HUD grants fund AOTA partner organizations and will further occupational therapy’s role in home modifications
AOTA members Kathleen Kirchner, Melissa Stutzbach, Erin Dos Santos, Tori Goldhammer, and Scott A. Trudeau (also AOTA staff) presented at Rebuilding Together’s Summer Training Seminar on the intersection of health and housing. The presentation covered the value of integrating OT practitioners into home modification service delivery, models that are efficient and effective, and verbiage to include in future grant applications to fund the expansion of the role of occupational therapy in the community.
The presentation was inspired by AOTA and Rebuilding Together’s ongoing collaborations, including the recent U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Older Adults Home Modification Program grant that requires occupational therapy to play a key role on the home modification team. AOTA and Rebuilding Together staff are hopeful that this grant will set a precedent for a service delivery model to be used for future funding opportunities, such as corporate, family foundation, and local government funding.
The HUD grants that are funding the Older Adult Home Modification Program (OAHMP) require the expertise of a licensed occupational therapist, or supervised occupational therapy assistant, to ensure that home modifications address the client’s specific goals and needs and promote their full participation in daily life activities. The Notice of Funding Availability highlighted that occupational therapy practitioners are “trained to evaluate clients’ functional abilities and the home environment” and have “knowledge of the range of low-cost, high-impact environmental modifications and adaptive equipment used to optimize the home environment and increase independence.”
To help maximize the reach of the program, the OAHMP supports using licensed occupational therapy assistants whose work under the grant is overseen by a licensed occupational therapist. The OAHMP model also encourages a person-centered approach that motivates and supports older adults as they identify their goals and learn to function safely in their home.
The strong recognition of occupational therapy’s role in this funding announcement reflects the work of multiple, innovative, occupational therapy practitioners who have developed similar programs in their communities. It is also a direct result of multi-pronged advocacy efforts across AOTA.
AOTA has worked to build strategic partnerships with key stakeholders such as the National Council on Aging, Rebuilding Together, USC–Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to name a few. We have also advocated with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and worked to educate Congress, all to advance the evidence that occupational therapy is key to successful aging-in-place initiatives, and to ensure that older adults have access to occupational therapy services to support them in community contexts.
AOTA is pleased to share the news that HUD has awarded grants to 32 community-based organizations totaling $30 million dollars. AOTA’s partners at Rebuilding Together earned 4 grants from HUD: Rebuilding Together, Inc. national office for rural outreach programs in Florida, Oregon, and Minnesota; and individual affiliates at Rebuilding Saratoga, Rebuilding Philadelphia, and Rebuilding San Antonio, which combined will facilitate functional home modifications and repairs in 674 housing units.
AOTA member Sherry Pidgeon reached out to AOTA to explore options for a Vermont application. Shared brainstorming with AOTA staff assisted in connecting her with the Cathedral Square Corporation application which was successfully funded and will facilitate improvements in 140 housing units.
This is very exciting news, and we wish all the funded programs great success as they implement needed environmental modifications with the inclusion of occupational therapy practitioners. AOTA looks forward to continuing to support innovative OT practitioners moving our impact into more community-focused programs such as these.