Funding from the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services aims to support health awareness and improved outcomes for residents living in senior affordable housing.
Springfield, MA – April 3, 2024 – Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), a mission-driven healthcare services organization that offers high-quality health plans and care delivery programs designed for individuals with the most significant needs, has received $150,000 in grant funding to develop and facilitate health education programming for seniors in Holyoke and Springfield. This grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) will support CCA’s ability to bring culturally and linguistically appropriate educational programming and support services to 865 residents across four senior affordable housing locations to increase health awareness, improve health outcomes, and enhance quality of life. Residents at Sycamore House and Pulaski Heights in Holyoke, Linden Towers and Baystate Place in Springfield, can receive these services from CCA, regardless of their health insurer.
“Bringing innovative and culturally competent services into local communities across the Commonwealth is a critical component of CCA’s mission,” said Mark Waggoner, CCA Massachusetts General Manager. “Through our longstanding work across the state, we have learned that individuals living in affordable senior housing often lack access to general health education and necessary support services. For Spanish speaking residents in Springfield and Holyoke in particular, language is a unique barrier that can be mitigated by CCA’s bilingual team. Broadly, this grant will allow CCA to further expand our commitment to providing comprehensive, community-centered services to seniors in Massachusetts.”
CCA prioritizes health education as one way to support independent, community-based living. This is a small part of a larger integrated care model that provides behavioral, medical, and social supports for whole-person care. CCA will work with the senior affordable housing agencies operating each location to launch monthly in-person workshops in English and Spanish, tailored for residents from the comfort of their buildings. Anticipated workshops include those on fall prevention, nutrition, maximizing SNAP benefits, adaptive community gardening, flu clinics, digital literacy, and translation services for mail and other documents.
“Place-based services play a key role in implementing public health programming and interventions for older adults, many of whom experience mobility or transportation barriers,” explained Dr. Nazlim Hagmann, Chief Medical Officer at CCA. “This program will support identifying resources toward enhancing the quality of life for the Western Massachusetts community, in close alignment with CCA’s focus on social factors that impact health. We look forward to collaborating with our senior housing partners to ensure that their residents can access the information they need to stay healthy.”