Health and Disability

from McKnight's:

Medicaid is underfunding state long-term care efforts by $4.2 billion this year, according to a new analysis of Medicaid financing released Wednesday by the American Health Care Association. 

The funding shortfall, combined with the crippled economy and almost guaranteed state budget cuts next fiscal year, could threaten access to care, said AHCA president Bruce Yarwood. AHCA, along with several other healthcare advocates, have called on Congress to include an increase to states' Federal Medical Assistance Percentage in any stimulus package they may create. 

Hardest hit by the under funding are New York and Illinois, who came up short by $548.1 million and $379.3 million respectively. Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey filled out the top five.

from McKnight's:

Hospitals that serve large groups of the elderly, poor, African-American or female patients tend to be ranked lower than hospitals with healthier, younger clientele under the Medicare pay-for-performance program, according to new research from the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

Investigators examined the records of nearly 150,000 Medicare beneficiaries at 449 hospitals around the country who had suffered a heart attack between 2000 and 2006. They evaluated each hospital's performance based on guidelines established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and then adjusted the findings to account for patient demographics, such as age, race, income and gender. CMS does not currently factor in these variables when considering performance.

While their initial findings meshed with CMS' ranking, researchers say 16.5% of hospitals treating more elderly and poor patients-when adjusted to account for less-healthy patient demographics-would fall under a different category in Medicare's pay-for-performance program. To reduce the disparity, report authors suggest rewarding hospitals for improvements based on evidence-based treatment, as opposed to rewarding a single score or ranking.

from legalNewsline.com:

Hidden cameras in nursing homes have resulted in 26 convictions of
workers accused of endangering patients' health and falsifying records,
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.

Cuomo said
his Medical Fraud Control Unit uses hidden cameras more than any other
similar agency to prosecute mistreatment of patients.

"We trust
health care facilities to provide top level care for our loved ones,"
Cuomo said. "These are unfortunately some caregivers who cut corners
and shirk their duties, leaving patients who cannot help themselves in
dire jeopardy.

"In Western New York, we are quite literally keeping an eye on New York's most vulnerable."

Cuomo's staff put the cameras in the patients' rooms and said it found the following problems:

from McKnight's:

The Florida Health Care Association last week released the Emergency
Management Guide for Nursing Homes, a new, comprehensive approach to
disaster preparedness for nursing homes.

The new guide includes disaster-specific guidelines to establish an
emergency plan and create procedures for staff training and exercises.
FHCA has also launched a nursing home emergency preparedness website
that highlights these new tools and provides additional resources for
nursing homes. That Web site is www.fhca.org/emerprep/index.php.

The 290-page Emergency Management Guide will be distributed to more
than 500 nursing homes in Florida and to state healthcare associations
across the country. It was developed with assistance from the John A.
Hartford Foundation and the University of South Florida.

from TwinCities.com:

Every morning, motion sensors track Joyce Denning as she rises from bed, goes into the bathroom, opens the refrigerator, moves around the living room and strolls out her apartment door.

A computer checks those movements against the 78-year-old's daily routines and alerts nursing staff when something seems out of the ordinary — like too many trips to the bathroom or restlessness in bed or no motion at all.

The monitoring system has helped Denning remain in her Chisago City apartment for two years — despite a gradual waning of strength in her legs — and avoid moving to an assisted-living or nursing home that would cost more and take away some freedom.

from The Long Term Care Review:

The MetLife Mature Market Institute released the results of their 2008 survey on adult day services and home care costs.

They found that the average hourly rate of a Home Health Aide is now $20, up 5% from a year earlier. Companion/homemaker services saw no change and remain $18 per hour. Adult Day Services – programs that provide social, health and therapeutic activities in a group environment – are up 5% and now average $64 per day.

This is more or less in line with an average 5% annual inflationary increase in the long-term care industry for costs over the past 30 years or so. It is one more concrete support for getting inflation protection in a LTCI policy to make sure that you have the funds necessary to pay for care several years down the road if needed.

from McKnight's:

Two new spectacles garnered special attention this week at the annual conference of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging in Philadelphia: The Chef Challenge and the Last Designer Standing competitions. 

Attendees flocked to the events, which were held on the exhibit hall floor throughout the show, which ended Wednesday. The Chef Challenge was a cook-off between teams of chefs from senior living communities. Two teams faced off each day to make a three-course meal in an hour. They also had to incorporate into their dishes secret ingredients that were disclosed only that day. (Brussels sprouts, pomegranate and striped bass were a few.) Competing were Aramark Senior Living Services, Sodexo Senior Services, Cura Hospitality and Morrison Senior Dining. The Cura team was named the winner Wednesday afternoon.

A few aisles down from the Chef Challenge was the Last Designer Standing, a competition featuring interior design students from nearby Drexel University. The students' task was to create a skilled nursing resident room with a particular resident from St. Ignatius Nursing Home in Philadelphia in mind. Two teams of students competed. 

To see videos of these events, go to www.mcknights.com and click on the "Videos" link near the top. Or go to http://www.mcknights.com/McKnights-Video/section/558/.

from Smart Brief:

VOORHEES, N.J., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is increasingly being seen in older adults, especially among residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs). This is further complicated by the emergence of a new resistant strain of C. difficile associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality.

Implementing strategies for prevention and control, early diagnosis, and prompt aggressive treatment is critical in managing CDI.

To address the need for current education on CDI, especially among healthcare professionals working in LTCFs, Robert Michael Educational Institute LLC (RMEI) and Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) are jointly sponsoring a complimentary continuing education teleconference, with ten convenient dates and times available. This teleconference offers continuing education credit for physicians, pharmacists, and registered nurses. This activity is supported by an educational grant from ViroPharma Incorporated.

Faculty for this teleconference include Donald Kaye, MD, Professor of Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Kurt B. Stevenson, MD, MPH, Associate Professor in Internal Medicine and Associate Director of Clinical Epidemiology at Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Ohio.

Healthcare professionals can listen to a teleconference by contacting RMEI:

Online: www.RMEI.com/LTCCDItelecon E-mail: LTCCDItelecon@RMEI.com Toll-free Phone: 1-877-547-5642, ext. 333

from WTIC News Talk 1080:

The operator of four Connecticut nursing homes has filed for bankruptcy protection. Affinity Health Care Management operates homes in Hartford, Enfield, Bloomfield, and Windham . A fifth home in the chain, Crescent Manor of Waterbury, was placed in state receivership earlier this month at the requst of Department of Social Services Commissioner Michael Starkowski.

The bankruptcy filing took place Tuesday in New York state, and Connecticut officials heard about it Wednesday at the same time other creditors did, because of $676,000 in back taxes owed the state.

Michigan Disability Rights Coalition will hold an Open House from Noon to 3 PM on October 24, 2008, followed by a public Board Meeting at 4 PM on the same day. Our Office location is:

3498 E. Lake Lansing Road, Suite 100
East Lansing, MI 48823

Our phone number is 517-333-2477.