HOULTON, Maine — Steve Farnham, executive director of the Aroostook Agency on Aging, recently spoke to members of the Southern Aroostook Ministerial Association about a crisis facing the elderly infirm and their loved ones due to the decreasing number of in-home personal care attendants.
Currently, 52 clients who qualify are on the waiting list in Aroostook County for in-home care — which is approximately 1/10th the cost per month of a bed in a nursing facility. Today there are over 780 people in the County in nursing homes and other residential care facilities, which have waiting lists as well.
Providers of personal care attendants cannot stay in business much longer unless more money is appropriated from Augusta to raise hourly pay for personal in-home care attendants plus funding transportation costs and health benefits, which are not currently part of an attendant’s package. Farnham urges support for Section A-335 of Gov. LePage’s proposed budget and House Speaker Eves’ “KeepMEHome” initiative.
