Nursing Facility Transitions

CONNECTICUT

Grant Information

Name of Grantee

Department of Social Services, Health Care Financing

Title of Grant

Nursing Facility Transitions to Independent Living

Type of Grant

Nursing Facility Transitions, State Program

Amount of Grant

$800,000

Year Original Funding Received

2001

Completed

Contact Information

David Parrella, Medicaid Director
860-424-5116
david.parrella@po.state.ct.us

Dawn Lambert, Program Administrator
25 Sigourney Street
Hartford, CT 06106-5033
860-424-4897
dawn.lambert@po.state.ct.us

Subcontractor(s)

Connecticut Association of Centers for Independent Living, Inc. (CACIL)

Paul C. Ford
860-656-0430
paulatcacil@megahits.com

Target Population(s)

Nursing facility residents who want to return to independent community living.

Goals

  • Identify and transition 150 nursing facility residents who want to return to independent community living.
  • Develop an effective and sustainable community-based system of transition for individuals residing in nursing facilities who desire to live in the community and can be appropriately served in the community.
  • Establish a strong partnership with Connecticut's Centers for Independent Living (CILs).

Activities

  • Research, evaluate, and implement best practices in nursing facility transition.
  • Design and implement an effective outreach campaign with materials that inform nursing facility residents and their families about long-term care alternatives.
  • Design professional development and value-based training for targeted audiences that includes information about the needs of persons with disabilities, the principles of independent living, self-determination and social role valorization, and cultural diversity.
  • Create a flexible financial resource that will facilitate the transition of nursing facility residents back to the community and give them increased self-direction and control.
  • Develop and implement a volunteer peer support network that will provide technical assistance to persons transitioning to the community and their families, and provide the critical link to the informal community system.
  • Develop an effective system to access affordable, accessible housing resources.
  • Implement a demonstration project to transition 150 people out of nursing facilities.

Abstract

CACIL will be responsible for the overall management and administration of grant activities including the provision of financial support for project staff in the five CILs that will implement the project's activities.

This grant grew out of an awareness that there is a lack of training and education about the needs of persons with disabilities living in the community and that this has led to a long-term care system that is not responsive to the needs of consumers or their families. Connecticut does not have a system in place to identify nursing facility residents who are appropriate for transition to the community. Connecticut nursing facility residents do not have information about the choices available to them or a way to identify themselves as possible transition candidates. Systems fragmentation and the eligibility requirements of community-based programs leave many people unable to find adequate community support.

To address these issues, the grant will be used to develop a variety of products to better inform state agency staff, professionals in the community, and nursing facility residents about the concepts of independent living and self-direction. Best practices and policies will be identified and made available. A self-assessment tool and a "step-by-step" guide to community transition will be developed so that nursing facility residents and their families can assess their readiness for a successful transition. A professional assessment tool along with a procedures and marketing plan for distributing information to nursing facility residents will be developed. A Common Sense Fund will be established to help pay for items that are usually not covered by government programs, such as rental deposits, utility deposits, and household goods. All of these products will form the foundation of the system being designed to transition nursing home residents back to community living.