There's No Place Like Home

It’s human nature, isn’t it? Home is the place where most of us feel calm and comfortable. There’s no place like it. For seniors who choose to move to one of our Independent Living communities at Redstone Highlands, their apartment or villa quickly becomes “home.”

Several Years Ago, Redstone recognized the need to find ways to provide supportive services to our residents in order to make it possible for them to remain in their independent residences longer. While at one time these supportive services were only a vision, Senior Independence of Southwestern Pennsylvania (SISWPA) is now a successful example of how mission driven organizations maintain focus and accomplish more. A subsidiary of Redstone Highlands, SISWPA’s home and community based services provide high quality care to a broader array of seniors by delivering Home Health, Home Care and Hospice Care. Although originally motivated by the need to provide service to Redstone residents, SISWPA is now meeting the needs of seniors outside the walls of traditional retirement living.

With no long term commitments, services can be delivered directly in the home, and a variety of payer sources, seniors and their families find home based programs very attractive. Since services are customized to meet the needs and the budget for individuals, may find they are able to live independently longer at home, while avoiding or delaying more costly placement options.

Home Care services provide a personalized plan for daily living assistance to maintain quality of life in the comfort of one’s own home and includes personal care assistance, meal preparation assistance, medical transportation, light housekeeping and laundry services. Our VIP program, which brings cutting edge technology into the home, allows people with memory impairment to remain safe at home. Those individuals needing to routinely monitor vital health information (blood pressure, weight, blood, glucose, etc.) in order to detect health changed early, have also found this technology program beneficial. The program makes treatment more successful and staves off more critical health emergencies.

The Home Health program includes skilled nursing visits (RN), physical, occupational and speech therapies, home health aide services, and social work services. This care must be ordered by the individual’s physician and is typically covered under hospitalization insurance (Medicare, Highmark, UPMC, etc.).

For individuals experiencing a serious illness at end-of-life, our Hospice care teams will make every effort to ease pain and discomfort, provide emotional and spiritual support, and assist you in achieving person goals and honor your choices. This program is a Medicare covered benefit and will be added to our services in 2013.

Senior Independence of Southwestern Pennsylvania started in 2010 with only a handful of staff and clients. The program’s expansion has afforded over 150 seniors throughout Westmoreland County, of all economic statuses, to receive coordinated and innovative care from over fifty employees with different specialties. These efforts achieve the vision to allow for safe independence a home. Together Redstone Highlands and SISWPA will continue to support their common mission of finding more ways to meet the changing needs of seniors in the service area.

For more information call Senior Independence at 724-864-7388 ext. 490
or visit SISWPA on the web at http://www.seniorindependenceswpa.org/