Hebrew SeniorLife Receives The John A. Hartford Foundation 2021 Business Innovation Award
n4a’s Aging and Disability Business Institute Recognized Hebrew SeniorLife for its Innovative Program that Integrates Health Care Services and Housing
BOSTON – The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging’s (n4a) Aging and Disability Business Institute presented Hebrew SeniorLife with The John A. Hartford Foundation 2021 Business Innovation Award for its remarkable program that integrates health care services and housing. The award was presented today at n4a’s 46th Annual Conference and Tradeshow.
According to n4a CEO Sandy Markwood, “n4a’s Aging and Disability Business Institute is proud to recognize Hebrew SeniorLife. It has demonstrated remarkable dedication to addressing the holistic needs of older adults and people with disabilities at the community level.”
Terry Fulmer, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., President of The John A. Hartford Foundation, added, “The John A. Hartford Foundation Business Innovation Award hopes to inspire all community-based organizations to create age-friendly partnerships with hospitals, health plans, and with one another through regional networks. These relationships are the centerpiece of an age-friendly ecosystem.”
Hebrew SeniorLife offers senior living communities and Harvard Medical School-affiliated health care services to older adults and people with disabilities across the Greater Boston area. Launched in 2016 as a demonstration project, Hebrew SeniorLife’s innovative Right Care, Right Place, Right Time: Effectively Integrating Senior Care and Housing (R3) program integrates housing and health care by embedding a nurse and a social worker in housing sites to proactively coordinate care of older residents. More than 1,100 low-income older adults live in the seven housing sites that have been part of the program to date. R3 has helped close the gap on key risk factors, reduce hospital visits, and increase engagement in self-care among participants.
R3’s significant success led to partnerships focused on building sustainability and replicability. Hebrew SeniorLife now partners with Commonwealth Care Alliance, a nationally recognized not-for-profit, community-based, integrated health care organization, conducting a payment model trial with the goal of financial sustainability. The partnership between Hebrew SeniorLife and Commonwealth Care Alliance has created a model that has the potential to shape the way housing and health care is paid for locally and nationally.
“It is an honor to receive this incredible award from The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Aging and Disability Business Institute of n4a,” said Kim Brooks, Chief Operating Officer, Senior Living, Hebrew SeniorLife. “We are committed to the important work of integrating senior housing and care. Our efforts in partnership with Commonwealth Care Alliance,Tufts Health Plan, and other community organizations have propelled the development of a sustainable, evidence-based model that proves the value of supportive senior housing and enables older adults to live their best lives.”
“We are thrilled Hebrew SeniorLife received this recognition and are proud to support their work to help low-income seniors living in affordable housing,” said Robert MacArthur, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Commonwealth Care Alliance. “Hebrew SeniorLife’s goals align with our mission to improve the health and well-being of people with significant needs and together we can help shape the way housing and care is paid for in the future. We are grateful to be able to support the R3 program and we look forward to continuing our collaboration to close care gaps for seniors enrolled in managed care.”
The R3 program was created and piloted by Hebrew SeniorLife. Hebrew SeniorLife established this study, provided funding, and secured additional funding for it from: Beacon Communities LLC; Boston Scientific Foundation; the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Health Policy Commission through the Health Care Innovation Investment and SHIFT-Care Challenge programs; Coverys Community Healthcare Foundation; Enterprise Community Partners; Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development; MassHousing; Milton Residences for the Elderly; Pioneer Institute; and WinnCompanies. The contents of this release are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the listed funders.
About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Based in Boston, Hebrew SeniorLife serves more than 3,000 residents and patients daily through its senior living and health care sites around Greater Boston and impacts countless others through its teaching and research in the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org or follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
