This newsletter is being sent directly to local ombudsmen as well
as state ombudsmen who are in our
NORC
National Citizens’ Coalition
for Nursing Home Reform
Table
of Contents
2.
3. East
TN District Ombudsman Program celebrates 25 years
Ombudsman Calendar of Events
Home and Community-Based Care/Olmstead
4. Report says greater coordination
needed for long-term care changes
5. Training about home
modification, assistive devices available online
Nursing Home News
6. Cost of nursing home care continues to rise
7. Paramedics, nursing home
team up to improve emergency care in MD
8. AARP wants convicts out of IL nursing homes
9. AHCA offers tips for nursing home visitors
10. Business Week
Online features story on Choosing a Nursing Home
Assisted Living
11. Assisted living facility
occupancy down
12. NY ALF fined $75K for sexual abuse cover-up
13. Aide from
Breaux’s office joins ALFA
Staffing
15. Governors want Medicare to cover Medicaid prescription drug costs
16.
GAO finds flaws in Medicaid funding formula
DC Doins'
17. Federal policy requiring segregated
Medicaid areas becomes rule
18. Upcoming Town Hall Listening Session in
19. CMS to issue new guidance for citing scope/severity
20. GAO says Scully retaliated against contractor
21. NCSL issues report on long-term care
After much hard work in
2.
On
3. East TN District Ombudsman Program celebrates 25
years
The
East Tennessee Ombudsman Program was developed in 1978 in response to the Older
Americans Act mandate requiring the establishment of ombudsman services. From its inception, the program recognized
that the utilization of lay volunteer ombudsmen provided a method for better
serving residents of long-term care facilities. The
Ombudsman Calendar of Events
Home and Community-Based Care/Olmstead
4. Report says greater coordination needed for long-term care changes
In its newly released annual
report, the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal
advisory group on disability issues, describes the “unprecedented and sometimes
baffling complexity” of changes necessary to reorient the nation’s long-term
care system from an institutional to community-based model. The report describes a variety of
cross-programmatic, multi-agency and intergovernmental coordination issues that
must be confronted if the goal of minimizing unnecessary and costly
institutionalization is to be achieved. These issues include funding for personal
assistance services in the home, as well as transportation, housing, assistive
technology and others. NCD found that mechanisms for achieving the requisite
coordination do not now exist, or if they exist are not widely in use. It stated that a high-level planning mechanism
is needed for coordinating and for ensuring accountability in the Olmstead-related activities of a number
of federal agencies and programs. To
read the report go to: http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/progressreport_final.html. Source: National Disability Policy: A
Progress Report, December 2001 – December 2002; SNALF.com,
5. Training about home modification, assistive devices
available online
Caring for
an older person often includes tasks that add physical strain and compound
existing health problems. The
Nursing Home News
6.
Cost of nursing home care continues to rise
A survey conducted by the MetLife
Mature Market Institute found that the average cost of a private room in a
nursing home increased by 8% to $181.24 per day since MetLife’s last survey in
2002. This increase is nearly four times
the rate of inflation over a 15-month period. The survey, which was conducted in June,
includes prices from 476 nursing homes in all 50 states and the
7. Paramedics, nursing home team up to improve emergency care in MD
In response to the frustration
felt by paramedics of the Baltimore County, Maryland Fire Department when they
respond to emergency calls at nursing homes in the county, the fire department
has entered into a partnership with Blakehurst retirement community and nursing
home in
8. AARP wants convicts out of IL nursing homes
AARP-Illinois wants the state to
halt the practice of placing parolees in nursing homes. For many years, the state Department of
Corrections has located convicts recently released from prison who are ill and
unable to care for themselves into ordinary long-term care facilities. According to corrections officials, there are
33 parolees currently living in
9. AHCA offers tips for
nursing home visitors
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) is offering a free booklet
called “Tips on Visiting Friends and Relatives.” It addresses who should visit, planning for
visits, ways to make visits more interesting, the proper way to conduct visits
and how to hold visits outside of the facility.
The guide is available free of charge (one per customer) by calling
AHCA’s toll-free consumer line at 1-800-628-8140 or by going to: http://www.longtermcareliving.com/family_guide/visit/visit1.htm. Source: SNALF.com,
10. Business Week Online features story on
Choosing a Nursing Home
A story featured in the
August 14th edition of Business Week Online focuses on choosing a nursing
home. The article encourages readers to
make sure to do an on-site visit. NCCNHR
Public Policy Director, Janet Well's gives several tips regarding what to look
for and the ombudsman is listed as a key resource person. To read the full article go to:
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2003/nf20030814_2024_db026.htm
Assisted Living
11. Assisted living facility occupancy down
According to the National
Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industries (NIC), the
assisted living sector saw a sizeable drop in occupancy rates during the first
quarter of 2003, with the median declining three percentage points from 86 to
83% and the mean dropping from 85 to 83.5%.
NIC analysts suggest the drop might be seasonal, as there have been
first-quarter declines in the past. They
also speculate that the poor economy and war could be causing people to delay
moving into assisted living facilities (ALFs) or even causing them to move
out. Source: SNALF.com,
12. NY ALF fined $75K for sexual abuse cover-up
An assisted living facility (ALF)
in
13. Aide from Breaux’s office
joins ALFA
Janet Heald Forlini, an aide to U.S. Senator John Breaux (D-LA), has
been hired by the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) to serve as its
senior vice president and director of public policy. In her work with Senator Breaux, Forlini put
together Committee hearings and advised him on legislation and policy
directives encompassing issues such as Medicaid, long-term care, and
end-of-life care. Recently Forlini
helped convene, spearhead, and direct the activities of the Assisted Living
Workgroup, a collection of nearly 50 organizations established by the Committee
to recommend improvements in the industry.
