James Binsack had no plans to spend the rest of his life in a nursing home after a fall in 2006.

"I knew I was coming back," said Binsack, 84, who kept his Butler apartment during the 13 months he lived at Sunnyview Home and Saxony Health Center.

He was able to move home because of the Nursing Home Transition Program, coordinated by the Butler County Area Agency on Aging.

Funded by the Pennsylvania departments of Aging, Health and Public Welfare and the Governor's Office of Health Care Reform, the program helps place nursing home residents in private residences or assisted living facilities instead of remaining institutionalized.

Karen Ward, aging program assessor and nursing home transition counselor for the Agency on Aging, said more than 70 nursing home patients have returned to their homes since the program was launched in 2006.

"It's a win-win situation for the families to enjoy their loved one,"she said, describing a state push to redefine how funds are spent.

Nursing home living for those on nursing home assistance costs $5,000 to $6,000 per person per month at a home like Sunnyview, she said. The cost to transition a consumer is variable, but often is a one-time expense.

"The goal is to transition people home before they become dependent on nursing homes,"said Ward.

In order for eligible patients to go home, the agency must overcome some obstacles.

In Binsack's case, all that was needed was an aide to help him three times a day with getting in and out of bed, and help him with banking and other errands. Debbie Bicker is a home health aide with Concordia Lutheran Ministries and has assisted Binsack since he went home in December 2006.

He also receives delivered meals each day through a community program. With a power chair and an apartment designed for handicapped residents, Binsack maintains virtual independence.

Along with Ward, several agency employees also help with the transition process. Ward assesses the consumer's medical needs and determines the level of care required. Then the consumer's case goes to a care manager, who visits the home and determines what is needed for the consumer to live safely and comfortably. Solutions might range from installing a stair glide, ramp or wider doorways to hiring an aide.

"Some just need transportation," said Leslie Boyle, assessment supervisor.

The program will even cover one-time expenses such as security deposits, furnishings and other moving expenses to help the consumer live independently. Once at home, the consumers are assigned a care manager like Wendy Hooks, who monitors their needs.

While in the nursing home, Binsack hinted to Hooks that he loved chocolate cake.

"When I got out (of the nursing home),Wendy had a chocolate cake waiting for me. She's all right,"he said.

Binsack said he enjoys going outside whenever he wants, riding his chair to nearby Alameda Park and occasional shopping at Big Lots.

While many seniors like Binsack enjoy returning home, their families also reap benefits.

Alfreda Kosar's late husband, John, who fell multiple times in early 2006, lived at Sunnyview for 18 months before returning home in the summer of 2007.

During his time at Sunnyview, Alfreda, 89, of Butler daily took his laundry home to wash, took him snacks and cooked homemade meals for him and his table mates.

"I really wanted him to come home," Alfreda Kosar said.

The agency care managers helped meet John Kosar's needs. They installed a stair glide, gave him another walker so he could have one upstairs and one downstairs, installed a ramp out the back door, put a shower bench in the tub and installed a hand shower. They also provided an aide to come each morning and night to help him in and out of bed.

"What didn't they (care managers) do for me?" Alfreda Kosar said. "I don't know what I'd have done without them."

Hooks also was John Kosar's care manager and maintains contact with Alfreda Kosar.

"I'll never forget the look on his face when he came home. Tears were streaming down his face," Hooks said.

At Sunnyview, John Kosar rarely stepped out of his wheelchair. But at home, he walked all around his house with help from a walker, the women noted.

He died in November at 95. Alfreda Kosar looks back on his last four months at home as precious.

Although Binsack and the Kosar family made use of the transition program, not every nursing home resident is eligible.

Applicants must be financially eligible for nursing home assistance. Also, the agency can only transition those who are 60 or older. Those younger than 60 can transition through other providers like Three Rivers Center for Independent Living or Community Care Connections.

There is a waiting list for the Nursing Home Transition Program, and an assessor must contact nursing home residents who may qualify. For more information, visit www.co.butler.pa.us/butler and click on the Agency on Aging link.