series of broadcasts that highlight solutions to society's seemingly intractable problems.

Listen to a 36 min. broadcast on the Eden Alternative and the Green House project, featuring Bill Thomas:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102656673&ft=1&f=1027