Lending Hands Outreach is being developed to serve AHCCCS-eligible seniors 65 and older in Arizona's West Valley — the isolated, the frail, and the overlooked who have been authorized for care they cannot access.
Families, caregivers, churches, and community partners may use this one-page sheet to identify an AHCCCS/ALTCS-connected or potentially eligible senior age 65+ who may benefit from Adult Day Health Care, meals, transportation, supervision, or caregiver support once services become available.
Submission of this form does not guarantee eligibility, enrollment, authorization, or service availability.LHO is being developed for seniors aged 65 and older who are enrolled in Arizona's ALTCS-EPD (Elderly and Physically Disabled) program through AHCCCS — Arizona's Medicaid system. They are people who need structured daily support to remain safely in their homes and communities rather than transitioning to more intensive, more expensive care settings.
Many prospective members use wheelchairs or walkers. Many need assistance with daily activities. Many live alone or with family caregivers who depend on Adult Day Health Care to stay employed. All of them deserve a place where they are safe, known, and cared for.
ALTCS stands for Arizona Long Term Care System. The EPD program — Elderly and Physically Disabled — is the AHCCCS managed care program that covers long-term services and supports for eligible seniors and individuals with physical limitations.
ALTCS is a managed care entitlement. Every person who qualifies is legally entitled to services immediately — there is no enrollment cap and no waitlist. The shortage Arizona faces is entirely on the provider side: licensed facilities simply do not exist in sufficient numbers to serve the people who are already authorized and funded.
Once licensed and contracted, LHO plans to bill ALTCS-EPD managed care organizations directly for covered, authorized services. Member responsibility, if any, will be determined by the member's health plan and authorization.
If your family member is already enrolled in ALTCS and has been authorized for Adult Day Health Care, contact us. We can discuss eligibility, explain the next steps, and prepare for intake as licensure and contracting are finalized.
If your family member is not yet enrolled in ALTCS, or if they are enrolled but not yet authorized for ADHC, here is how the process works.
Contact AHCCCS or your local Area Agency on Aging to apply for ALTCS. Eligibility is based on age (65+), Arizona residency, income and asset limits, and a functional needs assessment. The MCO assigns a support coordinator.
Your support coordinator assesses the member's needs and authorizes appropriate services — including Adult Day Health Care. Authorization is required before LHO can begin billing for services.
Once authorized, the member or family selects a licensed ADHC provider. While LHO completes licensure and contracting, families may contact us at (623) 301-7072 to express interest and discuss future service-area fit.
Once licensure, contracting, authorization, and intake are complete, LHO will coordinate paperwork, NEMT transportation, and the member's care plan before the first day of service.
If your family member is already enrolled in ALTCS and their support coordinator has authorized Adult Day Health Care, contact us at (623) 301-7072. We can explain eligibility, discuss service-area fit, and prepare for intake as licensure and contracting are finalized — in English or Spanish.
LHO's launch corridor in West Phoenix is the highest-priority service area in Maricopa County for a specific set of compounding reasons. This is not a coincidence — it is a deliberate response to documented need.
The West Valley has the highest caregiver employment dependency of any senior-serving ZIP code cluster in Phoenix. These are families where a hospital aide, construction worker, or warehouse employee is the primary caregiver. When a senior attends LHO, it is not optional — their family member's job depends on it. Adult Day Health Care here is an economic lifeline, not just a health service.
Over 61% of West Valley residents speak a language other than English at home. Navigating AHCCCS enrollment, ALTCS authorization, and provider selection in a second language creates a significant access barrier. LHO provides culturally responsive care and bilingual support to ensure that language is never a reason a senior goes without services they have already been authorized and funded to receive.
Maricopa County has 2,848 ALTCS-authorized seniors with no Adult Day Health Care placement — 91% of total need is unmet. The West Phoenix corridor carries the largest share of that burden. MCO support coordinators consistently report inability to place authorized members in this area. LHO is being built specifically to resolve that placement crisis.
If you are a family member trying to understand whether LHO is right for your loved one, these are the questions we hear most often.
LHO plans to bill ALTCS managed care organizations directly for covered, authorized services. Any member responsibility will depend on the member's health plan, eligibility, authorization, and final contracting terms.
LHO is planning an ADA-accessible facility, wheelchair-accessible transportation, and staff support for members with mobility limitations. Final service details will be confirmed before enrollment begins.
LHO is preparing to operate under ADHS Provider Type 27 standards with a minimum 1:5 staff-to-member ratio, a nurse on site daily, elopement alarms on exterior doors, clear family communication, and same-day incident notification when appropriate.
LHO is being developed for a multilingual West Valley community and plans to provide bilingual support so language is not a barrier to care or enrollment.
Contact your ALTCS support coordinator and ask them to evaluate your parent's need for Adult Day Health Care. If they qualify, the coordinator can issue an authorization and refer your parent to LHO directly.
ALTCS is a managed care entitlement — eligible members are entitled to services immediately. There is no formal waitlist for ALTCS enrollment. Contact us at (623) 301-7072 and we will help you understand next steps based on your family member's current enrollment status.
Call us at (623) 301-7072, download the interest form above, or send us a message. We can discuss service-area fit and the next appropriate pre-launch step.
Please do not submit Social Security numbers, full medical records, or highly sensitive health information through unsecured forms or email. We will provide the appropriate documentation pathway when needed.
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