Across the country, a corps of community health workers provide hands-on support to vulnerable older adults in their homes. Many of these adults are isolated, unable to travel, and at serious risk if they are unable to care for themselves. Community health workers do what they can to help, reports Paula Span for The New York Times.
In some cases, community health workers are meeting older adults in their homes, listening to the issues they are facing, as well as conducting health screenings to identify mental and physical challenges. In other cases, they are helping to meet significant needs, such as housing, food, mental health services and other necessities for their clients. And, they might follow up home visits with phone calls to see how their patients are managing.
In many instances, the older adults are unable to get to the pharmacy or the grocery store. So, they are skipping their medicines and not eating healthy meals. And, too often they do not have living wills or health care proxies to act on their behalf if they are unable to direct their own care.
Medicare recognizes the value of community health workers and began covering some of the care they provide, in 2024.
Community health workers create a bridge between older adults in need and the health care system. Sometimes they are called community health educations or outreach specialists, lay health workers, or some other title. Sometimes, they are licensed or certified by the state they work in.
Today, there are roughly 65,000 of these workers. Their work appears to be incredibly cost effective keeping older adults out of the ER and the hospital.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Free local resources to help older adults
- Local health clinics addressing unmet health care needs, driving up overall health care costs
- Congress must protect our community health centers
- 2025: Programs that lower your costs if you have Medicare
- Health care costs are forcing Americans to forgo basic necessities