ALFA has stated that government relations are a top priority for the
organization. Forlini will start her new
position sometime in mid-August. ALFA
press release,
Staffing
Improving wages and benefits for direct-care workers is one of ten
recommendations in a recent report on how to lay the groundwork for a
successful long-term care system in
http://directcare.c.tclk.net/maabhwUaaZmC1bbWbsCb/
Source: National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce newsletter,
Medicare
15. Governors want Medicare to cover
Medicaid prescription drug costs
In a letter signed by 51
governors and sent to U.S. House and Senate conferees last week, the governors
called on Congress to ensure that the final version of Medicare reform
legislation provides prescription drug coverage to elderly and disabled Medicaid
beneficiaries. The governors said that
including the provision is their highest priority for the legislation. While the House-passed bill includes a
provision for Medicare to be the primary payor and to gradually assume a
significant share of prescription drug costs for those individuals dually
eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, the Senate version does not. Source: SNAFL.com,
Medicaid
16. GAO finds flaws in Medicaid funding
formula
A new report from the General
Accounting Office (GAO) concludes that the formula used to determine how much
states receive in federal Medicaid matching funds is based on an “incomplete
measurement” of states’ resources and low-income populations. The report examines the formula, which
compares states’ per capita income to the national average, giving states with
a lower per capita income more matching funds and states with a higher per
capita income less funds. The receipt of
federal funds under the current formula enabled 30 states’ Medicaid per
beneficiary spending to be closer to the national average, but moves 21 states
farther away from the average. Three of
the 21 states -
DC Doins’
17. Federal policy requiring segregated Medicaid areas
becomes rule
CMS has
issued final regulations mandating “distinct parts” for residents on Medicaid
and Medicare. The regulations apply only
in facilities that are partially Medicaid and/or Medicare certified. Advocates have long been concerned about the
distinct part requirement because it subjects residents to transfer trauma when
they are moved to another room or even discharged if there is no certified bed
available, discriminates against residents solely on the basis of payment
source, and violates several provisions of the Nursing Home Reform Act. A recent case in
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-19677.htm.
The
rule also provides for a $6.9 billion increase in Medicare SNF funds over the
next 10 years. In a meeting July 31 that
included NCCNHR, the Center for Medicare Advocacy, and providers, Senator
Charles Grassley (R-IA) told CMS Administrator Tom Scully that he expects the
new funds to be used for direct care. Source: Robyn Grant
18. Upcoming Town Hall
Listening Session in
The fifth Administration on Aging (AoA) Town Hall Listening Session will be held on September 12, 2003, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina in conjunction with the North Carolina Conference on Aging. The session is an opportunity for older people, their families and caregivers, and members of the National Aging Services Network to comment on critical issues. Persons interested in testifying must pre-register and be assigned a time slot. To register, contact: Jennifer McIntosh by telephone: 202-828-5100, ext. 151 or email: JMcintosh@hsrnet.com. Source: AoA website: www.aoa.gov
19. CMS to issue new guidance for citing scope/severity
During the July 29 SNF/Long-Term
Care Open Door Forum, Steve Pelovitz, director of the Center for Medicare &
Medicaid Services’ (CMS) survey and certification group, said that the agency
plans to issue new guidance on citing scope and severity in the very near
future. The guidance will change the ways
that surveyors cite the scope and severity of deficiencies and provide more
detailed protocols on pressure sores and incontinence. CMS originally released a draft of proposed
changes to the State Operations Manual (SOM) in late 2001. That proposal proved controversial and was
withdrawn. Pelovitz stated that this
time CMS hopes to provide “more specific guidance to surveyors on how to cite
certain critical observations they see during the survey,” including when
surveyors see actual harm, possible harm, or immediate jeopardy to residents. Source: SNFinfo Connection,
20.
GAO says Scully retaliated against contractor
A new report from the General
Accounting Office (GAO) concluded that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) Administrator Tom Scully “undermined the integrity” of Medicare’s
contracting system by retaliating against a researcher who raised questions
about the agency’s program comparing nursing homes. The report found that Scully improperly
canceled up to $1.6 million in new work for
21. NCSL issues report on
long-term care
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has released
“Budgeting for Long-Term Care: Spending Limited Dollars More Wisely.” The report details how states are managing to
do more with less and examines the challenges of rising costs for nursing home
care, prescription drugs and other health services required by the elderly and
persons with disabilities. To order,
contact NCSL’s Publications Department at 303-364-7700 or by e-mail at books@ncsl.org. Source: Family
Caregiver
This publication of the National Ombudsman
Resource Center (NORC), at the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home
Reform, updates State and Local LTC Ombudsmen on the latest information,
resources, ideas, and practices in the full range of long-term health care.
The Gazette is organized for your easy reading. Information is grouped by
topics (Ombudsman Program Updates,
Nursing Home News, Assisted Living, Staffing, etc) and numbered.
You can quickly see if any articles are of interest and immediately go to
those articles.
In order to get this info to you ASAP, there is little to no additional
verification work or search of resources.
The information comes from a number of sources including the Washington Post,
the New York Times, and at least two daily listservices (one from the Kaiser
Family Foundation and the American Hospital Association) and other sources
happened upon by NORC staff and consultants. Please submit suggestions
for improvement or information to Robyn Grant, NORC consultant, at robyngrant@comcast.net.
The
For more information contact the