Executive Order  No. 84: Requiring the Secretary of Elder Affairs to develop and implement a Home Care Program for the elderly and the handicapped, and defining its powers and duties in relation thereto

WHEREAS, more than 32,000 residents of this Commonwealth now reside in nursing homes that give a wide range of medical and nursing care; and

WHEREAS, a survey done in 1970 by the State Department of Public Health showed that between 12% and 20% of the patients in our nursing homes -- approximately 5,000 people -- had no medical need to be there; and

WHEREAS, because these 5,000 people have no other place to go they are forced to be separated from their homes and communities and they and the state are in many cases forced to bear financial burdens that are not necessary nor can be afforded; and

WHEREAS, the Senior Citizen and the handicapped adult require alternatives to this institutionalization; and

WHEREAS, a home care program offering a variety of social services can provide opportunities for the elderly and handicapped to remain in their own homes and communities; and

WHEREAS, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs was established under Chapter 862 of the Acts of 1970 to serve as the advocate for the elderly and to develop innovative programs to assure the dignity and independence of the senior citizen;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Francis W. Sargent, Governor of the Commonwealth, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Supreme Executive Magistrate, do hereby order as follows:

1. The Secretary of Elder Affairs shall plan, develop and implement a Home Care Program for the elderly and handicapped adults living in the communities of the Commonwealth. Said Home Care Program shall include, among other things, housekeeping aid, health services, nutritional services, provision of meals, group activity programs, etc.
2. The Secretary shall, to the greatest extent possible, utilize existing public and private resources and organizations for the provision of Home Care services, and may contract with private agencies and organizations for the provision of Home Care Services.
3. The Secretary may hire staff as authorized and may utilize state and federal funds available for such purposes.
4. The Secretary of Elder Affairs shall receive the cooperation of all state offices, departments or agencies in carrying out the duties set forth herein.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this twenty-second day of November in the year of our Lord, one thousand nine hundred and seventy-one and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and ninety-sixth.

FRANCIS W. SARGENT

Governor

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

JOHN F. X. DAVOREN

Secretary of the Commonwealth