MARYLAND: Senior Health Care Co-op Is National Model

      After 10 years of operation, the Annapolis, Md.-based Heritage Harbour Health Group (HHHG) -- a community-based home health program created, funded and governed by seniors -- has become a national model for senior health care co-operatives, the Washington Post reports. In the late 1980s, residents of the Heritage Harbour community, which houses more than 2,500 residents ages 55 and older, began developing a program to provide health services within the community while allowing residents to remain at home if frail or ill, rather than moving them to nursing homes. HHHG's 1,600 members pay $85 annually for services such as blood pressure screenings, flu shots, 24-hour access to nursing care, and assistance with advanced directives and Medicare claims submission; extra charges apply only for home health aides and disease management. Backed by two large donations and funds from the state Legislature, HHHG hopes to open a 10-bed respite facility nearby to aid members with chronically ill spouses by 2002 (Levine, 4/17).