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Background: Given the significant exposures experienced by the World Trade Center (WTC) general responders, there is increasing interest in understanding the effect of these exposures on aging in this population. We aim to identify factors that may be associated with frailty, a clinical syndrome characterized by a decrease in one's reserve that has been linked to poor health outcomes., Methods: WTC general responders enrolled in the WTC Health Program aged 50 and older provided informed consent. Validated frailty assessments, the Frailty Phenotype (with the Johns Hopkins Frailty Assessment Calculator) along with the FRAIL scale, categorized nonfrail from prefrail/frail. Fall risk, functional status, and cognition were also assessed. WTC variables, including an identified WTC-certified condition, were utilized. The risk of frailty was estimated using log binomial regression analysis. A 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to estimate the prevalence ratio (PR)., Results: One hundred and six participants were included; 38 (35.8%) were classified as pre-frail or frail. More of the pre-frail/frail group were obese (57.9% vs. 25%; p = 0.004) and had a WTC-certified condition (78.9% vs. 58.8%; p = 0.036). Obesity (PR = 2.43, 95% CI = 1.31, 4.53), a WTC-certified condition (PR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.09, 2.89), and risk of falling (PR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.01, 3.84) were independently associated with frailty., Conclusions: Obesity and having a WTC-certified condition were found to be risk factors for frailty in our pilot study. Future work may focus on further identifying risk factors for frailty in the larger WTC general responder population., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Research on deaths during COVID-19 has largely focused on hospitals and nursing homes. Less is known about medically complex patients receiving care in the community. We examined care disruptions and end-of-life experiences of homebound patients receiving home-based primary care (HBPC) in New York City during the initial 2020 COVID-19 surge. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients enrolled in Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors who died between March 1-June 30, 2020. We collected patient sociodemographic and clinical data and analyzed care disruptions and end-of-life experiences using clinical notes, informed by thematic and narrative analysis. Results: Among 1300 homebound patients, 112 (9%) died during the study period. Patients who died were more likely to be older, non-Hispanic white, and have dementia than those who survived. Thirty percent of decedents had confirmed or probable COVID-19. Fifty-eight (52%) were referred to hospice and 50 enrolled. Seventy-three percent died at home. We identified multiple intersecting disruptions in family caregiving, paid caregiving, medical supplies and services, and hospice care, as well as hospital avoidance, complicating EOL experiences. The HBPC team responded by providing clinical, logistical and emotional support to patients and families. Conclusion: Despite substantial care disruptions, the majority of patients in our study died at home with support from their HBPC team as the practice worked to manage care disruptions. Our findings suggest HBPC's multi-disciplinary, team-based model may be uniquely suited to meet the needs of the most medically and socially vulnerable older adults at end of life during public health emergencies.

Background: Although racial and ethnic minorities disproportionately use some hospitals, hospital-based racial and ethnic composition relative to geographic region and its association with quality indicators has not been systematically analyzed., Methods: We used four race and ethnicity categories: non-Hispanic white (NHW), non-Hispanic black (NHB), Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander/Alaskan Native/American Indian (API/AIAN), as well as a combined non-NHW category, from the 2010 (latest year publicly available) Medicare Institutional Provider & Beneficiary Summary public use file for 84 hospitals in the New York City region. We assessed the relative distribution of race and ethnicity across hospitals grouped at different geographic levels (region, county, hospital referral region [HRR], or hospital service areas [HSA]) using the dissimilarity index. Hospital characteristics included quality star ratings, essential professional services and diagnostic/treatment equipment, bed size, total expenses, and patients with dual Medicare and Medicaid enrollment. We assessed Spearman's rank correlation between hospital-based racial and ethnic composition and quality/structural measures., Results: Dissimilarity Index decreases from region (range 30.3-40.1%) to county (range 13.7-23.5%), HRR (range 10.5-27.5%), and HSA (range 12.0-16.9%) levels. Hospitals with larger non-NHW patients tended to have lower hospital ratings and higher proportions of dually-enrolled patients. They were also more likely to be safety net hospitals and non-federal governmental hospitals., Conclusions: In the NYC metropolitan region, there is considerable hospital-based racial and ethnic segregation of Medicare patients among non-NHW populations, extending previous research limited to NHB. Availability of data on racial and ethnic composition of hospitals should be made publicly available for researchers and consumers., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background/objectives: To identify major barriers to video-based telehealth use among homebound older adults., Design: Cross-sectional survey., Setting: A large home-based primary care (HBPC) program in New York City (NYC) serving 873 homebound patients living in the community., Participants: Sixteen primary care physicians., Measurements: An 11-item assessment of provider perceptions of patients' experience with and barriers to telehealth., Results: According to physicians in the HBPC program, more than one-third (35%) of homebound patients (mean age of 82.7; 46.6% with dementia; mean of 4 comorbidities/patient) engaged in first-time video-based telehealth encounters between April and June 2020 during the first COVID-19 surge in NYC. The majority (82%) required assistance from a family member and/or paid caregiver to complete the visit. Among patients who had not used telehealth, providers deemed 27% (n = 153) "unable to interact over video" for reasons including cognitive or sensory impairment and 14% lacked access to a caregiver to assist them with technology. Physicians were not knowledgeable of their patients' internet connectivity, ability to pay for cellular plans, or video-capable device access., Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a large and dramatic shift to video-based telehealth use in home-based primary care. However, 4 months into the pandemic a majority of patients had not participated in a video-based telehealth encounter due to a number of barriers. Patients lacking caregiver support to assist with technology may benefit from novel approaches such as the deployment of community health workers to assist with device setup. Physicians may not be able to identify potentially modifiable barriers to telehealth use among their patients, highlighting the need for better systematic data collection before targeted interventions to increase video-based telehealth use., (© 2021 The American Geriatrics Society.)

