Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) partnered with Area Agency on Aging, a non-profit organization that provides resources and helps make vaccines more easily accessible within Maricopa County’s communities— especially among people aged 60 years or older and adults with disabilities.
The Area Agency on Aging Region One is one of eight non-profit agencies within Arizona operating in Maricopa County. The agency provides programs and services to adults older than 60, family caregivers of older adults, people aged 18-59 with physical disabilities and long-term care needs, and persons 18 and older who are living with a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS.
Christine Liberato, director of the Healing at Home Care Transitions program, works with the Area Agency on Aging to encourage vaccinations among adults 60 years and older.
Liberato said to remove any potential barriers, they provided free transportation to any COVID-19 vaccination site, including the MCDPH and Area Agency on Aging’s partnered vaccine clinics, such as the ones held at the South Mountain Missionary Baptist Church on Aug. 20 and Sept. 10.
Scott Hawthornthwaite, the director of care coordination at Area Agency on Aging, said that the Healing at Home Care Transitions program was a regular care transitions program, which recently implemented services for adults diagnosed with COVID-19 and recently-discharged COVID-19 patients who meet the eligibility for the Area Agency on Aging’s services.
“Our goal is to prevent hospital readmission,” Hawthornthwaite said.
According to Hawthornthwaite, hospital readmission happens within 30 days for adults 60 years and older. The agency implemented an intervention plan to provide services for at least 30 days and up to 90 days based on need.
This intervention plan to provide older adults with comprehensive care services – such as home-delivered meals, grocery shopping assistance, weekly telephone reassurance calls, and arrangement of follow-up visits to specialists and PCPs – helped prevent readmission by reducing the number of people who go back to the hospital to only 8%, according to Hawthornthwaite.
The partnership with MCDPH helps Area Agency on Aging promote not only its COVID-related services, but other services for people who are eligible within ZIP code areas in Maricopa County where vaccination intake is low.
Hawthornthwaite added that anyone who has questions or wants further information about the programs provided by the Area Agency on Aging can call its 24-hour Senior Help Line at 602-264-4357 or visit the facility at 1366 E. Thomas Road, Suite 108.
Contact the reporter at mbautis8@asu.edu
