State program is an innovative way to meet the needs of an aging public

Needing assistance with daily living and being able to afford that assistance is a worry for some older adults. Illinoisians are lucky in this area: the state is in the forefront of providing affordable support services in a community setting through its Supportive LivingProgram, considered by many to be a model for other states.

 “The purpose of the Supportive Living Program is to provide a residential setting for the elderly (age 65-plus) and persons with physical disabilities (ages 22-64) to receive support services,” says Kelly Cunningham, Deputy Administrator for Programs, Division of Medical Programs, IL Department of Healthcare and Family Services. HFS is the state agency tasked with oversight of the program.

 Victory Centre of Joliet, a Pathway community, was the first Supportive Living Facility in Illinois.

 Pathway was formed as a partnership in 1997 of businessmen who brought expertise in the areas of business strategy, financing, development and operation, says Nicole Bartecki, vice president of Sales and Marketing, Pathway Senior Living. Today, Pathway owns and/or manages 12 SLFs in the Chicagoland area and one in Springfield. They go under the names of Victory Centre, Alexian Village, Oak Hill and Timberlake. Pathway has approximately 1,250 people living in their Illinois communities.

Bartecki says the approach at all Pathway communities is to focus on “well care” versus “sick care.”

To read the full article http://www.chicagotribune.com/special/primetime/chi-pt-supportive-living-20130607,0,7795520.story