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/

What does the 2007 Nursing Home Data Show?

Highlights:

1.  In 2007, the average number of registered nurses hours per resident
was 0.6 hours - a little more than a half an hour per resident.  This
represents a 14% decline between 2001 and 2007.


2.  There was a 7% increase of residents with dementia (to 45.6% of the
total residents) and a 33% increase of residents with other psychiatric
diagnoses (21.4% of total residents).



3.  The good news is that fewer people were either in bed or physical
restraints.  The bad news is that the form of restraints has shifted to
"chair bound."  56% of all residents were chair bound.



4.  More than 94,000 residents (nearly 7% of the entire nursing home
population) have pressure sores.



5.  More than 114,600 "deficiencies" were issued for violations of federal
regulations and requirements.  There was an average of 7.5 deficiency
violations per nursing facility in 2007.  UCSF noted that there was a wide
range in the average number of deficiencies, suggesting that state
enforcement varies widely.



and much 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/

Senate Committee Approves Legislation That Would Invalidate Mandatory Binding Arbitration Provisions Of Nursing Home Admission Contracts

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved by voice vote a bill (S 2838) that would ban the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in nursing home contracts, CQ Today reports. The clauses require that people seeking to enter a nursing home and their family agree to waive their right to take disputes regarding care at the facility to court and must settle them through arbitration. The House Judiciary Committee in July approved a companion bill (HR 6126). 

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/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

AP IMPACT: Tons of drugs dumped into wastewater

U.S. hospitals and long-term care facilities annually flush millions of pounds of unused pharmaceuticals down the drain, pumping contaminants into America's drinking water, according to an ongoing Associated Press investigation.
These discarded medications are expired, spoiled, over-prescribed or unneeded. Some are simply unused because patients refuse to take them, can't tolerate them or die with nearly full 90-day supplies of multiple prescriptions on their nightstands.

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/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

Aging in Community in Sri Lanka

What do we want to accomplish through this project in Sri Lanka?


After long discussions in many days and months, we came up with four core goals for this project as follows:

1. Developing the culturally appropriate architectural design and care program

2. Applying the concept of aging in community

- Developed countries : creating intentional community

- Developing countries : maintain and strengthen the existing community to care for elders

3. Learning about the social value of elder care in Sri Lanka

4. Application of the lessons learned from the past experience of long term care for elders

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/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

Public Housing Authorities and Nursing Home Transition

from Steve Gold:


Information Bulletin # 259 (9/08).

Throughout the country, Public Housing Authorities have waiting lists for
both their housing vouchers and public housing units.

In many states, people are in nursing homes because they cannot afford to
rent an apartment or housing unit on their limited SSI incomes. Without
either a housing voucher or a public housing units, many people in nursing
facilities will continue to be institutionalized.

The question that has been raised a number of times is whether or not your
Public Housing Authority could target their vouchers and public housing
units to help transition people out of nursing homes and other
institutions?  People have complained that their Public Housing
Authorities, because they have waiting lists for housing vouchers and
public housing units, have not been responsive and have presented a number
of excuses to using their vouchers and housing units to end unnecessary
institutionalization.

Here are a number of points you should be aware of:

1.  Yes, your Pubic Housing Authority can open its waiting list for one
preference category of people - for example, people transitioning out of
institutions.

2.  Yes, it is possible for your Public Housing Authority to establish a
preference for persons transitioning out of institutions, so long as the
preference is not targeted towards people with a specific disability
(e.g., MI, or PD) and the preference is not based on where a person
resides (e.g., one particular institution).  Other than those two, it can
give the preference.

3.  Yes, your Housing Authority's waiting list can be opened indefinitely
for the preference group of people transitioning out of institutions.

4.  A Public Housing Authority can limit the number of applicants who
qualify for any specific preference.

5.  In order for your Public Housing Authority to establish the preference
for both its housing vouchers and housing units for persons transitioning
out of institutions, the Public Housing Authority must prepare a revision
of its administrative plan that states the new preference and complies
with other HUD procedural hoops.

Disability and elderly advocates:

   What are you going to do to ensure that your Public Housing Authority
establishes a preference for persons transitioning out of institutions?

   Advocates have to make sure it does.  This requires a strategy and
some political clout.  Do you have it?

   "Power concedes nothing without a struggle."  Frederick Douglas.

   Steve Gold, The Disability Odyssey continues

Back issues of other Information Bulletins are available online at
http://www.stevegoldada.com
with a searchable Archive at this site divided into different subjects.

To contact Steve Gold directly, write to stevegoldada@cs.com
or call 215-627-7100.


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/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

Funding arrives to direct individuals away from nursing homes

More than $8 million in federal funding aimed at keeping people away from nursing homes started arriving in seven states Tuesday. Most of the money will be used to build hospital-discharge planning processes that emphasize home- and community-based care programs, officials said

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/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

Eroding Access Among Nonelderly U.S. Adults With Chronic Conditions: Ten Years Of Change

Both the connection to health care and its affordability worsened for many nonelderly U.S. adults living with chronic conditions between 1997 and 2006. This erosion varied by health insurance coverage, fundamental as it is to securing health services. Access to care among uninsured adults with chronic conditions deteriorated on all of our basic measures between 1997 and 2006. In addition, more of both the privately and publicly insured with chronic conditions went without health care because of its cost over this ten-year span, even while they were just as likely as or more likely than others to have a usual source of care 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/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

First Peek at Candidates’ Positions Presented at Genworth Financial’s Long Term Care Symposium

WHAT:        

Genworth Financial’s third annual National Long Term Care Symposium will spotlight the Presidential candidates’ views on LTC policy for the mature market and an aging nation.

WHEN:        

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2008
 9:00 – 11:30 a.m.  (Breakfast will be served)

WHERE:                

SENATE BUILDING DIRKSEN, Room G-50
200 Second Street NE, Washington, DC
(Northeast of the Capitol, adjoining the Hart Senate Office Building)

WHO:          

DEB WHITMAN: Staff Director, Senate Special Committee on Aging and advisor to Obama for President campaign

JAY KHOSLA: Healthcare Policy Advisor, John McCain for President

BUCK STINSON: President, Genworth Financial Long-term Care Division

SUSAN DENTZER, Editor-in-Chief, Health Affairs, will serve as moderator

The event will also include a second panel discussion with members of congress and speakers from policy institutions including The CATO Institute, Third Way, Heritage Foundation and The Center for American Progress


WHY:          

With nearly 80 million Americans approaching retirement age, and one-half of seniors likely to require long term care at some point in their lives, the discussion on how to pay for that care is becoming increasingly urgent.

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/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

Officials study alternative long-term care facilities

An article by Allison Rupp from the Jackson Hole Star Tribune discusses one alternative model for long-term care facilities that provide care for Alzheimer’s patients.


Mary Hein, along with a group of community members, wants to build several “pod-type nursing homes” for people with dementia where residents eat home-cooked meals at a dining room table and have their own room and bathroom.

Residents would see the same staff members every day and feel more comfortable and less confused in the home-like environment.


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/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/