Community LIFE Celebrates 25 Years of Serving
By Lois Thompson
Community LIFE (Living Independence for the Elderly) is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and Fatemeh Hashtroudi has been with the organization for more than half of that time – 13 years. As president for the past three years, and director of quality improvement prior to that, Hashtroudi proudly says that during that time, "Our philosophy hasn't changed, our hands-on individualized care hasn't changed, our mission and commitment to our mission hasn't changed."
Fatemeh Hashtroudi
The mission of Community LIFE is to provide a wide range of services that are designed to keep older adults independent and in their homes. This is accomplished by having participants who enroll in the program being assigned to one of eight teams in eight locations: Tarentum, Logans Ferry, Bedford, East End, Mon Valley, Somerset, McKeesport, and Homestead. Hashtroudi said, "Each team has 11 members that includes a medical provider – physicians and nurse practitioners, social workers, dieticians, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, transportation drivers, care aides – so any need you have, those members will come to help you." She pointed out, too, "We are on call 24/7 if our participants need hospitalization, medication – any medical care during the night, we provide that."
Hashtroudi said there's no limit to how many people Community LIFE can serve. Each team oversees the care for about 150 participants. As the number of participants grows, more staff is added.
Participants may be cared for in their homes, but they are encouraged and welcome to go to the day center associated with their location. Hashtroudi said, "We provide light breakfast and lunch, and throughout the day we have many different activities – book clubs, puzzle clubs, men's clubs. Or if you don't want to participate you can just talk with friends." In addition, the day centers offer a number of outings, such as trips to Walmart or for lunch.
“If participants go to the hospital, we pay for that; if they need medication, we pay for that; and we deliver medication to their homes. There is no co-pay, no out-of-pocket costs. That means if they did not did sign up for our program they probably would be a resident of a nursing home.”
Because people don't typically come in every day, Hashtroudi said the centers usually oversee between 70 and 80 people. "You may come on Mondays and Tuesdays, and I may come Wednesdays and Thursdays. It depends on the participants and what their wishes are, and it depends on their needs."
While the care and commitment has been maintained, one thing that has changed in the past 25 years is the number of locations. Community LIFE had four when Hashtroudi first joined; that number has doubled, which means both the employee population and the number of participants has more than doubled. In response to these increases and needs, the organization has added services such as hospice and palliative care, and behavioral health management and health counselors. "We are very glad to be able to serve a lot more participants," she concluded.
For more information, call (866) 419-1693 or visit www.commlife.org.