Representatives from the Pennsylvania Departments of Health, Human Services, and Aging were present at Bethlehem’s Kirkland Village on Thursday to highlight recent upgrades in the facility.
Grant funding for the upgrades comes from the Health Department’s Long-Term Care Transformation Office (LTCTO). Kirkland Village Executive Director, Staci Warsaw, says the improvements will seek to make employees’ jobs easier.
“And we are using those funds to add a WIFI access point in our personal care home, and to purchase three iPhones that have a push-to-talk feature, kind of like a walkie-talkie. These infrastructure enhancements are going to help enable our team members to more easily communicate with one another when responding to resident call bells, or in the case of any emergencies, creating a safer environment for both our residents and employees.”
The LTCTO was created in the midst of the pandemic as accommodating resident needs became more difficult. Governor Josh Shapiro proposed $10 million in funding for the office in his 2024-25 fiscal year budget.
Funding is intended to fill gaps in care, and the first step toward achieving that is supporting staff, according to Jason Kavulich, the Secretary of Aging.
"They make sacrifices so that the people that we love and that live here have what they need. So much is sacrificed by those workers that we have to continually keep them in the front of our mind to make sure that we are doing our part to uplift their cause and making sure that they’re supported so that they can continue to provide the care that these older adults deserve so much.”
Kirkland Village is one of several facilities statewide to receive a LTCTO grant, adding to what the Shapiro Administration is calling a list of achievements in bolstering long-term care for older Pennsylvanians.