Homebound older adults are a highly vulnerable population, yet little is known about their experiences with healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. We interviewed patients in home-based primary care (HBPC) in New York City by telephone in May and June of 2020. Interviews covered social supports, household activities, self-care, and medical care, and asked participants to compare current with prepandemic experiences. Among 70 participants, 37% were Black and 32% were Hispanic. Disruptions in the home included greater difficulty accessing paid caregivers (13.9%) and food (35.3%) than before the pandemic, and unaddressed household chores (laundry, 81.4%; food preparation, 11.4%). Black study participants were more likely than White and Hispanic participants to report disruptions in accessing medical care (13 [50.0%] vs. 3 [14.3%] vs. 6 [27.3%], respectively, p = 0.02), as well as food preparation and medication taking. Black patients in HBPC are at risk of disparities in healthcare and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background/objectives: COVID-19 required rapid innovation throughout the healthcare system. Home-based primary care (HBPC) practices faced unique challenges maintaining services for medically complex older populations for whom they needed to adapt a traditionally hands-on, model of care to accommodate restrictions on in-person contact. Our aim was to determine strategies used by New York City (NYC)-area HBPC practices to provide patient care during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with the goal of informing planning and preparation for home-based practices nationwide., Design: Cross-sectional qualitative design using semi-structured interviews., Setting: HBPC practices in the NYC metro area during spring 2020., Participants: HBPC leadership including clinical/medical directors, program managers, nurse practitioners/nursing coordinators, and social workers/social work coordinators (n = 13) at 6 NYC-area practices., Measurements: Semi-structured interviews explored HBPC practices' COVID-19 care delivery challenges, adaptations, and advice for providers. Interviewers probed patient care, end-of-life care, telehealth, community-based services and staffing. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed through a combined inductive and deductive thematic approach., Results: Participants described care delivery and operational adaptations similar to those universally adopted across healthcare settings during COVID-19, such as patient outreach and telehealth. HBPC-specific adaptations included mental health services for patients experiencing depression and isolation, using multiple modalities of patient interactions to balance virtual care with necessary in-person contact, strategies to maintain patient trust, and supporting team connection of staff through daily huddles and emotional support during the surge of deaths among long-standing patients., Conclusion: NYC-area HBPC providers adapted care delivery and operations rapidly during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Keeping older, medically complex patients safe in their homes required considerable flexibility, transparency, teamwork, and partnerships with outside providers. As the pandemic continues to surge around the United States, HBPC providers may apply these lessons and consider resources needed to prepare for future challenges., (© 2020 The American Geriatrics Society.)

Although family satisfaction is recognized as a critical indicator of quality care for persons with serious illness, Spanish-language measures are limited. The study aims were to develop a Spanish translation of the short-form Family Satisfaction With End-of-Life Care (FAMCARE), investigate its psychometric properties in Hispanic caregivers to patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD; N = 317; 209 interviewed in Spanish), and add parameters to an existing item bank. Based on factor analyses, the measure was found to be essentially unidimensional. Reliabilities from a graded item response theory model were high; the average estimate was 0.93 for the total and Spanish-language subsample. Discrimination parameters were high, and the model fit adequate. This is the first study to examine the performance of the short-form FAMCARE measure among Hispanics and caregivers to patients with ADRD. The short-form measure can be recommended for Hispanics and caregivers to patients with ADRD.

Paid caregivers (for example, home health aides and personal care attendants) are formally tasked with helping older adults with functional impairment meet their basic needs at home. This study used thirty semistructured interviews with dyads of patients or their proxies and their paid caregivers in New York City to understand the range of health-related tasks that paid caregivers perform in the home and determine whether these tasks are taught in the New York State Department of Health's curriculum. We found that patients, proxies, and paid caregivers all reported that paid caregivers performed a wide range of health-related tasks that were often not part of their formal training. Creating clear competencies for paid caregivers that reflect the full breadth of health-related tasks they may perform in the home could help maximize the positive impact of the paid caregiver workforce on the lives of patients living at home with functional impairment.

