May 2022
The NJ LTCO and FACE NJ are pleased to host a free webinar with:
Eric Carlson, Directing Attorney, Justice in Aging
"The 25 Most Common Nursing Home Problems and
How to Resolve Them"
Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 6:30-8:00pm
Register at:
https://bit.ly/3yyAk5F
Gardening Expressions Game
1) you reap what you _ _ _ 2) life is a bowl of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3) fresh as a _ _ _ _ _
4) busy as a _ _ _ 5) take time to smell the _ _ _ _ _ 6) cool as a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Answers 1) sow 2) cherries 3) daisy 4) bee 5) roses 6) cucumber
LTCO Spotlight: Dignity for the Aged – New Jersey Chapter
On the occasion of Older Americans Month in May, LTCO salutes Dignity for the Aged – New Jersey Chapter, a recently-formed branch of the national Dignity for the Aged (DFTA) advocacy group. LTCO recently joined as a member.
DFTA was formed to organize and sustain a powerful consumer voice to ensure that all long-term care stakeholders can influence the local, state, and national decisions that improve the conditions in our facilities. For more information, search Facebook for “Dignity for the Aged New Jersey Chapter” group or https://dignityfortheaged.org, or contact Sam Kukich at skukich2002@yahoo.com or Lionel DeCuir at lioneldecuir@gmail.com.
DFTA has an exciting new special Facebook Group named Dignity for the Aged Young Adults in LTC Facilities. Long-term care is no longer synonymous with “geriatric care.” In the past ten years, adults ages 31 to 64 have been the fastest growing population in nursing homes.
It is hoped that this chapter will give young adults a place where they can get to know each other. And to give much needed support and information to each other. To join, search Facebook for “Dignity for the Aged Young Adults in LTC Facilities” group.
Moving Home: How Housing Developers and Nursing Home Resident Advocates Are Teaming Up to Change Lives
Hundreds of nursing home residents around the state want to move out, but many have no affordable or accessible place to go.
That’s where people like supportive housing developer Ken Regan come in. He joined forces with the Money Follows the Person Housing Partnership Program (MFPHPP) to build accessible rental apartments in three complexes in Howell and Clifton, for people moving out of nursing homes.
Each apartment has specialized features including roll-in showers, automatic entry door openers, fully accessible kitchens and bathrooms. These apartments are truly affordable for people with very low income levels.
The MFPHPP program and collaborations like this one with Ken Regan quite simply changes people’s lives. One such person is Darrius, 50. He lived two years in Cheshire Home after sustaining a serious injury, before moving into one of Ken’s affordable and accessible units.
“I love it! It’s small and it fits me,” he says of his apartment. “It’s close to all Paterson businesses. I can get there in my electric wheelchair, or I make appointments for the van to come pick me up.”
His home health aide visits every day. “I’ve always been independent. I go to my sister’s house, or to the park, or I might just chill out, watch TV.”
Darrius says if you’re a nursing home resident who wants to move to the community, you have to be pro-active: “You have to be strong, and do what you have to do for yourself.”
MFPHPP is a partnership between the NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency and the NJ Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services. The program provides capital subsidies to eligible housing developers so that they will set aside accessible, affordable housing units for residents transitioning out of nursing homes.
Funding for MFPHPP comes from savings from the Money Follows the Person program, a federal demonstration program to help individuals transition from institutions into the community. In New Jersey, this program is called I Choose Home NJ. For more information, visit www.ichoosehome.nj.gov or call 855-466-3005.
Official Site of The State of New Jersey
