• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Council on Aging
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
DONATE

  • Home
  • Programs & Services Programs & Services
    Overview
    Home & Community-based Care Options
    • Elderly Services Program
    • AddnAide
    • PASSPORT
    • Assisted Living Waiver
    • MyCare Ohio
    • Specialized Recovery Services Program
    Transitional Care
    • FastTrack Home
    Hamilton County Senior Utility and Home Repair Assistance Program
    Aging and Disability Resource Center
    Caregiver Support Program
    • EVRTalk virtual reality caregiver training
    • Working Caregivers
    Health & Wellness Programs
    • Connecting the Dots
    • Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
    Nursing Home Pre-Admission Review
    Other Services
  • Find Resources Find Resources
    Search for Resources
    Document Library
    • Annual Reports
  • Service Providers Service Providers
    Working with Council on Aging
    • Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
    Overview
    PASSPORT & Assisted Living
    • Prospective Provider Information
    • Current PASSPORT Provider Information
    Elderly Services Program
    • Current ESP Provider Information
    • Clinton County Senior Services Grant
    Title III, Senior Community Services & Alzheimer State Funds
    • Information for Current Title III Providers
    Care Management & Billing
  • About About
    Overview
    Working at COA
    • Open Positions
    • Employee Thoughts
    Senior Leadership Team
    • Board & Advisory Councils
    Advocacy
    Funding
    • Tax Levies
    How to Help
    • Donate
    • Volunteers Needed
  • News & Events News & Events
    Overview
    Coronavirus and Vaccine Information
    News
    Newsletters
    • Join our Mailing List
    Events
    • Forum on Aging
    Public Meetings
  • Contact Contact
    Overview
    Make a Referral
    Contact Form
    Service Excellence Awards
    Communication & Media
    Outreach Bureau
    Title VI
  • Home
  • Programs & Services Programs & Services
    Overview
    Home & Community-based Care Options
    • Elderly Services Program
    • AddnAide
    • PASSPORT
    • Assisted Living Waiver
    • MyCare Ohio
    • Specialized Recovery Services Program
    Transitional Care
    • FastTrack Home
    Hamilton County Senior Utility and Home Repair Assistance Program
    Aging and Disability Resource Center
    Caregiver Support Program
    • EVRTalk virtual reality caregiver training
    • Working Caregivers
    Health & Wellness Programs
    • Connecting the Dots
    • Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
    Nursing Home Pre-Admission Review
    Other Services
  • Find Resources Find Resources
    Search for Resources
    Document Library
    • Annual Reports
  • Service Providers Service Providers
    Working with Council on Aging
    • Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
    Overview
    PASSPORT & Assisted Living
    • Prospective Provider Information
    • Current PASSPORT Provider Information
    Elderly Services Program
    • Current ESP Provider Information
    • Clinton County Senior Services Grant
    Title III, Senior Community Services & Alzheimer State Funds
    • Information for Current Title III Providers
    Care Management & Billing
  • About About
    Overview
    Working at COA
    • Open Positions
    • Employee Thoughts
    Senior Leadership Team
    • Board & Advisory Councils
    Advocacy
    Funding
    • Tax Levies
    How to Help
    • Donate
    • Volunteers Needed
  • News & Events News & Events
    Overview
    Coronavirus and Vaccine Information
    News
    Newsletters
    • Join our Mailing List
    Events
    • Forum on Aging
    Public Meetings
  • Contact Contact
    Overview
    Make a Referral
    Contact Form
    Service Excellence Awards
    Communication & Media
    Outreach Bureau
    Title VI
Council on Aging
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
DONATE
(513) 721-1025
  • Home
  • Programs & Services Programs & Services
    Overview
    Home & Community-based Care Options
    • Elderly Services Program
    • AddnAide
    • PASSPORT
    • Assisted Living Waiver
    • MyCare Ohio
    • Specialized Recovery Services Program
    Transitional Care
    • FastTrack Home
    Hamilton County Senior Utility and Home Repair Assistance Program
    Aging and Disability Resource Center
    Caregiver Support Program
    • EVRTalk virtual reality caregiver training
    • Working Caregivers
    Health & Wellness Programs
    • Connecting the Dots
    • Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
    Nursing Home Pre-Admission Review
    Other Services
  • Find Resources Find Resources
    Search for Resources
    Document Library
    • Annual Reports
  • Service Providers Service Providers
    Working with Council on Aging
    • Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
    Overview
    PASSPORT & Assisted Living
    • Prospective Provider Information
    • Current PASSPORT Provider Information
    Elderly Services Program
    • Current ESP Provider Information
    • Clinton County Senior Services Grant
    Title III, Senior Community Services & Alzheimer State Funds
    • Information for Current Title III Providers
    Care Management & Billing
  • About About
    Overview
    Working at COA
    • Open Positions
    • Employee Thoughts
    Senior Leadership Team
    • Board & Advisory Councils
    Advocacy
    Funding
    • Tax Levies
    How to Help
    • Donate
    • Volunteers Needed
  • News & Events News & Events
    Overview
    Coronavirus and Vaccine Information
    News
    Newsletters
    • Join our Mailing List
    Events
    • Forum on Aging
    Public Meetings
  • Contact Contact
    Overview
    Make a Referral
    Contact Form
    Service Excellence Awards
    Communication & Media
    Outreach Bureau
    Title VI
Council on Aging
DONATE
(513) 721-1025
Thanks for visiting, but before you go...

