Worcester, Dudley nonprofits granted $600K to improve elder care at home

PHOTO/COURTESY FALLON HEALTH Providers and insurers are making a greater effort to keep elderly patients at home, in order to mitigate the costs involved with moving them to an assisted-living facility.

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By Isabel Tehan

Two Central Massachusetts nonprofits and their partner hospitals will receive 20% of the $3 million in grants awarded by the Gov. Maura Healey Administration to aging services access points across Massachusetts.

The nonprofit Elder Services of Worcester in partnership with Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health and Dudley nonprofit Tri-Valley Inc. in partnership with Milford Regional Medical Center were both awarded grant funding through the program, which provides up to $300,000 to each awardee over a two-year period.

The money will be distributed by the Hospital to Home Partnership program, according to a Monday press release from the Healey Administration. Funding for the grant came from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The program is intended to foster partnerships between hospitals and aging services access points by strengthening communication and coordination with community providers like Elder Services and Tri-Valley Inc. with local hospitals. Citing continued strains on the hospital system, the program aims to find ways to better treat patients at home and in the community.

“Through these partnerships, hospitals and local ASAPs will collaborate to better meet individual patient needs in home and community-based settings, improving health outcomes and alleviating pressure on hospital resources and staff,” Secretary Of Health And Human Services Kate Walsh said in the press release.

The two Central Massachusetts awardees were among nine selected across the state, including Greater Springfield Senior Services in partnership with Baystate Health and Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services in partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance.