GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan – It’s difficult to imagine Manda Etheredge as a good candidate for living on her own.

A car crash in 2007 left Etheredge, now 35, a paraplegic, able to move only her arms. She can’t do her hair, cook or bathe without assistance.

But Etheredge is sharing a home in Mt. Morris with her 14-year-old son, thanks to a state program that aims to contain the costs for Medicaid recipients by providing home health services.

“When you’re here, you get to be around your family,” she said.

Since 2008, 96 people have moved out of facilities and into home health services in the Genesee and Shiawassee counties, according to data provided by the Michigan Department of Community Heath. Those transitions were carried out by the Valley Area Agency on Aging and The Disability Network.

Etheredge is one of those people. She spent eight months in a nursing home but opted for home health care after she said she was left on a bedpan for 11 hours and had three roommates die during her stay.

Now, Crystal Anderson, a home health aide, comes to Etheredge’s home twice a day for periods of about three hours to do everyday tasks. Her responsibilities include cleaning, helping Etheredge shower and aiding her in whatever she else needs.

“She wouldn’t be able to do anything without me,” Anderson said. “She can only move her arms so there isn’t much she can do.”

When Anderson isn’t there, she is either in a power wheelchair or being cared for by a family member.

She receives money from the Valley Area Agency on Aging and the state to help cover her expenses, such as rent and the cost of hiring someone to manage her disability. Etheredge said she didn’t have an exact figure for how much she receives and what her care costs.

The home care program, called the MI Choice Waiver Program, costs an average of $57 a day, compared with the $187 average daily cost of nursing home care. It has saved Michigan $65 million since it began in 2008, with 2,632 people leaving nursing facilities to live on their own, according to state figures.

With savings like that, the number is expected to increase, said Michael Daeschlein, manager of the home and community-based services section at the Michigan Department of Community Health.

“People have the opportunity to live in the most independent setting possible,” Daeschlein said. “We’re replacing your long-term care programs.”

Source: https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2011/06/state_home_health_services_che.html