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at COA and in the fields of aging and disability services:

Sign Up
  • Home
  • Programs & Services
    • Overview
    • Home & Community-based Care Options
      • Elderly Services Program
      • AddnAide
      • PASSPORT
      • Assisted Living Waiver
      • MyCare Ohio
      • Specialized Recovery Services Program
    • Transitional Care
      • FastTrack Home
    • Hamilton County Senior Utility and Home Repair Assistance Program
    • Aging and Disability Resource Center
    • Caregiver Support Program
      • EVRTalk virtual reality caregiver training
      • Working Caregivers
    • Health & Wellness Programs
      • Connecting the Dots
      • Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
    • Nursing Home Pre-Admission Review
    • Other Services
  • Find Resources
    • Search for Resources
    • Document Library
      • Annual Reports
  • Service Providers
    • Working with Council on Aging
      • Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
    • Overview
    • PASSPORT & Assisted Living
      • Prospective Provider Information
      • Current PASSPORT Provider Information
    • Elderly Services Program
      • Current ESP Provider Information
      • Clinton County Senior Services Grant
    • Title III, Senior Community Services & Alzheimer State Funds
      • Information for Current Title III Providers
    • Care Management & Billing
  • About
    • Overview
    • Working at COA
      • Open Positions
      • Employee Thoughts
    • Senior Leadership Team
      • Board & Advisory Councils
    • Advocacy
    • Funding
      • Tax Levies
    • How to Help
      • Donate
      • Volunteers Needed
  • News & Events
    • Overview
    • Coronavirus and Vaccine Information
    • News
    • Newsletters
      • Join our Mailing List
    • Events
      • Forum on Aging
    • Public Meetings
  • Contact
    • Overview
    • Make a Referral
    • Contact Form
    • Service Excellence Awards
    • Communication & Media
    • Outreach Bureau
    • Title VI
Home > News > Program flexibility helps families connect with care despite home health aide shortage

Program flexibility helps families connect with care despite home health aide shortage

May 23, 2022

Service Spotlight: Consumer Directed Care

A nationwide shortage of qualified home health workers is making it difficult to provide critical in-home care services for older adults in southwestern Ohio, but Council on Aging (COA) has added flexibility to its largest program – the Elderly Services Program (ESP) – so families have other options when they need care.

Locally, the national aide shortage is making it difficult for traditional home health agencies to recruit and retain aides. COA contracts with these providers to deliver in-home services to clients enrolled in its programs. As a result, older adults who rely on this critical care – including those enrolled in ESP – experience delays in starting their services, irregularities in their service schedule and inconsistencies in the aide who provides their care.  

One way COA has tried to alleviate some of the disruption caused by the aide shortage is to give clients and families the ability to hire their own workers.

