The state has cut $6.4 million of funding from home care programs, which forced agencies such as Old Colony Elder Services (OCES), a non-profit Aging Services Access Point (ASAP), to put many applicants on a waiting list for home care services.

According to Al Norman, executive director of the Massachusetts Home Care Association, home care programs serve approximately 30,000 elders; this year, $16 million has been cut from the approximate $280 million used to fund home care programs. As of early September, OCES and the 26 other ASAPs began putting elders on a waiting list as mandated by the Executive Office of Elder Affairs due to state budget issues.

But, despite this, OCES urges elders who need home care to apply for it and keep checking back with the agency.

“We have begun to put elders on a waiting list, but that does not mean that home care will not be available to them at all. It may just take a little longer before they receive services. Home care services are meant for elders who are critically ill. We are allowed to make exceptions for those elders most in need. An elder who has a MassHealth waiver; who is in hospice or has been discharged from a nursing home or hospital will not be put on the waiting list. An elder who is involved in an elder abuse case will not put on the waiting list. We strongly urge elders to apply for home care and contact us to discuss their unique situations,” explained Diana DiGiorgi, executive director of OCES.

For more information about Home Care, contact OCES at (508) 584-1561.

About OCES
Incorporated in 1974, Old Colony Elder Services (OCES) is one of 27 private, non-profit Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

OCES offers a number of programs to serve seniors, families and caregivers such as Family Caregiver; Caring Homes and Enhanced Adult Family Care; Supportive Housing; Nutrition; Money Management; Protective Services; Home Care and more.

OCES serves elders, their families and caregivers in the towns of Abington, Avon, Bridgewater, Brockton, Carver, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Easton, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Kingston, Lakeville, Marshfield, Middleboro, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rockland, Stoughton, Wareham, West Bridgewater and Whitman. 

The organization's mission is to provide services that support the dignity and independence of elders by helping them maximize their quality of life; live safely and in good health; and, prevent
unnecessary or premature institutionalization. 

The agency has 140 employees and operates more than 12 programs serving elders, their families and caregivers.  For more information call (508) 584-1561 or visit the website at www.oldcolonyelderservices.org.

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