Seniors Rally for Home Care Options

by James B. Hale of The Citizen's Voice

As Pennsylvania seniors get older; nursing homes can seem like the only long-term healthcare option. But a group of Luzerne County senior citizens say there's another choice.

The group, a part of the “My Life My Choice” campaign, rallied at the Luzerne County courthouse on Tuesday in support of another health care option and for the creation of a Pennsylvania Quality Home Care Commission.

The commission would give senior citizens the tools to choose to live either in nursing homes or in their own homes, and would provide seniors with the resources and lists of caregivers for their home assistance.

“It just makes sense,” said Marie Manganiello, a spokes woman for the campaign. “Home care costs about a third of what nursing home care costs, and with a large and growing elderly population, Pennsylvania needs desparately to expand capacity to care for them.”

Those who choose to live at home would pick a caregiver from a compiled list, with the hope that caregivers will be given more extensive training than they get now.

“Caregivers need training to provide the best quality care possible,” said Shirley Grabowski, a current caregiver for her daughter-in-law. Grabowski said many seniors find their own home safer and more comfortable than nusring homes and the commission could giver seniors a choice.

Mananiello said states like Washington and Oregon inspired the campaign, where quality home care commissions help the majority of seniors who need care at home. In Pennsylvania, 73 percent of seniors who require long-term care live in nursing homes, according to the campaign. Several seniors advocacy groups support the commission, including Pennsylvania AARP, SEIU Healthcare PA, and CARIE.

This article was written by James B. Hale of The Citizen's Voice. The article was original published on June 18th, 2008 edition of the newspaper, but did not appear on the online edition.