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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Jean Demmler, PhD, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, 2148 S. High St., Denver, CO 80208, 303-871-4099, jdemmler@du.edu
The high rate of population increase of older adults with mental disorders places great demand on our public mental health and human service systems. Examination of two current Home and Community-based Services (HCBS) programs for long term care should inform decisions about how best to address this imminent and substantially increased demand for public services.
The presentation reports on analyses of Medicaid claims data that provide an initial understanding of typical types of community long-term care service patterns for older adults with mental disorders who are at risk of nursing home placement. Medical care, support services (e.g. personal care and homemaking services) and specialty mental health service units have been examined for a population of approximately 2000 HCBS clients with mental disorders. Not surprisingly, the study finds that specialty public mental health services is a small component of service packages currently provided to community-based long term care clients with mental disorders. Furthermore, such specialty mental health care within the long-term care system appears to be dependent upon HCBS program locus within service systems, a finding that has implications for meeting the future needs of this population.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Mental Health Services, Aging
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.