Grants support R.I. long-term care counseling

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Elderly Affairs has been awarded $379,000 in grants under the federal health care reform law to help connect low-income seniors to programs that can help them and to help people who need long-term care find ways to continue to live in their homes.
One grant, for $183,000, will support efforts by DEA to reach Medicare beneficiaries who could qualify for assistance with health care premiums, deductibles, copayments and prescription drug costs, and to make sure they know about new Medicare preventive care benefits.
There are more than 176,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Rhode Island, officials said.
The second grant, for $196,000, will support an effort to help seniors and adults with disabilities find and understand community-based, long-term care options that can help them stay at home, or to avoid hospital re-admission.
That grant will also help ensure smooth and successful transitions for people who return to the community after getting rehabilitation or respite care at a long-term care facility.
“It can be very difficult for seniors, adults with disabilities, families and caregivers to navigate the health care system,” said Gary Alexander, secretary of the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services. “Outreach and education are keys to developing an effective network of services that encourages community living, better health at lower cost and a sense of independence.”
DEA’s aging and disability resource center, called The Point, serves more than 3,500 people each month, according to DEA Director Corinne Calise Russo.
The grants will be administered collaboratively by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.