CMS Funds State Efforts To Increase Awareness Of Home-Based Alternatives To Institutional Care

Seven states today will receive a share of over $8 million in federal grants to increase awareness of home- and community-based long-term care options for people leaving hospitals who otherwise may enter a traditional nursing home, CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems announced. The $8.3 million in grants are part of the Real Choice Systems Change (RCSC) grant program, which is designed to help states and territories rebalance their long-term support programs to help people with chronic illness or disabilities reside in their homes and participate in community life. Over $7 million of today’s awards will be used to develop person-centered hospital discharge planning models. These new models for the discharge planning process will place greater emphasis on involving patients and their families in after-care plans, including exploring home-based alternatives to institutional care. Of the states receiving awards today, Kansas, Alaska, and South Carolina will enhance or expand the Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) in their states; Oregon and Missouri will develop new ADRCs. The hospital discharge planners will use the ADRCs to tap into community-based resources to use for the discharged patient. Idaho will concentrate solely on developing and implementing a person-centered hospital discharge planning model. An ADRC is a community-based organization that provides information and assistance to people who need social services. An additional $574,613 will supplement grants that were awarded in fiscal year 2007 to Wisconsin and Alaska so they can continue their Person-Centered Planning Implementation programs for another two years. “These awards are a clear sign of the continued commitment of this administration to increase opportunities for home and community-based long-term care services so that individuals who want to stay in their own homes and in their own communities can do so,” Weems said. Since 2001, CMS has awarded 314 Real Choices grants, totaling approximately $284 million to 50 states, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the District of Columbia . For more details about this and other related grant opportunities, visit www.grants.gov and http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Realchoice. STATES RECEIVING AWARDS Kansas Department on Aging - $1,272,179 Oregon DHS Seniors & People with Disabilities - $1,600,000 Alaska Department of Health and Social Services - $1,237,107 Missouri Dept of Health and Senior Services - $1,598,913 South Carolina Lt. Governor's Office on Aging - $1,224,801 Idaho State University - $800,000 Total New Grants - $7,733,000 Wisconsin Dept of Health and Family Services - $332,746 Alaska Department of Health and Social Services - $241,867 Total Supplemental Awards - $574,613 Total Awards for FY2008 - $8,307,613