EISEP

The Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly program helps elders and their families delay or avert costly and premature placement in nursing facilities by combining case management services and non-medical supportive services. The state of New York established the program in 1987 to target frail, homebound elders with chronic physical and/or mental impairments who are not Medicaid eligible.

Case Management

EISEP has contracts with four not-for-profit agencies for case management services. Nine case managers conduct comprehensive client assessments that identify the client's level of impairment, unmet needs and financial status. In-home, community and private services are then arranged in order to meet the individual needs of each participant. A financial assessment is done to gather information about the client's monthly income, resources and housing expenses, and is used to determine individual "cost-share" levels.

Upon the client's agreement to accept the planned services, the case manager acts as an advocate for that individual. Through ongoing contact with the client and caregivers, and with regular in-home reassessments, the case manager is able to determine client satisfaction and the appropriateness of services provided.

In-Home Services

In-home Services
Staff from eight local licensed home care agencies provides in-home service. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are sent to all Onondaga County licensed home care agencies on an annual basis. The department's selection committee then awards the program contracts. The following services are provided through EISEP:
Personal Care (PC) - Hands-on assistance with bathing, dressing and toileting. Light Housekeeping (HSK) - Cleaning of the bathroom/kitchen, removing garbage and doing personal laundry.

Respite EISEP provides social day program service one-day-per-week to program participants who have a full-time informal caregiver.

Day Care (DC) - Through a contract with the Alzheimer's Association and St. Francis Adult Day, EISEP provides social day program service for clients with dementia and/or Alzheimer's Disease. This provides full-time caregivers who need "time off" to catch up with shopping, household tasks, appointments, and rest.

Ancillary Services

EISEP utilizes the Onondaga County Emergency Response System contractor, Help Link, to provide at-risk clients with an added measure of safety.
Emergency Response System (ERS) - Emergency response system for clients who live alone and have been identified as "at-risk" of falling.

Funding

Although EISEP participants are required to pay a percentage of their service costs, based on a sliding scale, 60% of our clients have incomes that fall below the established cost-share threshold. Non-cost sharing clients and their families are encouraged to contribute toward service costs.

How EISEP Works

The EISEP program director reviews case records and screens all applicants for eligibility. Cases are prioritized according to level of need* and assigned to a community "case manager." Individuals with unmet personal care needs are the first to receive care.

Case manager visits a new participant, conducts client assessment, and sets up a plan to coordinate in-home, community, and private services to meet the client's needs.

Project Director reviews the case manager's proposed care plan, modifies it as needed, and coordinates the delivery of service with the home care subcontractor.

Twenty-five percent of all EISEP clients pay for a portion of their in-home service.

To ensure that program expenditures remain within the budgetary allocation, the project director monitors the volume of services provided on a weekly basis and calculates projected spending with any change in the authorized services.

The project director monitors case management subcontractors on a quarterly basis and home care subcontractors annually.