Community-based elder care: a model for working with the marginally housed elderly.

The community-based elder care (C-BEC) model is a critical treatment leverage that can be used to serve the older geriatric population who live in marginal housing tenements and who have little to nonexistent formal or informal support systems. Service engagement includes a model of care encompassing health maintenance with ongoing assessment of several specific dimensions. These dimensions include motor functioning, environmental barriers, emotional health, supportive services, and adherence motivation. All of these effect outcome and treatment course, despite a variety of medical diagnosis, level of functioning, and supportive needs. From evaluation of the individuals described in this article, considerations for collaborative treatment relationships, interdisciplinary teams, and service assessments are recognized as focal points of change that can be facilitated with C-BEC. The model is replicable and recommended for service providers working with an ambulatory, homebound frail and older aged population.