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

Neighbors with disabilities handcycle toward independence

Excerpt from KESQ: (click for entire article)

The local organization Incight teamed up Intrepid Cycles and Freedom Concepts to put on a handcycling clinic at the Palm Desert Civic Center Saturday.

Coby Webb and her kids were in a car accident more than a year ago. Webb was paralyzed for months, but now with the help of a cane she's back on her feet.

"I had a broken hip, broken femur, broken back and spinal cord injury," said Webb.

The Webb family and many others dealing with physical disabilities got out of their chairs, slid into a new set of wheels and went for a ride.

Former 'ER' Star Noah Wyle Arrested in D.C.

Excerpt from iVillage: (click for entire article)

Noah Wyle is the latest star to get himself arrested for civil disobedience. On Monday, the former star of ER (and current star of Falling Skies) was detained by police after a demonstration on Capitol Hill.

Wyle, 40, was one of between 76 and 100 protestors who occupied the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building to urge Congress not to cut Medicaid. The protestors, some of them in wheelchairs, were representing ADAPT, a group that advocates for Americans with disabilities. (Specifically, they fight budget cuts that force Americans with disabilities to be confined to state-run facilities, rather than getting support to live on their own.)

Nursing Home Transition Initiative (NFTI) in Jeopardy

Excerpt from Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan: (click for entire article)

The Nursing Home Transition Initiative (NFTI) is part of the MI Choice Medicaid Waiver program. NFTI is a cutting edge program that has gained national attention for successfully transitioning people in nursing homes who want to leave but face barriers. Barriers can include losing their home, not having an accessible home, and needing services and supports to stay at home. Last year, over 1,600 people were transitioned; data suggest that every year about 3,000 people in nursing homes are candidates for NFTI.

NFTI saves the state money because it targets people on Medicaid who cost an average of $172/day in a nursing home, compared with an average of $60/day in their own home. It is estimated that $25 million will be needed next year to transition another 1,600 people.  The Governor’s budget allocates $11 million to serve people on the MI Choice waiting list, but only $3.1 million for NFTI, enough to continue the program for only two months. This would mean over 1,000 people would be forced to remain in nursing homes when they could live in the community at a much lower cost to the state. An additional $22 million is needed for NFTI in fiscal year 2013.

Why Do Hill Republicans Want to Make Home and Community Care So Hard?

Excerpt from Forbes.com: (click for entire article)

Why would House Republicans slash programs that make it possible for the frail elderly and adults with disabilities to live at home? Especially since the alternative would often be more costly nursing home care.

GOP lawmakers say they support Medicaid’s Home and Community Based programs that provide long-term services and supports in the community rather than in nursing homes. Many GOP governors are leading efforts to shift Medicaid spending to home care. Yet the new GOP budget, which the House is likely to pass on Thursday,  would slash the very federal programs that provide the infrastructure this vulnerable poulation needs to stay at home.

The House would not directly cut Medicaid long-term care benefits themslves. But it would entirely eliminate funding for the Social Services Block Grant program, which helps fund Meals on Wheels, transportation, and other important assistance for people with chronic disease who live at home. It would also eliminate or cut other key programs for respite care, food stamps for low-income seniors, and other key services.

Supporting Community Living

Excerpt from The White House: (click for entire article)

After a traumatic brain injury as an infant, Quentin Hammond lived in a nursing home for the first six years of his life. At the nursing home, the caregivers viewed him as blind and vegetative, and not able to engage. However, thanks to a program supporting community living, Quentin’s mother Teresa, was able to bring him home where he now receives the right mix of services and supports. Quentin has benefited from living with the love and support of his mother and little brother, who calls Quentin his best friend.  Much to the contrary of his caregivers’ views in the nursing home, today Quentin can see, engages with others, and attends school. As Teresa said, “it’s been like a 360 turn, he is a different person.”

The Obama Administration has long been committed to helping all Americans, including people with disabilities and seniors, live at home with the supports they need, rather than in nursing homes or other institutions, and participate in communities that value their contributions. The Affordable Care Act has been critical in those efforts, providing many new resources and supports.

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the latest step towards expanding community living with the final rule creating the Community First Choice (CFC) Option. Thanks to the new health care law, CFC gives States additional resources to make community living a first choice, and leave nursing homes and institutions as a fall back option.  Under CFC, States can receive a six percentage point increase in federal matching funds for providing community-based attendant services and supports to people with Medicaid. 

