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December 4, 2009

DHH awards $20,000 to ULM’s Institute of Gerontology

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals awarded $20,000 in funding to the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s Institute of Gerontology. The funding will be used to evaluate Louisiana Adult Day Health Care providers.

Director of the Institute and Assistant Professor of Gerontology Dr. Iftekhar Amin said that the project would examine what services are actually being provided by ADHCs and how it compares to what is reported on the participants’ plan of care. There are 33 ADHC providers in Louisiana.

With the growing cost of long-term care, there has been an increased interest in strengthening the home and community-based service system nationally and in Louisiana, according to Amin.

“This study will provide us a better and more detailed understanding of the actual services that Louisiana ADHC providers perform on day to day basis,” said Amin, the project’s principal investigator.

Based on the findings, the Institute will make recommendations to DHH on how to improve ADHC services.

“As individuals are increasingly invested in remaining at home or with their caregivers, ADHCs are frequently identified as the most attractive care option,” said Amin. “Home and community-based services are a great cost-saving resource for state Medicaid dollars.”

The evaluation model will build on the ULM Institute of Gerontology’s solid foundation for being the state’s leader in Gerontology education and research, he said.

ULM offers the state's only Institute of Gerontology with an emphasis on long-term care. In addition, the Institute is active in statewide training; workshops and community service for long term care institution.

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