State wait list for elder care concerns GLSS’s Crowley

LYNN – State budget cuts totaling $6.4 million could leave thousands of senior citizens without needed care in their homes and impact organizations like Greater Lynn Senior Services (GLSS).The state has created a waiting list for those applying for home care that went into effect on Sept. 8.The home care program provides elders – those over age 60 – with homemakers, meals and home health care aides who assist them with bathing, dressing and other services. According to GLSS Executive Director Paul Crowley, these services help keep senior citizens living safely in their own homes.GLSS serves more than 1,200 home care clients in Lynn, Lynnfield, Nahant, Saugus and Swampscott, with an average of 50 new cases added each month. It also delivers 2,000 hot meals every day to residents in those communities.”This is clearly a most challenging time for those of us seeking to deliver critical social services,” said Crowley. “But the message I hope to make very clear is that we at GLSS will continue to serve our clients and will absolutely respond – and respond fully – to the needs of vulnerable elders in our communities.”Al Norman, president of the Mass Home Care Association, described the process as “very painful,” explaining that the association’s goal is to provide care, not deny it. “But we must operate within our budget,” he said.The new procedures still allow elders with critical unmet needs to enroll – such as situations involving abuse or neglect, discharge from the hospital and those in hospice – and all clients will be assessed for frailty and given a priority level to receive services as they become available.Crowley said the concept of a wait list for elder home care is daunting because many clients who apply or receive services live on the edge of wellness. As he put it, “What is deeply frustrating about the waiting list is that it potentially delays services to those seniors who are perhaps not as frail right now but who could easily become so without supports. For this reason, we want to assure everyone that GLSS will work hard to be sure that as many seniors as possible have access to key resources.”Crowley has been strongly encouraging senior citizens and family caregivers to seek assistance from GLSS no matter the situation. “We are able to help in many ways,” he said, noting that hospitals, families, visiting nurse agencies and other community organizations should continue to make referrals for home care. “Our worst fear is that elders may stop calling for help, and that many who would qualify for immediate help and resources that are available might go unserved.”In addition to providing home care services and meals, GLSS is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority provider, offering The Ride wheel-chair vans and sedans to the needy in 23 cities and towns.