The Center for Elders’ Independence & PACE help aging tenants stay safe in their homes
By Grant Chappell
I first learned about Center for Elders’ Independence back in 2009 through a long–time supporter whom I had met through real estate work. I was in my third year on the EBRHA Board at the time. Healthcare was becoming more of a hot button issue as the Affordable Care Act was in the nascent stage before ultimately becoming law the following year. Getting involved in volunteer work for CEI,and ultimately joining their Board of Directors, has opened my eyes to a model of healthcare that is second to none in my opinion.
Aging Tenants
As California ages — the over-65 population will double in the next 10 years — and the number of elderly renters rises, property owners are often faced with tenants who become frail and less able to care for themselves. This can expose tenants and the owner to safety hazards, such as fires when someone forgets to turn off the stove, or floods when water is left running. What can a landlord do when a tenant seems to need help?
Most brokers, property managers and owners have come across similar situations in dealing with long term, elderly tenants. Often times the owner or manager becomes the de facto “family” in assisting with issues that come up later in life. These challenges are often not widely talked about as resources are few. If the tenant does not have family nearby to turn to with these difficult decisions, what options are there for the property owner?
Alternatives for Elders
Most people would much rather remain at home with some level of independence, and many landlords would prefer not to evict long-term tenants if it can be avoided. In many places, moving to a nursing home may be the only option for someone with significant physical and/or cognitive decline.
In the East Bay, frail, low-income seniors have an excellent alternative: the nonprofit Center for Elders’ Independence (CEI), a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). CEI offers comprehensive, integrated health care and social services designed to keep seniors functioning at their highest possible level, so they can stay living safely and with dignity in the place they call home. Nationally, there are 96 PACE organizations in 31 states.
I joined the CEI Board of Directors in 2010 because they do such vital work caring for the most vulnerable members of our community. Later, when the Fund for Elders’ Independence (FEI) was formed to support CEI, I became a founding FEI trustee. In these roles, I have been able to observe the organization’s development and growth to its current enrollment of more than 600 seniors who might be living in nursing homes if it were not for CEI’s comprehensive care.
The three PACE Centers in Oakland and one in Berkeley serve seniors in central and northern Alameda County and West Contra Costa County, from Hayward and Oakland, to Richmond and San Pablo.
A Safe and Healthy Environment
Whenever I visit, the centers are always humming: seniors socializing, enjoying art projects and musical entertainment, playing games that exercise their brains, and getting physical exercise so they can keep moving.
CEI’s pastel-colored buses are a common sight on the freeways and in our neighborhoods, bringing participants to the centers for health care, activities, and lunch, or taking them to outside appointments and then back home.
“We sometimes get calls from property managers concerned about a frail tenant,” CEI Outreach/Intake Director Marvin Gibson said. “We can quickly go out and screen the person for eligibility for CEI-PACE. If the person doesn’t qualify for our program, we can refer him to other community resources.”
For instance, if you have a tenant who is hoarding and then, because of medical conditions, may be losing her balance, afraid to go outside, not eating right because she can’t go shopping, and falling so the paramedics are constantly showing up, CEI-PACE can help stabilize things.
Providing Home Care
Home care aides can also go in and clean the apartments, the CEI occupational and physical therapists can survey the apartment and make improvements, such as installing grab bars, to prevent falls. Also, a transportation driver will come to the door and into the apartment to escort a senior to the PACE Center clinic and day center, and to deliver medications and equipment. CEI can even arrange a shopping service, meal delivery and aides to prepare meals in the apartment.
“CEI’s PACE program has been incredibly effective in stabilizing many of our residents at Satellite Affordable Housing Associates,” Director of Resident Services Shashi Jivan said. “Our residents who participate in the CEI program are receiving extensive medical care, ongoing services such as physical therapy, in-home care services, day center activities, and transportation to and from CEI, and to all medical related appointments. This incredible partnership and the services that our residents receive are integral to their ability to live independently at our properties and age in place successfully.”
CEI Program Benefits
CEI provides and/or pays for all medical care (24 hours a day) and all medications (home-delivered). Its four day centers each include a fully equipped geriatric clinic, recreational activities, hot meals, rehabilitation therapy, social services, home care and transportation.
Participants have access to a physician, specialists and nursing care; prescription drugs and durable equipment; physical, occupational and speech therapies; dental, eye and foot care; surgery and diagnostic tests; and inpatient hospital, emergency and nursing home care.
CEI social workers and home care nurses regularly visit each participant at home to assess safety factors, arrange home-delivered meals or help with managing finances/paying bills, supervise personal care aides, assist with organizing belongings, and help with medications and proper use of assistive equipment.
“If a participant’s environment changes, such as a move or return from a hospital stay, we go and check on them,” CEI Home Care RN Ellen Swords said. “If they’re having trouble with their medications, or they’re on a new medication, we’ll visit to make sure that they understand. If they’re not feeling well, we go check on them. We visit to draw blood, give shots, change bandages and teach family members. We communicate everything we see and do with the service that needs to know, and bring it to the CEI Interdisciplinary Team. And on top of that, if a participant needs supplies urgently and there isn’t a driver available, we’ll go. We also take turns being on-call.”
This intensive case management means that CEI staff knows the participant’s home environment and can intervene quickly to prevent a situation from getting worse.
CEI works with family members and significant others, including neighbors and landlords, to see that seniors get the help they need to stay independent with a good quality of life.
Aging With Dignity
CEI believes that all seniors deserve to age with dignity. Every day, CEI provides all the care frail seniors need to continue living independently in their homes, and relieves family members and friends struggling to care for their loved ones.
CEI serves some of the toughest areas of Oakland. I began to see the stability they bring to the community in allowing seniors to stay in their home through the final years of their life. In many cases, the participant has lived in the same home or apartment most of their adult lives and do not want to move into a nursing home.
Similar to the way in which private landlords provide quality housing throughout the county, CEI plays an important role in maintaining a strong, vibrant community that should be recognized and celebrated.
I urge rental property owners who find themselves in the default role of caregiver for a tenant who becomes frail to call upon CEI to ensure the safety and security of your tenants. Whether your tenant is an advanced age with chronic health conditions, or whether your tenant lives alone or with others, I encourage you to call. For more information on CEI and PACE, visit cei.elders.org or call Dianna Garrett at 510-433-1150.
I’m proud to be part of this worthwhile organization and advise its leadership on business and fundraising matters.
Safe housing is an important aspect of independence for seniors, and CEI complements our professional interests as well.
Grant Chappell is the Vice President
of NAI Northern California. He can be
reached at [email protected]
or 510-972-4941.
