Older adults in Southwest Michigan will have access to in-home medical, behavioral and social care through a new service offered by Michigan’s Region IV Area Agency on Aging. The Michigan Health Endowment Fund announced this week it will provide $500,000 in grant funding to launch Integrated Care at Home.
The local agency on aging will work with existing home- and community-based services to identify care and service gaps and integrate social determinants of health into care to improve patient outcomes.
“We are excited to be able to increase in-home care capacity, close gaps in access to care, and support an initiative that will improve physical and mental health outcomes for older adults throughout Berrien, Cass and Van Buren Counties,” Christine Vanlandingham, CEO of the Region IV Area Agency on Aging, said in a statement. “The launch of Integrated Care at Home shows the power that innovative thought and partnership convening has in ensuring choices for independence are truly accessible and achievable for older adults in our communities.”
Integrated Care at Home is modeled after a similar Agency on Aging initiative called Senior Resources that also integrates clinical, behavioral health and nutritional services. Both programs will focus on the unique needs of the local area, but will scale integrated clinical services, behavioral health, counseling, medical nutrition therapy and chronic care management in the patient’s home.
