• Functional status
• health status
• hospitalization and nursing home placement

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a collaborative model of team care as compared to usual care in improving functional outcomes among community-dwelling low-income older adults.

This collaborative model of care, Geriatric Resources for Assessment and Care of Elders (GRACE), involves a geriatric nurse practitioner and a geriatric social worker caring for the vulnerable older adult in collaboration with the patient’s primary care physician to improve coordination and quality of care. The specific components of GRACE mirror those recommended in recent reviews: a) specific targeting of elders at risk; b) availability of collaborative expertise in geriatrics; c) integration of the program into primary care; d) coordination of care across all sites of care; e) integration of data systems that support physician’s practice and facilitate monitoring of pertinent clinical parameters; and f) institutionally endorsed clinical practice guidelines. To our knowledge, there are no prior studies investigating the effectiveness of such a comprehensive approach among vulnerable older adults.

We are hypothesizing that, compared to usual care, patients enrolled in the intervention will have:

1. greater independence in activities of daily living over 2 years of follow-up;
2. better health status scores as assessed by the HEDIS® 2000 Health Outcomes Survey
3. fewer nursing home days over 2 years of follow-up; and
4. fewer hospitalizations over the 2 years of follow-up.

• Functional Decline
• Aging

• Counsell SR, Callahan CM, Buttar AB, Clark DO, Frank KI. Geriatric Resources for Assessment and Care of Elders (GRACE): a new model of primary care for low-income seniors. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2006 Jul;54(7):1136-41.
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• Callahan CM, Stump TE, Stroupe KT, Tierney WM. Cost of health care for a community of older adults in an urban academic healthcare system. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1998 Nov;46(11):1371-7.
• Counsell SR, Holder CM, Liebenauer LL, Palmer RM, Fortinsky RH, Kresevic DM, Quinn LM, Allen KR, Covinsky KE, Landefeld CS. Effects of a multicomponent intervention on functional outcomes and process of care in hospitalized older patients: a randomized controlled trial of Acute Care for Elders (ACE) in a community hospital. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2000 Dec;48(12):1572-81.
• Stuck AE, Minder CE, Peter-Wuest I, Gillmann G, Egli C, Kesselring A, Leu RE, Beck JC. A randomized trial of in-home visits for disability prevention in community-dwelling older people at low and high risk for nursing home admission. Arch Intern Med. 2000 Apr 10;160(7):977-86.
• Counsell SR, Callahan CM, Tu W, Stump TE, Arling GW. Cost analysis of the Geriatric Resources for Assessment and Care of Elders care management intervention. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009 Aug;57(8):1420-6.
• Counsell SR, Callahan CM, Clark DO, Tu W, Buttar AB, Stump TE, Ricketts GD. Geriatric care management for low-income seniors: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2007 Dec 12;298(22):2623-33.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 65 years old or older
• Annual income less than 200% of the federal poverty level
• Have had one or more primary care visits in the past 12 months
• Reside in the community (non-institutionalized)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-English speaking
• No regular access to a telephone
• Currently undergoing kidney dialysis treatments
• Residing with a patient already participating in the GRACE clinical trial

• Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust
• Wishard Health Services