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

Family members concerned about under-staffing of long-term care homes

Excerpt from: Global News (click for full article)

 

Sunset Extendicare admits they’ve had some short-staffing in the past that they’ve now dealt with and said they are providing more than adequate care to the 152 residents.

“Our professional staff here at the facility are doing an amazing job of providing care to our residents here,” said administrator Kevin Siebert.

Klassen and Seabourne disagree, saying that even if the facility is ‘fully staffed’, there simply aren’t enough workers.

Extendicare wasn’t forthcoming with an exact ratio of number of patients to a single care worker, but Klassen said they told her on average that ratio was around one care worker for every 9 patients and as many as 12 patients in the evenings. She says she’s worried about the stress load of frontline staff.

Preventing HAIs in long-term care

Excerpt from: McKnight's (click for full article)

 

Preventing the spread of MRSA, CRE and other hospital-acquired infections(HAIs) is quickly becoming a top priority in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities. Caregivers need to be ever vigilant to ensure that hands are washed, gloves are worn, personal protective equipment procedures are followed and a litany of other precautions are taken to protect patients, their families, and themselves. In addition to the human cost, nosocomial infections  in the U.S. add approximately $40,000 in medical costs per patient due to longer hospital stays, readmission, and further treatment.¹

Residents living with diabetes have weakened immune systems that make them more susceptible to MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant infections. Those in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities are especially vulnerable, as this population is prone to developing skin wounds that easily spread bacteria. In fact, 85% of MRSA outbreaks occur in healthcare facilities.

The CDC recommends that facilities pay particular atttention to cross-contamination points--the surfaces touched by an infected patient which become the main vectors for the spread of MRSA, C. diff, and VRE. Studies have shown that a surprisingly high percentage of presumed-clean blood pressure cuffs that are shared among patients [in our facilities] house these organisms …² As a result, the CDC has issued guidelines … recommending the use of single-patient blood pressure cuffs.³

Protecting yourself from the costs of long-term care

Excerpt from: Chicago Tribune (click for full article)

 

There's no denying it: Most of us are going to need some form of long-term health care during our golden years. And costs of such care are rising.

Genworth Financial recently released its long-term care Cost of Care Survey for 2013, and the results are sobering. The costs of home care providers, adult day health care facilities, assisted living facilities and nursing homes have been steadily rising over the past 5 years.

That being said, the cost increase varies depending on what type of service is necessary. For instance, in 2008 the median annual rate for a private nursing home room was $67,525; in 2013, it's $83,950 (though prices vary widely across the country). This increase reflects a 4.45 percent compound annual growth rate, more than twice the annual rate of inflation during the same time period.

The cost of care

Excerpt from: Life Health Pro (click for full article)

 

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Genworth Financial's Cost of Care survey and it's a great time to discuss long-term care in all its forms with your clients. By minimizing their risk, you can help them prepare to meet the challenges of tomorrow before the task becomes too monumental to achieve.

Here's how.

Get to know what your clients value.

Top 10 Cheapest States for Long-Term Care Costs: 2013

Excerpt from: Advisor One (click for full article)

 

The study, running for its 10th year, indicates that over the past five years the median annual rate for a room in a private nursing home has increased by 4.45% (compound annual growth rate), so that the room you might have had in 2008 at a cost of $67,525 will now cost you $83,950—an additional $16,425 per year.

If that news isn’t cheery enough, the cost of care just for Alzheimer’s disease, which affects 5.1 million Americans, is projected to rise to $1.2 trillion annually by 2050. That figure is just for paid care—health care, long-term care and hospice—and does not include the cost of unpaid care from such caregivers as family members. According to the study, unpaid caregivers’ contribution was some 17.5 billion hours of care, valued at more than $216.5 billion—just in 2012.

With Genworth’s mobile app and interactive map, advisors and clients can keep abreast of what care is likely to cost, and where they might get the most for their care dollars—there is, after all, considerable variation among states in cost. The 2013 Cost of Care Survey, conducted by CareScout, includes nearly 15,000 LTC providers from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., divided into 437 regions across the country.

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].”

Health Care for 1972?

Excerpt from: Health Policy Forum (click for full article)

 

The fact is that roughly 70 percent of Americans over the age of 65 will need some form of long-term care, on average for three years. Yet most people, when asked, think they will never need this kind of care. To make matters even worse, many individuals mistakenly believe that Medicare will pay for long-term services and supports even (it does not). The result is a public that is woefully underprepared and ill-equipped to prepare for what are probably inevitable health needs.

This gap in knowledge and awareness has contributed to our current “non-system” of financing long-term care, in which people are left to fend for themselves to pay for services or spend down to near poverty levels to qualify for Medicaid; for only then is public help available. This is neither a sustainable nor a dignified policy. We need to develop a better model that will ensure that all Americans can age with dignity, choice, and independence. But what would that look like? As a physician, I believe we have perfected the health care delivery model for 1972. What we need today and into the future is an updated toolbox for financing long-term care that serves the needs of a 2013 population. In 1965, the average life expectancy was 69 years old. If an older person experienced a major health event—a heart attack or stroke, for example—they might have recovered, but they probably did not live much longer beyond that event. Today, with advances in medicine and technology and the increased number of intensive care units and critical care units, people are living longer than ever before, but with functional impairments and multiple chronic conditions. The delivery model we have today is not designed to meet these growing care needs, and the financial strains on individuals and families are significant.

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.

Medicaid’s Looming Long-Term Care Crisis

Excerpt from: Hawaii Reporter (click for full article)

 

As we work to rein in wasteful spending and improve retirement security, our nation cannot afford to overlook Medicaid’s long-term care financing crisis.

We’re completely unprepared for the coming “age wave.” More than 15 million Americans will be 85 years or older in 2040. While seven in 10 seniors will need some type of long-term care (LTC) during their lives, only one in 10 has private LTC insurance coverage. Almost 14 million seniors could suffer from Alzheimer’s in 2040, and the annual rate for a private nursing home room continues climbing, reaching $81,030 in 2012.

Research shows many Americans mistakenly believe they have LTC coverage through Medicare when they do not. The misinformation puts their retirement plans at risk. Without change, millions of middle-class baby boomers will turn to a welfare program, Medicaid, to finance these needs.

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.