NORC Gazette
National Citizens’ Coalition
for Nursing Home Reform
Table
of Contents
2. AoA national summit scholarships awarded to ombudsmen
3. FL Ombudsman Program co-sponsors Residents’ Rights month activities
Ombudsman Calendar of Events
Home and Community-Based
Care/Olmstead
4. LA preserves in-home care for Medicaid
beneficiaries
5.
VT moves toward increases in community-based services
6. MO Governor seeks changes in new laws
affecting home care workers
Nursing Home News
7. Panel urges nursing homes to screen for depression in residents
8. AAHSA nursing home plan links quality of care to Medicare payments
9. Trans Healthcare, Inc. assumes operations of IHS facilities
Nursing Home Quality Initiative
10. NHQI work helps reduce restraint use in TX nursing homes
Assisted Living
11. NY
residents recoup money from Atria assisted living facilities
12. CO assisted living facility accused in death
13. NY facility trains welfare recipients as nurses
14. Administration fails to notify consumers of therapy cap
Medicaid
15. Medicaid reform efforts not likely to pass this year
Medicaid Cuts
16. MI
eliminates non-emergency dental coverage for adults
Research
17. Study shows need to protect unbefriended elderly patients
DC Doins'
18.
Life safety code changes go into effect
19.
AHCA and NCAL support funding for nursing initiatives
20. CMS
organizes “Building Caregiver Coalitions” satellite broadcast
Michigan Director of Services to
the Aging, Sharon Gire, announced that the services provided by the Michigan
Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman would be handled internally by the
state Office on Services to the Aging for a 2-year period as opposed to an
external contract. Under the internal
structure, the State Long Term Care Ombudsman will report directly to Director
Gire.
2. AoA
national summit scholarships awarded to ombudsmen
Seven ombudsmen, two state and
five local, were awarded scholarships to attend the Administration on Aging
(AoA)
3. FL Ombudsman
Program co-sponsors Residents’ Rights month activities
The Florida Long-Term Care
Ombudsman Program, the Pioneer Network and the Winter Park Health Foundation
are sponsoring several educational seminars throughout the month of October in
celebration of Residents’ Rights month. These
seminars are open to residents, healthcare professionals, and anyone interested
in improving the quality of life and quality of care for residents in long-term
care facilities. Sessions include:
“Pioneer Culture Change: What you can do;” “Person-Centered Care in an Ideal
Long-Term Care Setting;”and “Bathing without a
Ombudsman Calendar of Events
Home and Community-Based
Care/Olmstead
4. LA preserves in-home care for Medicaid beneficiaries
Medicaid patients who face
spending the rest of their lives in a nursing home will soon be entitled to
receive in-home care after a federal judge declined to reopen a 6-month-old
legal settlement. The legal settlement requires the state
to provide in-home care to any qualifying Medicaid beneficiaries. The state sought to reopen the case so that
they could provide care on a more limited basis instead of abiding by the
original settlement agreement. The
5.
VT moves toward increases in community-based services
6. MO Governor seeks changes in new laws affecting home care workers
Nursing Home News
7. Panel urges nursing homes to screen for depression in residents
An expert panel has
recommended that nursing homes regularly screen all residents for depression,
with particular attention to residents who suffer from dementia. The panel, led by the American Geriatrics
Society and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, called for
significant revisions to the standards of care for nursing home residents with
depression and behavioral symptoms associated with dementia. Up to 40% of residents with dementia have both
behavioral and psychiatric symptoms that staff could alleviate with proper care
and treatment. The panel calls for
routine and regular screening for depression in every nursing home resident,
improved screening instruments and first-line treatment of major depression with
antidepressant medications in combination with non-pharmacological
interventions. The panel’s consensus
statement also outlines ways that nursing home administrators and staff can
improve the environment for residents, enhancing their quality of life. Source: SNFinfo Connection, September 9, 2003;
www.snalfnews.com, September 4, 2003.
