Retirement News : Seniors : Project aims to get elderly out of nursing homes

Project aims to get elderly out of nursing homes

Date Added: 29-11-2005

CLASS – Community Living Alternatives for SeniorS is a pilot project that was launched to help those 60 and older move out of nursing homes and back into the community in Champaign, IL.  Read the excerpt below.

Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette - Champaign/Urbana,IL,USA

By JULIE WURTH

CHAMPAIGN – Vicki Stewart wasn't thinking of herself when she applied for a grant to help senior citizens move out of nursing homes.
   Now she understands firsthand why the program is needed.
   Stewart, director of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and the Stevick Senior Center in Champaign, has multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system. She also uses a wheelchair and needs a lift to get in and out of bed.
   Common maladies like colds can send her to the hospital, and that's where she ended up last month after a series of infections. Her system weakened by a 12-day hospital stay, Stewart went to a nursing home to recuperate. For nearly three weeks, the staff rarely got her out of bed, so she wasn't getting any stronger. The nursing home social worker told Stewart it would be best if she stayed there indefinitely because of her overall health needs.
   She didn't know who she was dealing with. Stewart replied that she wanted to get back to work, and went home. She started sitting up in her chair every day, and within 10 days was back at work half time.
   "It could happen to anybody," said Stewart, who is also a board member for the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District. "You already feel helpless in a situation like that, so it's easy to feel discouraged."

Read the entire article: http://www.news-gazette.com/localnews/story.cfm?Number=19421