Innovations in Supportive Services for California’s Seniors

Key Facts: Supportive Services

• By 2050, 83.7 million Americans will be 65 and older — almost double the 2012 estimate of 43.1 million.

• About 70% of seniors will require supportive services at some point during their lives.

• National spending for supportive services totaled $310 billion in 2013, with Medicaid covering 51 percent of total expenditures followed by other public, out-of-pocket spending and private insurance.

• Estimates suggest that 40 to 90 percent of poor health is attributable to social, behavioral and economic factors – determinants that are addressed by supportive services.

• Growing evidence indicates that supportive services like housing, nutrition support and income assistance can improve health and reduce the need for costly medical care.

The Need

California’s senior population is expected to grow by four million people through 2030. Among the challenges faced by older Americans is their ability to manage their health, and to access coordinated supportive services in their homes and in the communities where they live.

What Are Supportive Services?

Supportive services include nutrition, housing, transportation, care management, in-home personal care and homemaker services, which enable seniors to maintain their independence and stay safe and healthy as they age. As our senior population grows, it is important that we focus on supportive services that are coordinated with overall healthcare and well-being needs; that we address barriers to those services; and that we seize opportunities to advance innovative community-based care models.

Taking Action

Through a combination of applied medical research, supportive policy, effective advocacy and outcomes-based philanthropy, West Health is working to create and foster new integrated care models that improve health outcomes and better address both the medical and non-medical needs of seniors and their families. Our institute, policy center and foundation all work together under the umbrella of West Health with a shared mission to enable successful aging for our nation’s seniors. Among other research initiatives, West Health is working to connect seniors to the supportive services they want and need to age successfully in place, which includes access to home and community-based services and care navigation support. The Gary and Mary West Health Institute (West Health Institute) is conducting research on innovative ways to provide the care and supportive services that keep seniors healthy, safe, independent and connected.

West Health’s Senior Supportive Services Efforts Include:

• Increasing and diversifying funding for senior nutrition and supportive services.

• Advancing and funding innovative coordinated care models and practices in the community to support the health, safety and well-being of seniors.

• Utilizing innovative technology solutions to support care coordination across healthcare and supportive service providers.

Home-based Nutrition, Monitoring and Care Navigation

In 2016, researchers at the West Health Institute, Meals on Wheels America and Brown University Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research began collaborating on a two-year project that investigated how the general health, safety and well-being of homebound seniors could be improved by integrating nutritional, health and safety monitoring into daily meal-delivery services, and by connecting seniors with the appropriate services and support they needed to mitigate risk for loss of independence. Meals on Wheels San Diego is one of two pilot sites where this research is currently being conducted.

Community-based Engagement – The Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center

Since 2009, Serving Seniors’ nonprofit Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center in San Diego has been providing local seniors with a place to connect with other seniors and to receive wellness services, including nutrition and health education, nurse case management, psychiatric nurses, support groups and free legal assistance and counseling related to Medicare and Medicaid.

360 Degree Caregiving Solution

Since 2017, the West Health Institute has been partnering with University of California, Irvine, on a 360 Degree Caregiving Solution. This initiative provides a comprehensive, coordinated patient-centered plan that links healthcare with community-based social service agencies to make sure older adults receive the care and services they need. By creating a more efficient connection between supportive services and healthcare providers, the initiative aims to preserve and protect seniors’ ability to live their lives on their own terms and to maintain medical and psychosocial stability.

West Health and The SCAN Foundation’s “We Stand With Seniors…Will You?” public awareness and education campaign focuses on the specific challenges seniors and their families face in accessing high-quality, affordable healthcare, dental care and supportive services and the cost to the state if these challenges are not addressed. Visit www.WeStandWithSeniors.org for more information. Keep up with #StandWithSeniors on social media via Facebook @WeStandWithSeniors and Twitter @WeStandWSeniors.