Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Automatic Sprinkler Systems Now Mandatory in Ontario’s Long-Term Care Facilities and Retirement Homes

Excerpt from: 570 News (click for full article)

 

Automatic sprinkler systems will be mandatory in long-term care facilities and retirement homes in the province.  The new regulations were announced Thursday morning but will not be implemented until January 1, 2014.  Currently only new facilities are required to have automatic systems.

Over one hundred facilities in Kitchener and 12 facilities in Waterloo will be impacted by the new provincial legislation.  Public Education Office with Waterloo Fire Rescue, John Percy tells 570 News that once the new regulations are implemented into the Ontario Fire Code, education for owners, operators and staff at facilities will start.

“There will be a little bit of an education and awareness process for each fire department across the province to work with their facilities to first make them aware of the changes…and then adopting that and then the implementation period will be the next one [step].”

Medicaid Spend Down

Excerpt from: caring.com (click for full article)

 

The cost of nursing home care is extraordinarily expensive, and Medicaid won't help pay if you have more than $2,500 in "countable" assets. Sometimes people decide to "spend down" their excess assets to qualify for Medicaid benefits. But this can be risky. If the Medicaid agency thinks you're bending the rules, you risk losing eligibility for five years. And current crackdowns by Medicaid are much more common than in years past.

Capacity for Lifetime and Estate Planning

Excerpt from: Penn State Law Review (click for full article)

 

Clients consulting with elder and estate planning attorneys for estate planning documents will likely receive a “package” of five documents: a will, a trust (revocable or irrevocable), a health care power, a durable power of attorney, and a living will. Although capacity standards have varied for each of the items in the “package,” an informal survey of American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) members reveals that practitioners do not pay attention to these distinctions when they create the “package.” Practitioners are either unwilling to accept the engagement for lack of competence or willing to overlook the capacity distinctions when accepting the engagement. This article thus advocates for a uniform test for capacity when an attorney considers preparing the “package” for a client.

Top 100 Blogs on Senior Rights, Elder Law, and Anti-Ageism

Excerpt from: Best Senior Dating Sites (click for full article)

 

At a time when thousands of Baby Boomers are reaching the age of 65 every day, the issues of senior rights, elder laws, and anti-ageism have never been more important, more volatile, or more questioned. After all, this is the generation that was ready to take down the establishment fifty years ago, and they haven’t lost any of their desire to change the world for the better. And, they have the numbers to do it. Here are our 100 top blogs for seniors dealing with senior rights, law & policy, and anti-ageism.

Patti's is #51!  What an honor!

How the Arts Can Change Care for Elders and People with Disabilities

Excerpt from: Forbes (click for full article)

 

Yesterday morning, a veteran of the decades-long effort to improve the way we deliver and pay for long-term supports and services asked me a question. Why, he wondered, should he believe that recent attempts to reform long-term care could succeed when so many previous initiatives have failed.  Last evening, I may have found an answer.

My wife and I went to see a powerful play called How to Write a New Book for the Bible.  It is an unsparing look at the real-life experiences of the author, Bill Cain, who cared for his mother during the last year of her life. Cain, a Jesuit priest and writer, absolutely nailed the reality of caregiving— the pain, the intimacy, and even the humor.

But the play got me thinking about my friend’s question: How is it different this time? The answer may be that caregiving is finding its way into the arts and popular culture in ways that it never has before.  And that may both reflect changing public opinion and drive policy reform in ways traditional lobbying cannot.

The Difference Between Patient-Centered Medical Homes and Medicaid Health Homes (In Plain English)

Excerpt from: Health Works Collective (click for full article)

 

In healthcare, it’s common to hear buzzwords thrown around. In the past we have given you a handy guide for navigating the tricky acronyms elder care professionals and caregivers frequently come across.  

Given the complexity of innovation in the healthcare field, it’s sometimes tough to keep up the development of new care delivery models. Recently two community-based care models have garnered a great deal of attention: the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model and the concept of Medicaid health homes.

