For immediate release: August 3, 2010

Contact:  Ghita Worcester, Board Chair, Living at Home Network

     gworcester@ucare.org

    612-676-3570

    Mary Quirk, Board Vice Chair, Living at Home Network

                 mquirk@mavanetwork.org

                651-255-0469 or 612-723-7946 (cell)

    Amy McDonough, AARP (on behalf of Living at Home Network)

                 amcdonough@aarp.org

                651-726-5644

Nonprofit will support Minnesota’s unique model of care that allows older Minnesotans to receive assistance in their homes and communities

(St. Paul, MN)   The Living At Home/Block Nurse Program, Inc. today announced a restructuring that will help local neighborhood-based elder care programs prepare for Minnesota’s demographic shifts.   This nonprofit, previously known as the Elderberry Institute, is now renamed the Living At Home Network (LAHN).   The renewed organization retains its original mission of supporting this model of care, unique to Minnesota, of assisting older people to continue living in their own homes as long as possible.  

“This work is vitally important in this time of demographic changes and tough budgets,” said new board chair Ghita Worcester .   “Minnesota is lucky to have a very solid network of 43 programs around the state that help our elders receive quality care in their homes and communities.   This reorganization will help bolster and coordinate those efforts.”  

The restructuring included election of a new board of directors and adoption of a revised budget, while maintaining continuity in the mission, bylaws, and in ongoing management of fiscal agent and grant reporting services.    The purpose of the restructuring was to streamline the budget and prioritize services in accordance with current financial realities; and to leverage more directly almost 30 years of grassroots experience and expertise in neighborhood and community-based care.   Government and foundation resources have declined in recent years, while the number of Minnesota elders has grown and their economic and health status is threatened in many cases.   The budget for the LAHN is smaller than before but more focused on providing services to assist the independent community and neighborhood programs.   

The LAHN board of directors is now comprised primarily of representatives of exiting local programs – six members representing Twin Cities-area programs and six members representing Greater Minnesota programs.   The board also includes representatives from UCare Minnesota, AARP Minnesota and Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging ^® , Inc .

“Local programs make it possible for older people to stay happy and healthy in the homes they love, preventing expensive institutional care for thousands of Minnesotans,” said Board member Mary Quirk of Minneapolis.    “This restructuring will help us ‘keep the magic in the neighborhood.’   It is truly almost magical when you see how neighborhoods can come together for a great purpose like this.”   

The first Block Nurse Program in the United States began in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul in 1981.   At the same time, the Macalester/Groveland and West 7^th neighborhoods of St. Paul were selected to implement the Living At Home project as part of the National Living at Home Demonstration Project. The two models ultimately were merged to form the Living at Home/Block Nurse Program (LAH/BNP).   The model has been replicated in many neighborhoods, cities, and in one county-wide program, and there are now 43 LAH/BNPs in Minnesota.    These unique programs coordinate local volunteers, health professionals, and a wealth of other resources to help their older neighbors stay in their own homes and connected to their communities.