Staying home in Princeton: services, programs and support for older adults
Most older adults in Princeton who want to stay in their own home can, if the right pieces are in place: rides, meals, a little help in the house, someone watching the paperwork, and family who know the day is going normally. Here is what exists for Princeton residents, in the order most families use it.
1. The Council on Aging
Princeton Council on Aging Board runs the senior center and is the first call. Ask for the outreach worker. Typical COA services: door-to-door van rides to medical appointments and shopping, a daily lunch, SHINE Medicare counseling, help applying for the senior circuit breaker tax credit and the property tax work-off program, friendly-visitor and phone-reassurance programs, and referrals to everything below.
2. In-home help through the state
Aging Services of North Central Massachusetts ((978) 537-7411) is the state-designated agency for Princeton. A case manager comes to the home, free, and can open the Home Care Program (homemaker, personal care, grocery shopping, laundry, on a sliding fee scale by income), Meals on Wheels, the Frail Elder Waiver for MassHealth members who would otherwise need a nursing home, and Enhanced Community Options for higher needs. They also run the vendor list of vetted home care agencies, which matters because Massachusetts does not license non-medical home care.
3. Medical care at home
After a hospital or rehab stay, a doctor can order Medicare-covered home health: nursing, physical and occupational therapy, and a home health aide for a few weeks. 77 Medicare-certified home health agencies serve Princeton; you may choose any of them. For a serious illness, 19 hospices serve Princeton, almost always at home.
4. Making the house work
The state's Home Modification Loan Program offers 0% loans for ramps, stair lifts, bathroom changes and similar work. MassHealth's PCA program pays for a personal care attendant the family hires. The MassMATCH assistive technology program lends devices to try before buying. The Eldercare Locator, eldercare.acl.gov or 1-800-677-1116, finds anything not listed here.
5. Technology that fills the gap between visits
Family who live far away, or who work, need a way to know the day is going normally without calling three times. The options, roughly in order of cost:
- Medical alert pendants and watches (many vendors; the COA can usually recommend a local one; some ASAPs subsidize them under the Home Care Program as "PERS").
- A shared calendar and a weekly video call, which cost nothing and catch more than most devices.
- Livindi (made by the company that operates this site) is a connected-care system for an older adult living at home: a simple tablet for video calls and reminders, plus motion, door and sleep sensors that let family see, from their own phone, that the day is going normally. Family members are the ones who watch; there is no monitoring center. It is one option among several listed above, and it does not replace the Council on Aging, the ASAP or a home health agency. How it works.
- Automatic medication dispensers, available from several pharmacies and through the Home Care Program.
Disclosure: this site is operated by Livindi, Inc. The listing above is the only place on this page where its product appears, and nothing else on this site is affected by that relationship. More.
6. When home is no longer enough
Signs that more is needed: repeated falls, weight loss, missed medications, wandering, or a caregiver who is exhausted. Start with the ASAP assessment, then compare 4 assisted living residences and 15 nursing homes near Princeton, using the public record on each page.