Health and Disability

Rite Aid Offers Help To Stressed Caregivers

CAMP HILL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Being a caregiver can be very stressful for the more than 44 million Americans charged with taking care of an aging loved one. That's why Rite Aid has launched its new "Giving Care for Parents" program with print and online resources that offer solutions to common caregiving problems, expert advice from Rite Aid pharmacists and geriatric authorities and a library of informational videos. Caregivers also will be able to establish an online network of support through chats with other caregivers later this year.

In the 20-page Caregivers Guide available at Rite Aid stores across the country, caregivers will find helpful hints on topics including financial planning, strategies for balancing their careers and personal lives and advice for living with their loved ones. The guide also has information on support groups, programs and other resources such as medical facilities and businesses that cater to seniors and caregivers.

At www.riteaid.com, caregivers can click on "Giving Care for Parents" and find resources such as a collection of articles written by medical and geriatric professionals, nursing home staff and government experts on aging addressing common concerns such as accidents at home, long-term care, legal and financial issues and health conditions like Alzheimer's disease.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Man Succumbs To 7-Year Battle With Health Insurance

from The Onion:

DENVER—After years of battling crippling premiums and agonizing deductibles, local resident Michael Haige finally succumbed this week to the health insurance policy that had ravaged his adult life.

Haige, who had suffered from limited medical coverage for nearly a decade, passed away early Monday morning. According to sources, the 46-year-old was laid to rest at Fairplains cemetery, surrounded by friends, family members, and more than $300,000 of mounting debt.

"I miss Michael every single day, but at least he can finally rest now," said Sheila Haige, who watched as insurance rates ate away at her husband over time.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Long-term Care Often Left Out of Talks on Healthcare Reform

from Medpage Today:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 -- Long-term care seems to be a poor stepchild in the healthcare-reform debate.

So suggested Susan Dentzer, editor-in-chief of Health Affairs, who moderated a symposium here on how to provide and pay for long-term care for those with chronic diseases.

According to Dentzer, neither major presidential candidates has addressed the issue of how to pay for the 12 million elderly Americans who require some form of long-term care -- defined as any social or medical services for people with chronic disease.

As the nation's 78 million baby boomers continue to age, the number of elderly people requiring long-term care will only increase and is expected to reach 20 million, according to Genworth Financial, a long-term care insurance provider that sponsored the event.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

LTC Employer Speaks Out on Health Reform

from Health Care for Health Care Workers:

Last week, the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, of which HCHCW-PA is member, held a rally in Harrisburg to call on the Pennsylvania State Senate to pass bills that would provide health insurance coverage to thousands of uninsured Pensylvania residents - including many direct-care workers.

Lori Michael, the owner of a home nursing care company in Schuylkill County and an advocate for HCHCW, cited unaffordable health coverage as a major business issue. Lori spoke about the impact the lack of affordable health insurance has on her ability to retain and recruit direct-care workers to serve the ever growing client base. “People in Pennsylvania want to age at home,” said Lori Michael, owner of Lori’s Angels in Schuylkill Haven. “We want to help them do that. We need help from state government.” The rally and Lori’s comments were covered in the Scranton Times and on PCN network.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Aging committee to look into end-of-life issues

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) on Wednesday will chair a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing into the legal environment, laws and barriers surrounding end-of-life decision-making.

Whitehouse, who will share personal experiences relating to end-of-life care and decision-making, will host a panel of legal and care experts from the American Bar Association, the Center to Advance Palliative Care, the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research and BlueCross BlueShield. Much of the discussion will center on the various ways in which patients document their final wishes and the role of nursing providers and hospice workers in that process. The hearing will take place tomorrow at the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 10:30am.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Health alliance formed to assist elderly - Business First of Buffalo:

A new initiative is bringing together private and non-profit nursing homes and providers of care for the elderly.

The Western New York Alliance for Person-Centered Care was launched Sept. 19 as an initiative aimed at transforming the way nursing homes and other providers deliver care to the elderly.

The initiative, described as the first of its kind nationwide, includes members from throughout the region’s long-term care community, including the Catholic Health System, Beechwood Homes, People Inc., Kaleida Health and the Erie County Home. Other participants include government regulators and academics from the University at Buffalo. The Rochester-based Pioneer Network of homes is also a participant.

More than 300 long term health care professionals participated in a launch conference Sept. 19 featuring William Thomas, a renowned geriatrician and revolutionary in the long term care industry.

The goal of the alliance is to effect change through a community-based strategic plan to introduce, refine, and promote person-centered care through education and mentoring.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

New safety survey available from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a new survey to help nursing homes assess safety, track changes in resident safety over time, and evaluate the impact of safety interventions.

The survey and other toolkit materials are available on the AHRQ Web site athttp://www.ahrq.gov/qual/hospculture/.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Upcoming Webinar: Gas Prices and Other Transportation Challenges for Direct Service Workers

from Hollis Turnham:

The DSW Resource Center will host a webinar on the topic of high gas prices and other transportation challenges for direct service workers in home and community-based settings on September 23, 2008 at 3:00 pm Eastern. This webinar will feature an overview of the problem, approaches that states and providers have used to help cover transportation costs for these workers, and information on related Medicaid reimbursement policies and options.

Reserve your Webinar seat now!

Attention Providers and States: If you have a transportation policy, please contact us in advance or contribute to the discussion during the webinar. We hope to have a lively discussion!

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

ADAPT Action Wrap Up and more thoughts on empathy

I have returned now to the “real world” and am coming down off of the natural high of the ADAPT action. The adrenaline of that 5 days was pretty extraordinary. I heard several stories explaining why and how the arrests went down at Dodd’s office — and several other offices of members of congress, apparently. Rather than relate them here, with the inaccuracies of sleep deprived memory, let me point you to ADAPT’s press releases: http://duhcity.org/duhpress.html. They are all informative, but the first on the list — http://duhcity.org/press/duh004.html — is the most relevant to the action that happened on Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

One thing of note that you won’t find on the press release pages is a description of how I spent my Tuesday night. More...

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/

Fla. Medicaid recipients want out of nursing homes

PLANT CITY, Fla. (AP) — Charles Todd Lee spent a lifetime going backstage at concerts, following politicians on the campaign trail and capturing iconic shots of everyone from Martin Luther King Jr. to Mick Jagger to Mickey Mantle. Today, he enjoys such freedom only in his dreams.

The 67-year-old photographer has been confined to a nursing home for five years, the victim of a stroke that paralyzed his left side. And he's angry.

"Most of the people come here to die, so you want to die," he said. "It is a prison. I can't escape it."

Lee is among the Medicaid recipients across Florida challenging the nightmare of the old and disabled: to be forced from comfort and familiarity into a nursing home.

They say the state is illegally forcing them to live in nursing homes when they should be able to live where they choose. Advocates charge that nursing homes, afraid of losing money, have successfully pressured politicians to make qualifying for community care more difficult. They have filed a federal lawsuit seeking class-action status on behalf of nearly 8,500 institutionalized Floridians. More...

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/