Boston, MA – The Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts issued the following statement in response to the two-part Boston Globe article titled “A Stranger in the House” printed September 16th and 17th:
The Home Care Alliance and its members have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to patient abuse. Over many years we have worked with the Department of Public Health, Elder Affairs and Health and Human services to address issues of elder abuse and billing fraud. Our members take very seriously the responsibility of ensuring the safety and quality of care being delivered to their clients.
These Boston Globe articles confusingly lump three different classes of workers together: personal care attendants employed directly by consumers in the PCA program, aides hired through a home care agency, and workers hired directly by consumers in the underground marketplace.
While the article cites 20 cases of agency-hired workers committing abhorrent crimes in ‘recent years,’ it fails to contextualize the fact that home care agencies have employed over 75,000 workers and delivered care to more than 600,000 elders in the past five years.
We have long advocated for the Commonwealth to develop a licensure process and we support state legislation (H.344) which we believe would enact baseline consumer protection standards for private pay home care agencies. We also advocated for recently enacted legislation to license certified home health agencies.
In failing to adequately explain the structure of the home care system in Massachusetts, readers are left confused and scared. At a time when aging-in-place is a statewide priority, we should be working on solutions that expand access to these services and protects consumers in the setting that they prefer: home.
About the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts:
With a mission to unite people and organizations to advance community health through care and services in the home, the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts is a non-profit trade association and advocacy group providing representation, education, communication, advocacy and – ultimately – a voice for the state’s home health industry. Founded in 1969, the Alliance has grown to represent more than 160 home care and home health agencies across the state. For more information, visit www.thinkhomecare.org.
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