That was the case for Warren County ESP client, Chris, 81. A traditional home health aide helped her with personal care, housekeeping and errands. But Chris’ daughter, Cheryl, and her niece, Lynn, were stepping in more and more to provide care, taking time away from work and other family responsibilities.

L to R: Chris, with her neice and Consumer Directed Care aide, Lynn, and ESP Care Manager, Maggie

Then Chris’ ESP care manager, Maggie, told the family about an option available to ESP clients. Called consumer-directed care (CDC), COA added this option to ESP in Butler, Clinton, Hamilton and Warren counties as a way to help alleviate local service problems caused by the home health aide shortage.

Here’s how it works: Instead of using a home care agency, clients become “employers” and hire their own “employees” to provide certain authorized services, which are paid for by ESP. In many cases, the employee is someone the client already knows – a relative or friend. CDC increases independence and program satisfaction for the client, while using ESP resources more effectively.

In Chris’ case, her niece, Lynn, was hired as her aide. Lynn helped Chris with everything a traditional aide would do – cleaning, laundry, shopping and bathing. CDC offers more flexibility in the services the aide can provide. For example, Lynn provides transportation to Chris’ appointments.

ESP care manager, Maggie, helped the family enroll in CDC. As the administrator for ESP, Council on Aging contracts with a Financial Management Services (FMS) provider to make the process of being an “employer” easier on clients and their families. The FMS provider, on the client’s behalf, manages all the financial- and payroll-related responsibilities, in addition to criminal background checks that go along with being an employer.

COA recently rebid this service and selected Palco, Inc. from among the qualified bidders. The new contract took effect in January 2022 and the process of transitioning current CDC clients is now under way.

“The new contract with Palco could not have come at a better time,” said Ken Wilson, COA’s vice president of program operations. “The aide shortage is impacting ESP’s ability to match clients with home health aides through traditional avenues such as home care agencies. The FMS provider is a key partner in helping us expand the consumer-directed care option of ESP, enabling older adults to work outside of those traditional sources to hire their own aides or caregivers.”

Wilson added that Palco has a history of working with older adults who use programs like ESP to hire their own aides. He said with the transition to Palco, clients who hire their own caregiver can expect a faster enrollment process with expert customer support. “Ultimately, this means we’ll be able to expand the consumer-directed care service to more older adults,” Wilson said.

Nodding in Lynn’s direction, Chris said, “This one has saved my life. I would have been in a nursing home without her.”

Cheryl, Chris’ daughter, works full time but lives nearby and stays involved in her mother’s care. “Lynn is a Godsend,” Cheryl said. “That’s all I can say. I do what I can for my mom – visiting and cooking – but I wouldn’t be able to work without ESP.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the consumer-directed care option of the Elderly Services Program can use the phone numbers below for information:

  • Hamilton County: call (513) 721-1025 or (800) 252-0155, Option 2
  • Clinton County: call (937) 584-7200 or (800) 252-0155
  • Butler County: call (513) 868-9281
  • Warren County: call (513) 695-2271

Part of this story was first featured in the Warren County Elderly Services Program 2018 Annual Report.

Primary Sidebar

MOST RECENT

You are invited to join us and learn about COA's support for caregivers

Federal government ends SNAP emergency payments

COA joins Hamilton County 513Relief Bus program

Council on Aging Board Member Profile: Kay Bolden

PASSPORT program provides support to keep Mt. Healthy resident in his home

Archives

  • Council on Aging and home52 Terms of Use
  • Links Policy
  • HIPAA
  • Site Map
  • Home52
(513) 721-1025

Copyright © 2023 · Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio. 4601 Malsbary Road | Blue Ash, OH 45242 | Log in

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

  • Council on Aging and home52 Terms of Use
  • Links Policy
  • HIPAA
  • Site Map
  • Home52
This website uses cookies and other tracking technologies to assist with navigation, monitor site usage and web traffic, assist with our promotional and marketing efforts, and customize and improve our services and website. For more information about cookies and how we use them please see our Privacy Policy. Accept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Thanks for visiting, but before you go...

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at COA and in the fields of aging and disability services:

Sign Up