The Pennsylvania Departments of Health, Human Services, and Aging worked with various stakeholder groups to showcase recent improvements at a personal care home in Bethlehem. These upgrades were made possible through the Health Department’s Long-Term Care Transformation Office (LTCTO). The improvements were made to enhance the quality of care for elderly residents at Kirkland Village in Pennsylvania.
“During the pandemic, it became clear that the long-term care facilities in the Commonwealth needed assistance and guidance to effectively address the needs of their residents.” “The Long-Term Care Transformation Office was created to assist facilities in filling those gaps,” said Megan Barbour, Director of the Department of Health’s Long-Term Care Transformation Office. The Shapiro Administration is aware of and supports our work. They have suggested allocating $10 million in funding for our office in the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget. This funding will help ensure that older Pennsylvanians receive the necessary care.
Kirkland Village Executive Director Staci Warsaw talked about the facility’s investments that were made possible by funding from the LTCTO’s Quality Investment Pilot. These investments include adding more Wi-Fi access points on the campus and buying push-to-talk devices to help staff respond to residents’ needs more quickly. These upgrades help make life better for older people in Pennsylvania.
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Long-term care services and supports assist older adults in living as independently and fully as they can. “Supporting these communities and their staff is an important way we can make sure that many older Pennsylvanians do well as they get older,” said Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich. Pennsylvania’s 10-year plan for older adults, called Aging Our Way, PA, aims to update the existing blueprint created by the Long-Term Care Council. The plan focuses on improving wages, benefits, and training for care workers, as well as creating a career ladder for them to continue providing support to others.
“Personal care homes and assisted living facilities provide individuals with a place to live where they can stay independent and get the help they need to age in their community, where they want to be,” said Juliet Marsala, the Deputy Secretary for Long-Term Living at the Department of Human Services. “Kirkland Village and similar facilities are important places for long-term care in Pennsylvania. The Shapiro Administration is committed to supporting the staff and residents in these facilities as much as possible.”
In early 2023, the Health Department combined its previous care efforts in Pennsylvania into the LTCTO to help deal with the difficulties that the long-term care industry is facing.
The Office offers help and support to care communities, such as assisted living, intermediate care, skilled nursing, personal care homes, and state veterans homes. The organization collaborates with multiple state agencies and stakeholder organizations to gain a better understanding of industry challenges and make beneficial changes.
The Office’s main focus is on supporting the long-term care workforce, preventing infections, being prepared for emergencies, and responding effectively to outbreaks in order to keep residents safe.
In order to continue supporting long-term care in Pennsylvania and provide ongoing funding for the DOH’s Long-Term Care Transformation Office, Governor Shapiro has suggested investing $10 million to sustain the office’s work in 2024-2025.
The Long-Term Care Transformation Office is working to invest in the future of the long-term care workforce in the Commonwealth. This aligns with the ongoing workforce development efforts of the Shapiro Administration, which include:
- There are $2.6 million available in awards for apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship opportunities.
- A $23.5 million investment has been allocated for workforce training and vocational-technical programs in the state budget for 2023-2024.
- The School-to-Work program will receive $3.5 million in funding as part of the 2023-2024 state budget.
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