Enhancing Health Through Reliable Communication

As we age, in addition to health care providers, we often need to access supportive services.

“Mr. Smith,” a 78-year-old divorced gentleman, was recently referred to me by his physician following an office visit. A renter at his house brought him to the appointment and noted he lacked help with meal preparation, safe showering (as he utilizes a walker), housekeeping and the like. With the help of this tenant, an in-home meeting was set up with Mr. Smith where we spent time discussing his situation, including his strong desire to remain in his own home, which he has dedicated more than four decades to building and restoring himself.

By visiting Mr. Smith in his home, I observed uneven flooring, steep stairs and a poorly lit path of travel to the restroom. This impressed upon me the need for home health professionals and private duty home care to support and address his needs. In discussing home health, I learned that his physician had already ordered home health and his insurance company had already approved this service with a specific provider. Mr. Smith was not clear about this, so the provider was called and indicated that they had not been able to reach Mr. Smith to arrange their visits. Mr. Smith then recalled that the phone by his bed was not working. This easily fixable communication problem could have potentially caused a much bigger health and safety problem. 

Continuity of health care becomes fractured by poor channels of communication. This means different things for different folks, yet in Mr. Smith’s situation it was as basic as having a phone within reach that he could independently and reliably operate.

In California the Public Utilities Commission supports a program referred to as the California Telephone Access Program (CTAP) www.californiaphones.org. The goal of CTAP is to bridge communications gaps such as hearing, vision, mobility, speaking and cognition challenges. There are no age, income or insurance requirements to access this free equipment. While equipment can be mailed out, there is also a local CTAP Service Center (425 W. Broadway, Suite 105, Glendale) where one can try different options to decide which phone best meets their needs. 

This resource made it easy for Mr. Smith to obtain an adapted telephone, one easier and more reliable for him to use so he can arrange to have providers visit him at home.