HHS announces new Affordable Care Act options for community-based care

Excerpt from HHS.gov: (click for entire article)

New opportunities in Medicaid and Medicare that will allow people to more easily receive care and services in their communities rather than being admitted to a hospital or nursing home were announced today by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

HHS finalized the Community First Choice rule, which is a new state plan option under Medicaid, and announced the participants in the Independence At Home Demonstration program. The demonstration encourages primary care practices to provide home-based care to chronically ill Medicare patients.

Both are made possible by the Affordable Care Act. Studies have shown that home- and community-based care can lead to better health outcomes.

Join us in helping the developmentally disabled live independently

Excerpt from Bakersfield.com: (click for entire article)

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation declaring March to be National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, a key milestone in the ongoing efforts to achieve equality for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In part, it was decreed that "Americans are becoming increasingly aware that such disabilities need not keep individuals from realizing their full potential at school, at work or at home, as members of their families and of their communities." This proclamation was largely due to the advocacy efforts of The Arc and its chapters, including BARC -- the Bakersfield ARC.

What has this meant in the last 25 years for developmentally disabled individuals and their families? Many more of these individuals are living and thriving throughout our community -- working, socializing and living independently -- rather than in institutions. There are more opportunities, more protections and more respect for and inclusion of people with developmental disabilities. At BARC, more than 450 adults with varying forms of developmental disabilities are employed in our industries and with individual local businesses, and they are learning new job skills and participating in programs on campus daily. Each and every day, new goals are achieved and the path to independence and increased opportunities is made smoother.

These advancements were hard-won and significant, but there is still a long road ahead to achieve unconditional equality and respect for the developmentally disabled in society. Their right to live, learn and work as they choose must not be ignored. These individuals are our neighbors, colleagues, friends and family members and we must ensure they have a fair opportunity to achieve their dreams. Without continued advocacy efforts and a community galvanized to continue the fight for the most vulnerable among us, we will not achieve this goal.

$25 Million in Federal Grant Money Available Through Assisted Living Conversion Program

Excerpt from ALCA: (click for entire article)

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced that $25 million of grant money has been made available for the Assisted Living Conversion Program (ALCP) in fiscal year 2012.

The ALCP provides funding to eligible multifamily assisted housing developments that are being wholly or partially converted into assisted living facilities or service-enriched housing.  The grants are intended to cover the basic expenses of the physical conversion.  This includes the expenses to properly configure living units, common areas, and service spaces, as well as to complete any other remodeling necessary in order to comply with legal requirements.  Awards can reach up to $5 million per recipient.   

To be eligible, a housing development must be owned by a private nonprofit entity, and must be primarily designated as a housing development for elderly persons.  In addition, a development must provide supportive services to its residents, whether directly or through a third party.  Information about additional eligibility requirements is provided on HUD's ALCP page, available here.

Muskegon seniors, advocates concerned about home care budget cuts

Excerpt from mlive.com: (click for entire article)

Elnora Andrews knew she didn't want to leave the house she and her husband built 62 years ago, even after four heart bypass surgeries made it hard to manage the chores.

She said she likes watching the animals that pass through her lot, which looks out on a marshland. And she knew she didn't want to give up her independence.

“It costs a fortune to go into a nursing home,” the 87-year-old Muskegon woman said. “They take everything you've got, everything you saved.”

At-Home Care Options Keep Seniors Out of Nursing Homes

Excerpt from Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog: (click for entire article)

A long-term care crisis is looming. The demographics of the country are changing such that the Baby Boomer generation is getting older. They are now beginning to retire, and each year more and more of them will be in need of long-term elder care in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. However, there is a problem—the number of nursing homes and assisted living facilities is actually shrinking. Nationwide, over the last six years the total number of nursing homes have decreased by 350. This decline comes at a time when thousands more seniors have entered the ranks of those needing extra elder care. The New York Times reported last week on these developments and the way that shifting care priorities might be the main solution to address the looming problem.

As our Illinois elder abuse lawyers know, it is unlikely that new construction will be able to keep up with the pace of the aging population. It is hard to image that enough new buildings (and beds) will be created to ensure that all those who need a space, have it. Instead, the entire senior care model needs to be re-examined. As the Times story suggests, the re-examination will likely take the form of managed at-home caregiving options. Our elder care attorneys have long been a proponent of quality at-home care. Not only is it more cost-effective, but, when done right, it usually maximizes the senior’s quality of life.