Finding a Home for Those in Need
Carolyn came into the Arches to Wellness program at Adams County’s Paramount Senior Living needing to recover from stroke-like symptoms that had led to a brain aneurysm. At the time she was referred, it seemed unlikely that she could return to the place she had been living before; she was essentially homeless.
While in the Arches to Wellness recuperative care program, she was able to keep her specialist appointments with Wellspan Neurology in York and her primary care doctor in Hanover, thanks to the WellSpan Patient Help Fund providing transportation until she was connected to long-term transportation supports. Carolyn thrived in the program and focused on healing. She was able to secure housing on the Paramount campus at a discounted rate, and further received donated home items from local nonprofits. If she is required to move to a personal care home (PCH), she can more easily do that since she is on a senior living campus. Today, she is doing well.
Additional Programs
Arches to Wellness
This recuperative care program supports more than 100 patients annually in an acute or community setting who require a short-term place to heal. This 30- to 45-day program addresses medical and social complexities while offering shelter, basic necessities and access to community resources. PCHs and shelters partner with Arches to Wellness to lease beds for its patients during their time in the program. It has proven an 80% reduction in ED visits and 71% connection to permanent housing.
Omega Bed Program™
This partnership with local nursing facilities supports patients who are identified in an acute or community setting as requiring skilled nursing care. The program walks alongside nursing facilities to break down social barriers as well as address financial barriers to obtain a long-term payor and plan for the patient's health care journey. This program currently supports more than 170 patients annually by connecting them to short- or long-term rehab, when their social concerns would have otherwise been a barrier.
Alliance for Low-income Personal Care Home Advancement (ALPHA)
This initiative of the Healthy York Coalition garners local and state support for low-income personal cares homes (PCHs) across the state. ALPHA's mission is to keep these small PCHs for low-income individuals open and operating, so that older Pennsylvanians and individuals with physical disabilities can age with the dignity, respect and security they deserve. Since 2008, half of Pennsylvania's PCHs have closed, and COVID-19 has further devastated these facilities. Many PCH residents have lived in their facility for at least 15 years and have nowhere else to live.
In 2021-2022, ALPHA's advocacy at the local and state levels helped in securing a $20M annual increase for PCH residents, increasing the rate by $7.50 to $45.80 per day per resident. This directed $1,330,425 in funding to the 25 PCHs of Adams, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York Counties. ALPHA credits this success to expanding its advocacy base by 220 supporters, an increase of 488%. Additional work focused on approaching local municipalities and counties to secure funding for local SSI homes through directed ARPA grant dollars. In York County, such funding from the award was increased more than 207% over 2020.