While patient-centered medical homes and health homes share some similarities, there are key differences in how each model enhances care for those with chronic conditions and supports aging in place.

Nice Piece on Olmstead, Budget Cuts, and Nursing Homes

Excerpt from: Disability Law (click for full article)

 

By contrast, here's a nice piece on Olmstead issues, which uses the M.R. case as a lens to examine the various questions.

Consumer Organizations Petition the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to Take Action on Adult Portable Bed Rails

Excerpt from: Consumer Federation of America (click for full article)

 

Consumer Federation of America (CFA), the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (Consumer Voice), bed rail activist Gloria Black, and 60 other organizationsi filed a petition with the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requesting a ban of adult portable bed rails or mandatory standards if a ban is not accepted. The groups are also asking CPSC to recall dangerous bed rails and refund consumers. For the purpose of the petition, portable bed rails are considered to be those that are sold and marketed directly to the public, and intended to be used with a home-style bed. This would include those marketed on the Internet, in department stores and other retail outlets, directly by manufacturers, and also in medical supply stores.

CPSC has been aware of deaths and injuries involving bed rails since 1985. In an October 11, 2012 report from CPSC, “Adult Portable Bed Rail-Related Deaths, Injuries, and Potential Injuries: January 2003 to September 2012,” CPSC documented that in that nine year period there were an estimated 36,900 visits to hospital emergency wards due to incidents related to both portable and non-portable bed rails. CPSC also reported 155 portable bed rail deaths for that same time period. These statistics represent only a fraction of the actual number of alleged bed rail related deaths. According to CPSC’s 2012 report, these deaths and injuries most commonly occur when the victim is “caught, stuck, wedged, or trapped between the mattress/bed and the bed rail, between bed rail bars, between a commode and rail, between the floor and rail, or between the headboard and rail.”

Americans Seriously Unprepared for Long-Term Care, Survey Finds

Excerpt from:PBS Newshour (click for full article)

 

It's a classic case of denial. Roughly half of Americans above the age of 40 believe "almost everyone" is likely to require long-term care as they age. Just a quarter think they will need it for themselves.

The truth: 70 percent of Americans older than age 65 will need some form of long-term care.

That gap means most Americans are doing very little to plan and save for the assistance they'll desperately need in old age, according to a new poll from the The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

"It's rather surprising," said Jennifer Agiesta, director of polling for the Associated Press. "Very few people have arranged to pay for or even to think about their own needs. Most haven't even taken the basic step of talking to family members about their preferences."

The problem will only become worse as America grays, with the number of seniors expected to nearly double by the time the last of the baby boomers turn 65. In 2030, seniors are expected to make up 19 percent of the U.S. population -- up from 12 percent in 2000.

As Session Enters Home Stretch, THCA Urges BudgeConferees to Prioritize Funding for Texas Seniors' Medicaid Nursing Home Care

Excerpt from: Wall Street Journal (click for full article)

 

With Senate and House Conferees now named to help guide, shape and direct the final state budget towards ultimate passage, the Texas Health Care Association (THCA) encouraged the lawmakers to ensure Texas nursing homes and the vulnerable patients under their care receive the priority required to help cope with the operational instability caused by 2011's $58 million state Medicaid cut and the new $51 million federal Medicare cut, now in effect.

"As we enter the home stretch of the legislative session, we believe the most significant piece of unfinished business is ensuring Texas' most vulnerable frail, elderly and disabled Medicaid-dependent nursing home patients can continue to access the quality care they deserve by making sure state nursing homes remain operationally stable in the face of deep Medicaid and Medicare cuts," said Tim Graves, President of THCA.

"We look forward to working with Conferees in a constructive, positive manner to ensure they are appropriately aware how their local facilities are increasingly struggling with shrinking resources in the face of growing numbers of patients requiring the type of 24/7/365 care that can only be found in their local skilled nursing facility," the THCA leader continued.