People after a certain age require some form of assistance to fully take care of themselves. Most studies have shown that seniors prefer to live in their own homes rather than living in an old age community or nursing facility. This is why home care must be considered while making long-term plans.
When it comes to such a facility, there are many options to choose from. However, there is one that you may not be familiar with.
CDPAP stands for Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program and it is a Medicaid program offered by the state of New York, attempting to change the way consumers approach and handle caregiving.
CDPAP is a great way to secure personal home care for your loved ones. The central idea revolves around empowering the consumer with the choice of their caregivers and therefore allowing you to recruit caregivers of your choice for your loved ones. CDPAP allows consumers greater freedom in making vital and lasting healthcare decisions. If you qualify under the terms of the program, you can become a caregiver for a friend or family yourself.
However, it can get very confusing to choose among so many options, so we’ve come up with a few reasons that highlight why CDPAP is the best option to go with.
Choose Whoever You Wish
CDPAP gives the power to the seniors in choosing the person who will provide for their care. Plus, if a person is not comfortable meeting or living with a stranger, he can choose a trusted friend or family member as their carer. Over time, surely a bond will develop between the patient and caregiver, but if the caregiver is already someone you know, then the process would be much more stress-free. It is a win-win situation for both parties, the patient gets to hire a trusted person, and the caregiver gets a steady source of income.
More Autonomy
There is nothing wrong with traditional health aids. However, they are managed by an agency which makes some patients feel as if they lack control over their situation. Whereas, CDPAP does not only let the patient choose the caregiver, but also the kind of services they need. Also, you won’t have to worry about the caregiver’s schedule as they won’t be attending any other patients other than you.
Options for Family Caregivers
If there ever comes a situation where the patient is sick or is not able to take personal care, a member of the patient’s family can come to his aid. Any kind of payment or official agreement isn’t required. CDPAP also eliminates the financial concern by providing the caretaker with payment for their efforts. This allows the patient to be guilt-free for taking the time of their family from their busy lives and allows the family member to be financially relieved.
Create Your Routine
CDPAP allows the patients to create a routine of their choice in which they feel comfortable. The patients can meet the people they wish to see and receive care whenever they feel like it.
A tailored routine according to the patient allows them to plug in the activities they most enjoy, as well as enjoy the flexibility to alter their routine as and when required — considering that their preferences or situation changes over time.
Bottom Line
CDPAP may sound too good to be true, but know this, it is real. People have already started to take advantage of the program. The only catch is in the set-up of the process. Like any other program, CDPAP requires paperwork, form submission, evaluations among many other tasks.
The application process for CDPAP is streamlined and intuitive. Its goal is the distribution of the program’s benefits to every eligible consumer. Anyone who is either enrolled with Medicaid or is eligible, or needs a home health aide must google about CDPAP and get right on it.
This article was written in collaboration with Jennie Trotters.
