Page 43 - BusinessWest December 26, 2022

Home-field Advantage
WestMass ElderCare Aims to Bring Mental Healthcare to Seniors
By Kailey Houle
Adults age 65 and older make up almost 17% of the U.S. population, and nearly one in four older adults has a mental- health condition. Those with anxiety disorders and depression, which in many cases emerged or worsened amid the isolation of the pan- demic, are often undiagnosed and go untreat- ed, leading to severe complications, such as hospitalizations and ‘silent suicides,’ which account for 18% of all suicide deaths.
“A lot of older adults were very isolated during COVID, and I think they were, out of all the age groups, more hesitant to leave their home and even have people come into their home. They know how
to manage their basic needs, but the depression and anxiety that we saw with a lot of younger people was also true of some of the older adults that we see.”
WestMass ElderCare (WMEC) is partnering with local senior centers and Councils on Aging (COAs) to help fight this ongoing and worsening epidemic.
“A lot of older adults were very isolated during COVID, and I think they were, out of all the age groups, more hesitant to leave their home and even have people come into their home,” said Brenda Bronner, director of Home Care Programs at WMEC. “They know how to manage their basic needs, but the depression and anxiety that we saw with a lot of younger people was also true of some of the older adults that we see.”
Through state and federal fund- ing, as well as grants to support older adults and persons with disabilities, the organzation’s new Elder Men-
tal Health Outreach Team is meant to address older adults’ behavior- al-health needs that are typically
not met through more traditional resources.
Older adults living in the commu-
nity face added challenges in accessing behav- ioral-health services, including transportation,
Brenda Bronner says the Mental Health Outreach Team is more important now than ever.
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