Help For Elders Delayed By Shrinking State Funds (MA. USA)

Help for elders delayed by shrinking state funds

WAITING FOR ASSISTANCE

September 23, 2009

By Lee Hammel TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Sylvia Castle has never been one to apply for help, even at age 96. 

Neither the macular degeneration that dims her eyesight nor a heart problem severe enough to cause her to pass out from time to time could get her to consent to fill out applications for help from agencies. 

“They have been very, very independent,” Jan Castle said of her parents-in-law. 

Jan Castle, 72, lives a five-minute walk from her husband's parents and is there nearly daily. Sometimes she takes Mrs. Castle shopping or does it herself, and the couple's grandchildren offer to help as well, Jan Castle said. 

“My husband has been after them for quite a while to get housekeeping,” she said. “They said ‘No, Dad can do the washing.' ” 

That means that Alfred H. Castle, who is 97, had to go up and down the stairs to the washing machine at their Worcester home. 


All that was until a week-and-a half-ago. She passed out once again and wound up with a goose egg on her head. The hospital that treated her discovered she had a damaged heart valve and thickened aorta, Jan Castle said. 

But Sylvia Castle's acquiescence to outside help was poorly timed. It was the same week that the state Office of Elder Affairs was driven by budget cuts to create a waiting list for home care for the elderly. 

About 15 percent to 25 percent of the clients of Elder Services of Worcester Area will qualify for an exemption from the waiting list that was established Sept. 8, according to executive director Lou Swan. Waivers go to people who are victims of abuse, who have been recently discharged from a hospital or nursing home, or have a terminal illness with hospice care. 


Mr. Swan said, “You've got people who are doing their best. Nobody's paying them. 

“Sometimes a little help to these families makes a lot of difference. The minute they go into a nursing home, it's all paid help.” 

He noted, “The daughter's old enough to be one of our clients.” 

“I just think it's shortsighted to not fund the community services that prevent people from going to more expensive services.” 


Abridged
SOURCE:    The Telegram
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