HHS Seeks to Conduct Survey on Vermont SASH Program

In the March 6th Federal Register, Health and Human Service (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) requested approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct a survey of Support And Services at Home (SASH) participants to assess the impact of the SASH program on health outcomes.

Information collected includes general health status, functional status, quality of life, medication problems and dietary issues. The SASH program operates in Vermont and links staff based in housing properties with a team of community-based health and supportive services providers to help older adults coordinate and manage their care needs.

SASH services include: Assessment by a multidisciplinary team, creation of an individualized care plan, on-site nursing and care coordination with team members and other local partners, and community activities to support health and wellness. SASH is anchored in affordable senior housing properties, serving residents in the property and seniors living in the surrounding community.

The goal of this project is to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the SASH program. The evaluation will assess whether the SASH model of coordinated health and supportive services in affordable housing improves quality of life, health and functional status of participants. The evaluation  has been designed to comprehensively  address the research questions while  minimizing the burden placed on the SASH program staff, their partners (e.g., service providers) and Medicare and  dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid  beneficiaries. The mail survey is designed to collect outcomes that cannot be measured from claims data or other sources.

The target population for the survey is Medicare beneficiaries participating in the SASH) demonstration. SASH provides integrated, home-based services to beneficiaries in selected housing properties throughout Vermont. At this point, 1,685 intervention beneficiaries have been identified in 37 SASH sites.

To learn more about the SASH program, click here and here.

Contact: Ken Harris, kharris@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8835