Celebrating 40 Years of Serving Miami’s Growing Elderly and Disabled Population

This year proudly marks the 40th anniversary of United HomeCare® (UHC), one of the largest home health and community care organizations in South Florida, dedicated to meeting the needs of the homebound elderly and disabled adults in our community. It has been an honor to lead the organization for over two decades during this time, shepherding its growth from a small non-profit agency originally established as a division of the United Way to an industry pioneer that today cares for nearly 5,000 clients across Miami-Dade.

 

Over the years, UHC has become a trusted leader known for its advances in home care programs, disease management services, and educational support programs to help families care for elderly and disabled relatives in homes or other community settings. Our impact on the community has been felt in many ways.

 

• Caring for those most in need: An approved Medicaid provider, UHC serves some of the community’s neediest through publicly funded programs. One such program, the Community Care for the Elderly (CCE), is operated by a statewide network of non-profit agencies providing home care services to frail seniors and has been offered by UHC since 1975. As the largest CCE Lead Agency in Miami-Dade, we help functionally impaired older adults live at home by providing personal care, home repairs, home-delivered meals and medical transportation.

 

• A valued partner in patient care: As a certified Medicare agency for the past 15 years, UHC has worked hand-in-hand with physicians to provide short-term care for elderly patients enrolled in Medicare. Our services, encompassing geriatric case management, nursing care, therapy, home health aide, and medical social work services.

 

• There’s just no place like home: Since 2004, with the establishment of Solutions, UHC’s Nursing Home Diversion Long-Term Care Program, our agency has helped thousands of frail and elderly adults remain at home safely and with dignity. The program is the market leader in Miami-Dade.

 

• Expansion into the assisted living facility industry: Looking ahead, United HomeCare will break ground this year on a best-in-class Assisted Living Facility in the heart of West Kendall, offering older adults a home-like environment with privacy, person-centered care, engagement and connectivity. Bringing a new, vibrant living environment to the community, this facility will offer 122 spacious private living suites and expansive common areas for dining, entertainment and recreational activities.

 

• Florida’s Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care Program: United HomeCare is actively preparing for the changing landscape with the emergence of Florida’s Medicaid managed care program for long-term care services that will go into effect this December in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. We are excited to begin working on this endeavor with Amerigroup and leverage our strengths in the delivery of care for elderly and disabled adults.

 

• Participation in innovative projects: UHC is constantly advancing home and community-based care through engagement in national and local research initiatives. We are implementing a number of evidence-based, grant-funded programs in collaboration with physicians, hospitals, foundations and institutions of higher learning. For example, United HomeCare continues to provide Community REACH II, an evidence-based program for persons with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. The program will continue to grow through additional funds received from Older Americans Act funding for caregiver training and support. In addition, UHC established its award-winning Caregiver Resource Center, the only one of its kind in Miami, and expanded our offerings for caregivers through our Working Caregiver Assistance Program, assisting employers in bringing important resources to the worksite.

 

For 40 years, United HomeCare has provided quality home health and community care services for tens of thousands of elderly and disabled adults across Miami-Dade. As we continue to evolve and adapt to the ever changing health care landscape, we remain focused on our mission to improve the quality of life to those we serve.