Keeping seniors safe and independent in their homes.
PHILADELPHIA (July 6, 2021) – Hands from the Heart Home Healthcare Services (HFTH), an expanding privately-owned and operated home care company based in Southeast Pennsylvania, has partnered with The Hairston Foundation for Social Justice (Hairston Foundation) to help seniors in the Philadelphia region age safely at home. The partners today announced the local expansion of an innovative national program developed by nurses at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing known as “CAPABLE,” which stands for Community Aging in Place – Advancing Better Living for Elders.
CAPABLE is designed to make it easier for seniors to age in place at home. The program focuses primarily on low-income seniors and has proven to enhance the health and quality of life of participants. CAPABLE teams a nurse (RN), an occupational therapist (OT), and a handy worker to collectively address physical challenges caused by the aging process that make it difficult for seniors to continue living at home while using the strengths of the seniors themselves to improve safety and independence.
HFTH will begin enrolling eligible seniors residing in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware Counties into the HFTH CAPABLE program in July 2021. All services of CAPABLE are completely free to the participating seniors.
“Each member of the CAPABLE team has a specific role: the nurse provides overall health assessments and recommendations; the occupational therapist works to develop functional goals such as walking stairs or reaching up into cabinets safely; and the handy worker makes modest home modifications necessary to reduce risks, which may enable the senior to access areas of the home that may have been difficult due to age or illness,” according to Christine Hunsberger-Smith, Director of Operations at HFTH.
The RN and OT services are provided by HFTH medical professionals, and the home repairs are provided by contracted specialists. The program is made possible, in part, through a grant from The Hairston Foundation.
“CAPABLE is a life changing program for so many people living with chronic illness due to age or disability. Our foundation is pleased to play a small part in helping to expand CAPABLE and improve the health and independence of seniors in our region,” said Roosevelt Hairston, CEO of The Hairston Foundation.
HFTH and the Hairston Foundation are actively seeking community partnerships to provide program funding and to help identify eligible program participants. Interested parties are asked to contact Christine Hunsberger-Smith for more information at hunsberger@handsfromtheheart.org or capable@handsfromtheheart.org.
About Hands from the Heart Home Healthcare Services
Hands From the Heart is an expanding Pennsylvania privately owned and operated home care company. We are committed to providing exceptional care to seniors and people with physical disabilities living in the Greater Philadelphia region, Reading, the Lehigh Valley and Harrisburg. Our mission is to provide the highest quality and most comprehensive non-medical homecare services through compassionate and well-trained caregivers dedicated to supporting the unique lifestyles and specific needs of our clients and their families.
About The Hairston Foundation
Founded in 2017, The Hairston Foundation is a private, non-profit organization created to address the needs of a growing population of individuals living at or below the poverty level in Philadelphia and other urban areas. Through our connections, community involvement and partnerships, the Hairston Foundation aims to smooth and simplify access to programs and services that address basic human needs and to lessen the systemic burdens placed on marginalized communities.
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