House Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #2039 Housing Based Health Care for Seniors
Requester:	Dr. Marcos Lorenzo		Organization:		Tampa General Healthcare
Project Title:	Housing Based Health Care for Seniors		Date Submitted:		01/28/2000 11:15:44 AM
District Member:	Gus Bilirakis		Service Area:		Regional
Counties Affected:	Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco
Recipient:	Tampa General Healthcare		Contact:		Jean Mayer
	Davis Islands		Contact Phone:		(813) 253-4702
	Tampa 33613
Project Description:
The proposed funding would be used to purchase and equip two mobile health units in order to provide innovative housing-based health care programs to seniors residing in Hillsborough, Manatee, and Pasco Counties. The mobile health units will be equipped with areas for patient reception, 2 examination areas, offices, and health information. One of the units will be equipped with diagnosis lab radiology equipment including diagnostic x-ray, bone densometry, ENG, and mammography. The proposed housing-based health care program will be designed to improve the quality of life and health for approximately 20,000 senior citizens now residing in high-density housing complexes in these three counties. Studies done in other states (in New Jersey, over 3,000 senior citizens were interviewed) document that the overwhelming majority of seniors rated one or more housing-based health services essential or helpful to the lives they wished to lead. However, only a small percentage had even a fraction of these valued health services available to them. Tampa General Healthcare proposes to bring these needed health care services directly to the seniors residing in senior housing complexes. These services include physician services, diagnostic services (lab, x-ray, etc), screening services (bone densometry, mammography, etc), health education services and other health-related services identified as needed by the residents of these communities.
Services Provided/Benefit to State:
The proposed program is designed to provide elderly Floridians with a life-saving and much needed mobile health service in a manner which assures high quality, convenient, affordable, accessible services to older citizens who are otherwise unlikely to access primary care, preventive care, or diagnostic services effectively. The program will especially benefit thousands of elders who are mobility-limited, self-care-limited, shut-ins, and/or frail/low-income residents. This program will save both lives and money. State Medicaid cost savings will be achieved and quantifiably documented by aggressive injury prevention and health promotion activities. Florida has one of the highest concentrations of senior citizens in the United States. Provision of services to this important demographic group is a priority of both State and local governments. The need for on-site health services in large-scale senior housing within the State of Florida is enormous and growing. This project will serve as a model for other communities and health care providers interested in providing services to seniors. Of the state's 2.6 million residents over age 65, more than 150,000 live in approximately 1,360 retirement housing facilities. Of these facilities, 87% do not have on-site medical care. More than 80,000 seniors live in apartments with rents subsidized by state and/or federal programs. Virtually none of these buildings have on site medical care or arrangements with local health providers. An estimated 168,000 elderly Floririands reside in naturally occurring retirement communities of owned housing. Again, these communities do not have on-site medical care. There are, therefore, almost 500,000 seniors living in high-density senior communities in Florida, most communities without on-site health services. The proposed project will allow the concept of mobile services to be tested and its effectiveness demonstrated in a location within the state with a high concentration of seniors. If, as anticipated, the mobile service developed by Tampa General Healthcare is accepted by the senior population, this will result in improved access to primary care, preventive and other health care services for seniors.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
1. Improvde access to primary care physician services for 4,600 elderly residents of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Manatee Counties. 2. Improved access to health education and screening services for 8,000+ elderly residents of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Manatee Counties. 3. Identification of heretofore undiagnosed conditions which if managed/treated early can prevent costly hospitalizations and improve the quality fo life of these seniors (e.g. heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, etc.) 4. Prevention of serious injury and illness through the provision of on-site health education services. (e.g. fall prevention).
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:				$1,160,000
Total cost of the project:		$2,461,855

Request has been made to fund:			Construction
Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?					Yes
	Cash Amount:	$260,000		In-Kind Amount:	$1,041,855
Was this project previously funded by the State?					No
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?					No
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?					No
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?					No
Is there a documented need for this project?					Yes
	Documentation:	AHCA Population and Service Need Projections
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?					No