Objectives: To assess the oral health status, use of dental care, and dental needs of homebound elderly adults and to determine whether medical diagnoses or demographic factors influenced perceived oral health., Design: Cross-sectional analysis., Setting: Participants' homes in New York City., Participants: Homebound elderly adults (N = 125)., Measurements: A trained dental research team conducted a comprehensive clinical examination in participants' homes and completed a dental use and needs survey and the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index., Results: Participants who reported a high level of unmet oral health needs were more likely to be nonwhite, although this effect was not significant in multivariate analysis. Individual medical diagnoses and the presence of multiple comorbidities were not associated with unmet oral health needs., Conclusion: The oral health status of homebound elderly adults was poor regardless of their medical diagnoses. High unmet oral health needs combined with strong desire to receive dental care suggests there is a need to improve access to dental care for this growing population. In addition to improving awareness of geriatricians and primary care providers who care for homebound individuals, the medical community must partner with the dental community to develop home-based programs for older adults., (© 2014, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2014, The American Geriatrics Society.)

The growing homebound population has many complex biomedical and psychosocial needs and requires a team-based approach to care (Smith, Ornstein, Soriano, Muller, & Boal, 2006). The Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors Program (MSVD), a large interdisciplinary home-based primary care program in New York City, has a vibrant social work program that is integrated into the routine care of homebound patients. We describe the assessment process used by MSVD social workers, highlight examples of successful social work care, and discuss why social workers' individualized care plans are essential for keeping patients with chronic illness living safely in the community. Despite barriers to widespread implementation, such social work involvement within similar home-based clinical programs is essential in the interdisciplinary care of our most needy patients.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a source of morbidity and mortality for high risk populations. The incidence of VTE has been characterized in many populations, but the incidence in homebound patients, a growing demographic, is unknown. The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence of VTE occurring at home in a cohort of patients enrolled in the Mount Sinai Visiting Doctor's Program (VDP), a home-based primary care program. The medical records of patients enrolled in the VDP over a 4 year period were examined. Incident VTE in a home setting was defined as the diagnosis of any symptomatic deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism that did not occur during a hospitalization, within 4 weeks of a medical hospitalization, or within 12 weeks of a hospitalization for surgery. Functional status was abstracted for all patients, when available. Of 1,910 patients active during the study period, 39 cases of at-home VTE were identified (8.0 per 1,000 person years [95 % CI = 7.6-8.3]). Of these events, 30 of 39 were confirmed by radiological testing and considered definite, and 9 were considered probable. There was no statistically significant difference in age, race, or sex between the patients with and without VTE. In conclusion the estimated incidence of symptomatic VTE in a homebound population is low. There is insufficient evidence to support routine surveillance or prophylaxis strategies for VTE in homebound patients.

Seasonal influenza vaccination is recommended for all persons aged ≥50 years to reduce influenza related morbidity and mortality, but vaccination coverage among community-dwelling elderly remains low. Homebound elderly receiving home-based primary care (HBPC) have fewer barriers to vaccination than other community-dwelling elderly. The Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors (MSVD) program provides HBPC to homebound elderly in New York City. This study assessed seasonal influenza vaccination coverage within an urban HBPC program and identified factors associated with vaccine refusal. A cross-sectional analysis of data from the 2008-2009 influenza season was completed and influenza vaccination coverage was assessed. The association between social, demographic and health-related characteristics and vaccine refusal was evaluated using bivariate analysis and multivariable logistic regression. Of 689 people aged >65 eligible for influenza vaccination, 578 (84%) accepted and 111 (16%) refused vaccination. In multivariable analysis, vaccine refusal was positively associated with female gender (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02, 3.35), black race (AOR = 2.04, 95% CI 1.28, 3.25), and living alone (AOR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.10, 2.67), and negatively associated with dementia (AOR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.37, 0.91). Seasonal influenza vaccine coverage in the MSVD program was high compared to nursing home and community-dwelling elderly. Offering patients vaccination at home without additional expense will likely improve vaccine coverage among urban homebound elderly. Understanding why vaccine refusal rates are higher among females, black patients, and those living alone should guide interventions to increase vaccine acceptance among this population.

The Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors program, a joint program of Mount Sinai Medical Center's Departments of Medicine and Geriatrics, is a large multidisciplinary teaching, research, and clinical care initiative serving homebound adults in Manhattan since 1995. Caring for more than 1,000 patients annually, the physicians of Visiting Doctors make more than 6,000 urgent and routine visits each year, making it the largest program of its kind in the country. Services include 24-hour physician availability, palliative care, social work case management, collaboration with nursing agencies, and in-home specialty consultation. The program serves many individuals who have previously received inadequate and inconsistent medical care. Patients are referred by social service agencies, localphysicians, and hospitals and are primarily frail older individuals with complex needs. Funded by Mount Sinai and private support, the program serves as a major teaching site for medical nursing, and social work trainees interested in home-based primary care.