The Hartford Courant is reporting that an innovative program run by St. Lukes Eldercare Services will be expanded to include several towns throughout the state. St. Lukes has been involved with the Gatekeeper program, which began in Washington State in the late 1970s, for over a year. In addition to St. Lukes, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services has chosen three other agencies across the state to host the statewide program.
The program teaches postal workers, municipal employees, firefighters, hairdressers, and others to look out for signs that something isn’t right with a senior. If they see something, they refer the senior to the Gatekeeper program, which offers services, including financial planning, in-home medical care, legal advice, and transportation, among other things. One goal of the program is to keep seniors in the community instead of a nursing home or other institutional setting.
