The Senior Advisory Committee is excited about several ideas to improve the quality of life for the island’s senior residents. One of the “most needed” services is that of certified nursing assistants (CNA). Like most other essential services, however, finding qualified candidates can be tricky. Transportation and housing difficulties have made it hard to find qualified caregivers for seniors on the island. Co-Chairs Sandra Kelly and Gail Pierce sat down with The Times recently to describe the problem.
While many wonderful people on Block Island provide care and support for seniors in their homes, only certified CNAs are covered by most insurance plans. Kelly and Pierce said that many people have insurance that will cover in-home care, but only if the provider is a certified CNA. The co-chairs said they had “attempted to contact caregiver agencies on the mainland,” to set up sending over CNAs, but “housing is a problem.”
But the SAC has a plan: “We hope to train island people,” Kelly said.
In her Senior Coordinator’s report, Gloria Redlich discussed the idea of covering the tuition of two Block Islanders to take the CNA program offered at the Community College of Rhode Island. It is a
