It Takes a Community
June 21, 2023 | Benaroya Community Services, Community Based Services, General
For more than a decade, 77% of seniors have continually reaffirmed their desire to age in place at home. There are many reasons to want to stay put: better budgets, neighborhood friends, protected independence, and fond memories are just a few. But remaining at home throughout the twilight years presents significant challenges; in addition to the potential need for home modifications for accessibility and safety, there is the very real problem of ongoing care support.
The number of people 65 or over is projected to top 80 million nationwide by 2040; locally, in King County, over 18% of the population will be that age by 2030. But the availability of skilled nursing facilities is dwindling: at least 26 such facilities have closed in the last five years.
Kline Galland sees a community solution with active collaboration between home health, home care, hospice and palliative care. As CEO Jeff Cohen explains, “Community-based services make homes safer and more functional for our seniors while rehab, therapies and interventions keep them healthier, for longer. Expanding these programs will allow seniors to age in place and provide relief to busy hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.” It also reinforces the organization’s goal to “support people and deliver healthcare services in the way that seniors want, at the place they want, for as long as it is safe to do so.”
With more than a century of experience, Kline Galland is recognized for its customizable, dignified senior care.
- Home health services provide medical expertise at home for those recovering from illness, surgery, or an accident.
- Home care provides extra non-medical support which can make day-to-day life easier, like companionship, bathing and dressing, light housekeeping and correspondence, pet care, and running errands.
- Palliative care helps maintain quality of life, comfort, and independence in the face of chronic illnesses and pain.
- Hospice care is end-of-life care by a compassionate, interdisciplinary team of professionals with emotional, social and spiritual support for the individual and family.
To reflect the community-centeredness, Kline Galland has named these collected offerings Benaroya Community Services to honor Rebecca and Jack Benaroya’s many years of service and generosity to the organization. “Throughout her 44 years of service on Kline Galland’s Board of Directors, Rebecca has provided invaluable leadership and direction to the Kline Galland operations and facilities,” said Irene Fisher, Board Chair. “Rebecca and her late husband, Jack, have been champions of Kline Galland and it is because of generous donors like them that we are able to offer an unprecedented level of dignified senior care, for now and for the generations to come.”
Kline Galland has been a community resource for over 100 years. To meet the challenges of the booming aging generation, the Kline Galland team realizes they need to be more than just a resource — they need to be the community solution as well.
