Local News

JFS Forced To Shift Home Care

Jewish Family Services restructures its in-home nursing aide program.

Because of rising costs and increasing demand, Jewish Family Service is restructuring its program for delivering in-home care. Beginning July 1, the organization will no longer provide certified nursing assistants to assist in personal care needs in the residences of the elderly and patients in hospice care.

JFS will now offer financial subsidies, ranging from $1 to $10 per hour, for clients to purchase in-home care from an outside provider of their choice. The subsidies will cover up to eight hours a week of care for those who qualify financially for the service.

Previously, JFS provided direct in-home care to clients for a maximum of eight hours per week. The program offered clients supplemental assistance with personal care needs. It also helped elderly individuals who required limited care, such as bathing, to remain in their homes longer.

In addition to salaries, the cost for JFS to employ certified nursing aides included training, benefits and administrative costs. “We wanted to put more money into the hands of those who needed the service,” said JFS executive director Barbara Levy Gradet.

Last year, JFS provided 25,000 hours of care to the community through the program. By eliminating operational costs, the organization expects to provide clients with the equivalent of 27,600 hours in care.

In the past, clients who qualified for an aide were responsible for a co-payment. In the current year, the minimum co-payment was $7, and clients were charged on a sliding scale, depending on how much they could afford.

With increased costs, that number was expected to rise. “We were pricing ourselves out of the market, and this was disadvantaging our clients,” said Ms. Gradet.

A 2006 study conducted by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. found that the average pay for a home care worker obtained through a licensed Maryland agency ranged from $13 to $20 hourly.

“We want to stretch our money so that we can provide some help and preserve the program as a vital community resource,” said Ms. Gradet.

JFS currently employs 30 certified nursing assistants. The assistants were told of the restructuring earlier this week, and JFS expects to help them find new positions, if needed.

When JFS began providing in-home personal care service 30 years ago, there were few other providers, according to Ms. Gradet. Now, she said there are a number of options available in the community.

To read more, pick up a copy of the Jewish Times at one of our newsstand locations.

To purchase a subscription or send a gift subscription, click here.