Reuters, September 15, 2016: Program Employs a Handyman to Upgrade Low-Income Seniors’ Health

“Assistance from a nurse, an occupational therapist and - in a novel approach, a handyman - made it easier for low-income seniors to perform tasks, like dressing, that are essential for independent living, a new study shows. Moreover, the study found the innovative program for homebound elderly lifted depression in more than half of participants, researchers reported in Health Affairs. Lead author Sarah Szanton conceived the idea of adding a handyman to a team visiting older adults in Baltimore during the 2008 recession, in response to a call for grant proposals to put Americans back to work. Szanton, a nurse-practitioner and a professor at the Johns Hopkins schools of public health and nursing in Baltimore, spent years making house calls to low-income, homebound seniors and frequently found their environmental challenges just as pressing as their health challenges.”