Healthy homes for elders in Cambridge

Peter Daly, Executive Director, Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Housing Services

Challenge: Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Housing Services purchased an elderly facility to ensure that the apartments would continue to be affordable. However, with rising healthcare costs and limited income, many of the senior residents felt they needed more than housing stability.



Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Housing Services (CNAHS) purchased an elderly facility that risked losing its affordability requirements. However, the residents needed more than just a stable home. With rising healthcare costs and limited income, many of the senior residents felt stuck and unable to live well. They yearned for independent living, but required better healthcare access. So CNAHS developed innovative ways for residents to age in place.

Ninety three percent of residents at Putnam Square Apartments, a 94-unit senior living facility in Cambridge, MA, are over the age of 65. Some 86 percent have at least one disability, which means three times as many residents have diminished abilities per capita compared with the general population in the city. Disabilities range hearing and vision loss to numerous ambulatory and cognitive issues. Due to the impending expiring affordability restrictions, the preservation of Putnam Square Apartments was the first step in ensuring the senior residents would remain safe from dislocation.

 CNAHS understands the importance of providing age-appropriate services to allow residents to age in place. We met with residents who expressed concern about rising costs of health services at assisted living and nursing home facilities, and who worried that their fixed income would not match the costs of medical services. Residents wanted to live independently as long as possible. Many relied on family or friends to help with basic needs such as grocery shopping and attending medical appointments, but others lacked this option. A high number of the elderly tenants had physical disabilities and needed better living accommodations to fit their health needs. CNAHS met with residents to understand the best approach to take for the property's rehab.

CNAHS's rehab including a new boiler, new elevator, windows and envelope repairs that contribute to a higher level of temperature control throughout the building to increase the comfort level and quality of life for residents. Improvements to make the property more accessible included walk-in showers, hand rails and alarms for medical emergencies.

Along with physical improvements, social amenities were added to reduce isolation among residents. Those include weekly exercise programs, a garden club, a peace garden, additional space for social activities, a computer lab and training center and a redesigned community room with a patio and deck. Recent events in the community room include a workshop on wills and estate planning by the Massachusetts Women's Bar Association, live owls brought in by Eyes on Owls and a restaurant-themed night where youth volunteers prepared and served a three-course dinner.

Events and workshops foster a greater sense of community within the building and bring people out of their apartments to get them talking to their neighbors. The exercise classes attract 25-30 residents and include senior chi gong, senior yoga and light cardio equipment available for independent use. The garden club offers a way for residents to harvest flowers and vegetables in the outdoor area of the property and engage with other residents. Residents also congregate in the peace garden. Putnam Square residents joined with the Art Connection, a local nonprofit, to select artwork from the collaborative to display at the property alongside original artwork donated by residents.

CNAHS partnered with Somerville Cambridge Elder Services (SCES), a local health service provider, to offer free health services to tenants. Putnam Square residents have access to in-home care when needed. Services include: housekeeping, personal care, transportation to medical appointments, grocery delivery, companion services and lifeline equipment. Currently, 76 of the building's 94 units are receiving some form of in-home care from SCES. These efforts have improved the quality of life for all residents while ensuring permanent affordability for the property.

Putnam Square Apartments presented an opportunity to meet the needs of senior residents while creating a lasting partnership with a dependable local health provider. Ultimately, CNAHS delivers a variety of services catered to the needs of the residents while ensuring the permanent affordability of the project. The residents played a key role in expressing their needs and concerns and are happy to continue living independently.

Lessons learned through the Putnam Square project include:

1. Listening to resident concerns is the first step to addressing needs.
2. Senior and disabled residents need physical and social support including health and daily needs assistance.
3. Partnering with a local health service provider enabled us to ensure livability and comfort for residents.