How Pennsylvanians are helping their older neighbors age comfortably

This story first appeared in How We Care, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring original reporting and perspectives on how we care for one another at all stages of life. Sign up for free here.

Marie, an older adult in Westmoreland County with limited mobility, has lived in her split-level brick house for more than 60 years. She and her late husband bought the home when they moved to be closer to her parents. Marie eventually installed a cathedral ceiling in the dining room to resemble the saltbox houses of Massachusetts and Vermont, where she lived during the early years of her marriage.

The 89-year-old’s rambling subdivision looks nothing like historic New England. It lacks sidewalks and bus lines, so getting around isn’t easy for someone who uses a walker and doesn’t drive. That makes it tricky for Marie, whose full name Spotlight PA is withholding because she lives alone, to get to her many medical appointments.

She said the visits have accumulated due to a heart attack last summer, a broken femur last winter, and macular degeneration in her eyes.

“My calendar looks like a Bingo card,” said Marie wryly.

The joke gets a chuckle from Polly Leipold, a volunteer with Wesley Family Services’ Open Your Heart to a Senior program, which provides free in-home, nonmedical care to older adults in Westmoreland County. Neighboring Allegheny County has a similar initiative called In Service of Seniors: Pittsburgh.

Volunteers help with daily tasks like reading mail, and transportation to the grocery store and medical appointments. Leipold lives nearby and has driven Marie to many doctor’s offices.

Leipold started volunteering with Wesley Family Services through her church during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic by going grocery shopping for older adults. Leipold says she spends a couple of hours a week with people like Marie, and tells Spotlight PA that if everyone gave a little of their time, it would go a long way toward helping those in need.

Marie has a son who lives about an hour away. She said he has asked her to move to an independent living facility that’s closer to him, but Marie likes living in her own home and says she is perfectly capable of doing so, as long as she gets a little help.

“I’m happy to step in where the family can’t, because not everyone is lucky enough to have family next door,” said Leipold.

Aging at home is good for an older adult’s well-being, said Alicia Melnick, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work who studies geriatric mental health and caregiving. Melnick explains that as people age, they often experience cognitive changes. This can make living in a familiar setting important for someone’s comfort and autonomy. Also, remaining at home often bolsters an older adult’s sense of independence.

Joanne Grossi, the president emeritus of AARP Pennsylvania, a nonprofit that advocates for older adults, told How We Care that was the case for her father. She recalled that it took a lot of work to help her dad remain at home after her mother died 10 years ago. But the Italian immigrant and former factory worker was deeply attached to homeownership.

“It’s the dignity that comes with staying in our own home,” she said of his connection to his house. The pride that comes from being able to stay in your own home. The joy of it, because you’re surrounded by great memories.”

Also, the more years someone remains at home, the further their retirement savings will stretch since the price of long-term care is staggering. In Pennsylvania, the median annual cost of a one-bedroom unit in an assisted living residence is $66,600, according to Genworth Financial’s 2023 Cost of Care survey. For a semi-private room in a skilled nursing facility, the median is $129,216 per year.

Medicare, the federal insurance program for older Americans, does not pay for long-term nursing home care or assisted living, which is for people with less complex health needs. An assisted living facility’s services might include help with medication management, meal preparation, and social activities.

Medicaid, the federal insurance program for low-income Americans, has similar limits. In most circumstances, Medicaid does not pay for assisted living in Pennsylvania. The program picks up the bill for a nursing home only if it’s medically necessary and a person is impoverished — which means that someone must first deplete all their assets before accessing this government assistance.

Another benefit of programs like Open Your Heart to a Senior is these initiatives can help prevent loneliness among older adults. Melnick says for previous generations, people could rely on more extensive support networks as they aged because families were larger. Research shows that social isolation increases the risk of certain medical conditions, including heart disease, obesity, and Alzheimer’s.

It’s clear that Marie and Leipold have a real affection for each other, and the two say they kept in touch when Leipold spent part of this year in Florida. Marie trusts Leipold to help her fill out medical forms and likens the volunteer to a daughter.

Leipold likes helping Marie because she knows how devastating it can be for an older person to leave their home and give up their independence, which was the case when Leipold’s parents moved into an assisted living facility due to health reasons. While the move brought her parents closer to their adult children, the facility wasn’t home.

“She reminds me a lot of my mom,” Leipold said of Marie.

In addition to providing company, volunteers also help give caregivers breaks, said Grossi. After her mom died, Grossi cooked, cleaned, and did laundry for her father. Her sister pitched in by running his errands and driving him to church or the casino, and her niece got his weekly groceries.

The caretaking was still emotionally and physically exhausting for Grossi, but not being the only person her dad relied on helped extend his time at home. While Grossi’s family had enough caregivers to not seek out volunteer help, she said that programs like Open Your Heart to a Senior or Meals on Wheels are essential when that’s not the case.

“It takes a village to help take care of our elderly residents … One person simply cannot do it all,” said Grossi.

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