When sixty-seven-year-old Tawney Wray slipped on the ice and needed shoulder surgery two years ago, the active power-walker didn’t know how to cope with being incapacitated. She went from being completely self-sufficient to being unable to lift or carry anything. Luckily, two different professionals in her life referred her to Springwell. Soon Tawney was enrolled in the Massachusetts Home Care Program and receiving weekly home-making, food preparation, and laundry assistance, all coordinated with the help of a Springwell care advisor.

For more than 37 years, Springwell care advisors have been helping seniors manage services that help keep them independent through the Massachusetts Home Care Program. This program is funded by the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, and provides for twenty-two different kinds of in-home services. Three different tiers of the program support low-income seniors who need anything from basic and temporary services, to long-term, comprehensive supports. It also provides help for caregivers who need respite services.

Although Tawney expected to need the Home Care Program only briefly, a second fall led to more surgery, another year of receiving services, and a new care advisor, Sasha Csatari, (pictured, right, with Tawney). Throughout her experience, Tawney has been impressed with the support she’s gotten from Springwell. “I love my care advisors! When Sasha came along, within ten minutes, I was assured by what a nice and competent young lady she is. She is so conscientious. I tell her all the time to just relax!”

Tawney is hoping to transition out of the Home Care Program and get back to her active, self-sufficient life once she heals from her next surgery this spring. “I will get back to my power-walking,” she says, “but I won’t forget Springwell. Without it, my quality of life these past two years would not have been good. And now I know where to turn when I need more help in the future.”

More information on the Massachusetts Home Care Program.