Aging in Place Made Possible by Healthy Homes Program

An unfortunate truth of life: bad stuff happens, even when it’s not your fault. Another truth: that shouldn’t mean older Iowans can’t get the in-home care they need.

When homes are unsafe for seniors and their in-home care providers, Heritage’s Healthy Homes Program steps in to save the day.

Take, for example, the woman in Linn County who needed skilled nursing while recovering from a leg wound. After someone unknowingly brought bed bugs into her home, the care providers declined to enter the residence due to staff and other clients’ safety. Unable to afford an exterminator, Healthy Homes covered the cost and made it possible for her to get necessary care and continue living at home.

Or head out to the countryside, where no matter how hard they tried, those pesky mice still found a way in. When care providers passed on entering the premises, Healthy Homes helped clear out those critters to pave a path toward aging in place.

“We really want to emphasize our ‘no judgement’ mindset when it comes to Healthy Homes,” said Kellie Elliott-Kapparos, Integrated Services Director. “These things just happen, often through no fault of their own. That’s life. When it happens, we’re here to help fix it.”

Before covering a range of home health and safety issues across the Heritage region, Healthy Homes started out much smaller. In late 2019, Drew Floyd, an Elder Rights Specialist, noticed more and more that consumers weren’t able to receive care due to bed bugs in the home.

Determined to help his consumers break down this barrier, Drew wrote a grant application to the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation (GCRCF). Awarded about $12,500 to use for cases in Linn County, Drew and the Heritage care team went on to clear out infestations and restart in-home care for 15 consumers.

Fast forward a couple years and dozens more seniors served, Healthy Homes is a fast-growing program at Heritage. This is thanks in large part to increased grant funding from the GCRCF to serve Linn County, and American Rescue Plan Act funds to cover the rest of the region.

“In a way, every person Healthy Homes has served is a credit to Drew for coming up with the original idea. This all goes back to him advocating for his consumers, coming up with a creative solution, and seeing it through. It’s a perfect example of what our care team is capable of,” said Elliott-Kapparos.

Just as every case is unique, so are the goals. Healthy Homes is not a catch-all service for every little home safety issue. Instead, it’s important to remember that the program is designed to get homes back to a ‘safe’ or ‘livable’ standard and allow for necessary in-home services to start or resume.

Healthy Homes serves adults ages 60+ living in the Heritage service region. Eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis, so give us a call: 319-398-5559 or 800-332-5934.

You deserve a home that’s healthy enough for you and for getting the care you need. When you call Heritage there won’t be judgement or shame – just help and support getting back to a Healthy Home.