Assistive Devices Critical to Helping Seniors Age in Place Safely
Advocates for the Aging of Frederick County has purchased and installed
more than 2,100 assistive devices in the homes of area older and disabled
adults over the past three years thanks to an ARPA grant through Frederick
County government.
From grab bars in bathrooms to outdoor ramps and a wide variety of
equipment to help individuals get around safely, these assistive devices are
improving the quality of life for those over 62 years old in 897 households
throughout the county. “We know that fewer falls mean fewer injuries, fewer
EMS calls and emergency room trips, and a higher quality of life for anyone
aging in place in our community,” explained Melanie Cox, president of the
Advocates Board of Directors. “And at a time when Frederick County has
limited affordable housing for low-income seniors, it is extremely important
that seniors are able to stay in their homes and apartments.”
The Doctor Who Saw A Need
Advocates’ began its work assisting seniors in 2014 when a founding Board
member, the late Joseph I. Berman, MD, joined nurses of the Adult
Evaluation & Referral Services (AERS) unit at the Frederick County Health
Department, on rounds throughout the county. Dr. Berman came back to
Advocates with the question of how to meet the unfunded needs of low-
income patients living on their own. From his initial question grew
Advocates’ AERS Fund, now known as the Donald L. Lewis AERS Fund, in
recognition of Mr. Lewis’s major gift establishing an endowment for
Advocates at the Community Foundation of Frederick County.
Through the AERS Fund, Advocates began funding items that would
enable seniors to stay at home safely and comfortably. Needs ranged from
mobility aids, such as specialty wheelchairs and walkers, to medically
required recliners, special shoes, microwave ovens and telephones for the
hard of hearing. Sometimes needs were expensive, and sometimes items
costing under $50 could make a substantive difference in someone’s
quality of life.
Initial Funding To Meet The Need
While meeting a wide variety of basic needs through the AERS Fund,
Advocates joined Frederick Health and the Housing Authority of the City of
Frederick in launching a three-year Service Coordination Project for low-
income seniors residing in single-unit housing through a major grant from
the Maryland Community Health Resource Commission. Enrolling more
than eighty seniors in Service Coordination provided even more data on the
need for assistive devices in homes and apartments. Conversations with
EMS personnel backed this up: “We complete safety checks of homes and
apartments and are asked for grab bars in bathrooms all the time,” Matt
Burgan, coordinator of Frederick County’s Mobile Community Healthcare
Program, said. “I wish there was someplace to send them for that help.”
Initial Funding for Assistive Devices
Funding grab bars to minimize falls, EMS calls and emergency department
visits for serious injuries seemed like a smart, proactive way to make a
difference for area seniors. So, when another area non-profit focused on
home repairs returned grant money to Frederick County, Advocates was
poised to put those funds to use.
With this initial $45,000 grant, Advocates created an application process
and a plan that ensured grab bars and other devices were chosen properly
by an occupational therapist, professionally installed, and reviewed by the
OT to be sure clients were using the devices correctly. In addition, the
program was made available to seniors in rental units with landlord
agreement. Professionally installed, high quality grab bars serve the renter
and enhance the value of the property.
Expanded Funding to Serve More Frederick Countians
The successful implementation of the program was bolstered by a $60,000
grant from the CDC Foundation in 2021, followed by a major ARPA grant
through the Frederick County Government as the COVID pandemic ended.
Since the start of this $300,000 multi-year grant, still at work in 2025, more
than 2,100 devices have been purchased and installed or put into use as of
December 31, 2024.
Other funders have joined in this important and lifesaving initiative over the
last four years. Grants from the City of Frederick, the Women’s Giving
Circle of Frederick County, The Donald C. Linton Donor Advised Fund at
the Community Foundation of Frederick County, the Community
Foundation’s Strategic Grant Funds and the Delaplaine Foundation have all
provided critical support targeted to helping seniors stay in their homes.
Playing a Role in the Affordable Housing Crisis
There is no such thing as assisted living for poor seniors. No government
program funds assisted living for those unable to afford it. Low-income
seniors who lose their housing face homelessness, so it is in the
community’s best interests to help seniors stay in their homes safely and
securely.
That’s where Advocates’ Assistive Devices Program plays a role. Meeting
the need for grab bars and other safety and mobility devices, as well as
appropriate recliners, ramps, stairlifts and other items, upgrades housing
accessibility and use. The greater the amount of accessible and safe
housing for seniors in Frederick County, the less likely we are to see growth
in senior homelessness, and the better the odds of fewer EMS calls and
hospitalizations for avoidable falls and accidents in seniors’ homes.
Complementing Service Coordination for Seniors
In 2024, the Service Coordination Program for Seniors designed by
Advocates and Frederick Health became part of the County’s Division of
Aging & Independence. As the 21 st century iteration of Frederick County’s
historic Montevue Vision and commitment to care for seniors, the Service
Coordination Program will connect seniors to services throughout the
county, including the Assistive Devices Program, and provide the one-to-
one support individuals need to use those services.
Advocates has been honored to join with funders to implement such
important work in Frederick County. We look forward to reaching more
seniors in the coming year, and to exploring opportunities for continuing
support as the current major grant ends.