The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced Monday that it has established a new Administration on Community Living under HHS, which will be dedicated to “enhancing and improving the broad range of supports that individuals with disabilities and seniors may need to live with respect and dignity as full members of their communities” — rather than in nursing homes or other institutions.
“For too long, too many Americans have faced the impossible choice between moving to an institution or living at home without the long-term services and supports they need. The goal of the new Administration for Community Living will be to help people with disabilities and older Americans live productive, satisfying lives,” Secretary of Health & Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, said in a quote featured on the new Administration on Community Living’s website.
“These support needs go well beyond health care and include the availability of appropriate housing, employment, education, meaningful relationships and social participation,” HHS said in a a news release it issued on April 16, 2012.
In that release, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, said:
The Obama administration and my department have long been committed to promoting community living and finding new mechanisms to help ensure that the supports people with disabilities and seniors need to live in the community are accessible.
Today, with the creation of the new Administration for Community Living (ACL), we are reinforcing this commitment by bringing together key HHS organizations and offices dedicated to improving the lives of those with functional needs into one coordinated, focused and stronger entity. …
Building on President Obama’s Year of Community Living, the ACL will pursue improved opportunities for older Americans and people with disabilities to enjoy the fullest inclusion in the life of our nation.”
“The Administration for Community Living will bring together the Administration on Aging, the Office on Disability and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities into a single agency that supports both cross-cutting initiatives and efforts focused on the unique needs of individual groups, such as children with developmental disabilities or seniors with dementia,” HHS said.
“This new agency will work on increasing access to community supports and achieving full community participation for people with disabilities and seniors,” HHS said.
For more information on the new Administration of Community Living, see its website at: HHS.gov/ACL.
More Information
See related HelpingYouCare™ reports on:
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States Slash Home Health Care & Adult Day Care Services for the Neediest; Likely to Increase Costs
High-Tech Increasingly Used to Allow Seniors to Age in Place
For more information about home-based care, see the HelpingYouCare™ resource page on Information About Home Health Care.
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People for Quality Care is very happy to see this new Administration on Community Living. We support people being able to stay in their own homes and communities and feel that getting the right healthcare and home medical equipment is essential to making that happen. As advocates for the elderly and disabled, we will do what we can to support this effort that will support the people. We have signed up for the newsletter and are anxious to learn more.
This is very encouraging news! Just another reason to vote for Obama again in the upcoming election, as I see it, so this kind of good work can continue. Thank you for sharing it. So many positive stories like this get missed in the nightly news that we see on TV.