Aug 1, 2007
Seniors want to stay at home, as part of their community, for as long as possible, and the Kansas Department on Aging (KDOA) seeks ways to help them to do that. As part of that effort, KDOA and the Kansas Health Policy Authority have signed a research contract with the Kansas University Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth (KUCTT) at the Kansas University Medical Center to determine the effectiveness of a novel approach to link health care providers with the elderly in their home communities.
KDOA recently awarded Windsor Place At-Home Care in Coffeyville a $120,000 grant to establish a long-term care home telehealth pilot program. Ryan Spaulding, PhD (Director of KUCTT) will be the Principal Investigator for the research portion of this project, while Linda Redford, PhD (Landon Center on Aging) will be the Co-Investigator.
This proactive care model involves both technology and telecommunications. It provides participants with chronic diseases the opportunity to take an active role in their health care by helping to identify the need for preventive intervention before situations become acute. Components of the pilot project include disease management, care/case management, self-management and technology.
The pilot project will involve 50 persons with chronic diseases from the nine-county area served by the Southeast Kansas Area Agency on Aging in Chanute. Participants will be selected from those receiving Home and Community-Based Services for the Frail Elderly (HCBS/FE).
“What we hear from seniors is they want to stay home,” KDOA Secretary Kathy Greenlee said. “We are looking for innovative ways to support quality, community-based long-term care. Because of the number of seniors who will need care in the future, we need to look right now at new ways to use technology.”
Several studies have found that remote monitoring of health conditions resulted in fewer hospitalizations and improved functional status compared to cases that relied on clinical management only.
“Today, we continue to service the long-term care needs of seniors at home as long as possible and defer institutional placement through these HCBS services,” said Monte Coffman, executive director of Windsor Place At-Home Care. “For over a decade, Windsor Place has been practicing this philosophy, but for it to be truly successful, a disease monitoring component needs to be added to the current homemaker and attendant care services. We are excited about being involved in this pilot effort.”
For further information, contact
Barb Conant,
Director of Public Affairs
(BarbaraConant@aging.state.ks.us),
or
Ryan Spaulding, PhD,
Director,
Kansas University Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth
(rspaulding@kumc.edu).
©
The University of Kansas Medical Center