Comunity based services VS Nursing Home Care

Most people who use LTS prefer to receive services in the community rather than in a nursing facility, and this desire becomes more prevalent as age increases.
75% of individuals age 45 to 54, and 83% of individuals age 55 to 64 strongly agree or somewhat agree that they wish to remain in their current homes as long as possible; 92% of individuals age 65 to 74 and nearly all (95%) individuals age 75 and over want to do so.14
Among elder and disabled MassHealth members living in the community, as well as among those who are not MassHealth members, there is a desire for more access to home and community-based supports. The ability of elders and people with disabilities to choose community over institutional care is affected by the availability of community options.15
Increasing numbers of Massachusetts elders and people with disabilities receive community-based LTS through MassHealth and through discretionary programs administered by state agencies.16
Approximately 130,000 elders receive services in the community through the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) and approximately 100,000 individuals with disabilities receive community services through the Department of Developmental Services (DDS, formerly the Department of Mental Retardation), the Department of Mental Health (DMH), the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC), the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB), and the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH).17 Another 30,000 children receive early intervention community-based supports through the Department of Public Health.
Community-based services funded through MassHealth have shown significant increased participation rates over the last decade. The PCA program has more than doubled its participants over the last ten years; in the last five years both Group and Adult Foster Care and Adult Day Health have increased participants by more than a third.
13 Ibid.
14 Bayer, A. & Harper, L. (2000). Fixing to Stay: A National Survey on Housing and Home Modification Issues Research Report. Washington, DC: AARP. Retrieved from assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/home_mod.pdf
15 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, The Community First Olmstead Plan (2008). Boston, MA: Author. Retrieved from www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/press_release_docs/080912_comm_living_options.pdf
16 Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services and Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs. Boston, MA.
17 This number does not include individuals in MRC vocational rehabilitation programs or individuals receiving ASL interpreter or CART referral services.