8. AAHSA nursing home plan
links quality of care to Medicare payments
The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA)
presented a plan to lawmakers that would link quality of care to nursing homes’
Medicare payments. In testimony before
the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, AAHSA recommended a two-way commitment to
foster improvement in quality of care and services provided at nursing homes. The group charged that authorities responsible
for paying Medicare and Medicaid have the right to align payments for nursing
homes with proper and efficient care. The
association also recommended that lawmakers implement a demonstration project
to explore ways of matching quality of care and services. According to AAHSA, the initiative should
include developing and testing a method for paying bonuses to facilities that
achieve high performance ratings. Source:
HealthCare Alert E- newsletter,
9. Trans Healthcare, Inc. assumes operations of IHS facilities
Trans Healthcare, Inc., (THI) has officially assumed full
operational control of the Long Term Care facilities ABE Briarwood Corporation
purchased from Integrated Health Services, Inc. (IHS). Trans Health is the largest privately held
healthcare company in the
Nursing Home Quality Initiative
10. NHQI work helps reduce restraint use in TX nursing
homes
The use of physical restraints in
11. NY residents recoup money from Atria assisted living
facilities
After signing an agreement with
the New York State Attorney General’s Office, Atria Inc., which owns assisted
living facilities in
12. CO assisted living facility accused in death
The families of six residents of the Sunrise Assisted Living
facility in Centennial, Colorado have filed a lawsuit charging that neglect and
poor care killed one resident and jeopardized the lives of others. Plaintiffs include state Senate President
John Andrews, whose mother-in-law was a resident of
Staffing
The Van Duyn Home & Hospital
in
Source: www.snalfnews.com,
Medicare
14. Administration fails to notify consumers of therapy
cap
As reported in the September 5th Gazette, annual caps of
$1,590 were applied to Medicare payments for outpatient speech and physical
therapy (combined) and on occupational therapy services (singly), effective
September 1. However, the Medicare
Rights Center (MRC) has filed a motion to delay implementation of the caps on
grounds that the government failed to notify consumers about the cap. In June, MRC, Easter Seals and the American
Parkinson Disease Association sued the Bush Administration to stay the coverage
caps, alleging that the Department of Health and Human Services failed to
advise people with Medicare that it intended to implement the therapy caps on
July 1. To settle the case, the Bush
Administration agreed to delay implementation of the coverage caps until
September 1, and pledged to notify at least 90% of the 41 million people with
Medicare that the caps were going into effect. MRC recently learned that approximately 40% of
people with Medicare were not advised of the caps. Source: MRC Flash, Medicare Watch #18, Vol. 6, No. 18:
Medicaid
15. Medicaid reform efforts not likely to pass this year
Because Congress is unlikely to pass a Medicaid reform bill this session, governors and federal legislators anticipate returning to Medicaid reform efforts next year. Reform efforts “stalled” this year because of disagreement among governors about which Medicaid changes to endorse. Members of a National Governors Association (NGA) Medicaid task force this year failed to agree on whether to endorse a Medicaid plan proposed by President Bush. For beneficiaries covered at the state’s discretion, the Bush administration plan would give states’ Medicaid programs a fixed amount of funding, rather than matching funds, and would no longer require states to apply for federal waivers to deviate from federal eligibility and benefits standards. In addition, states would only be required to maintain comprehensive Medicaid coverage for beneficiaries whose income levels are low enough that the federal government mandates that they be covered. To read the full article please visit:
http://cme.kaisernetwork.org/Key=181.D40.F.D.FwvN2v.
Source: www.kaisernetwork.org,
Medicaid Cuts
16. MI eliminates non-emergency dental coverage for adults
Beginning October 1st, about 600,000 Michigan Medicaid
beneficiaries ages 21 and older will no longer receive coverage for
non-emergency dental services. The
Michigan Department of Community Health, which administers the Medicaid
program, will also reduce coverage for hearing aids and chiropractic and
podiatry services for adult beneficiaries. The cuts are a result of budget reductions. Opponents to the cuts point out that consumers
will now be forced to use more expensive emergency services to receive
treatment. To address the problem, the
Source:
Research
17. Study
shows need to protect unbefriended elderly patients
A new study by the American Bar Association Commission on
Law and Aging found that only 13 states have enacted laws that specifically
address the problems confronting isolated elderly patients who lack the
capacity to make their own health care decisions. A new report entitled, Incapacitated and Alone: Health Care Decision-Making for the
Unbefriended Elderly, outlines these findings and presents 12
recommendations on improving the fate of these isolated patients. The report found that in states that have
adopted laws addressing the needs of unbefriended elderly patients, those laws
have addressed: statutory authorization for consent, often by attending physicians;
creation of volunteer committees to make decisions, usually for mentally
retarded or mentally ill individuals; and court processes authorizing limited
consent to treatment. Some states also
have public guardianship programs, but they are often overburdened and
under-funded. The report concludes that
all of these mechanisms have drawbacks but move in the right direction. All
SLTCO will receive a complimentary copy of the report. To order additional copies, email:
abaaging@abanet.org or call (202) 662-8690.
For further information on the study, contact Naomi Karp, nkarp@staff.abanet.org or Erica Wood, ericawood@staff.abanet.org. Source: Elderbar Listserve;
DC Doins’
18. Life safety code changes go into effect
As of September 11th
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began its enforcement of
the 2000 Life Safety Code(r) (LSC), and nursing facilities must be in full
compliance to avoid citations. Much has
changed since facilities were required to adopt the 1985 version of fire safety
precautions. Some of the highlights
include new requirements for smoke detector placement in corridors containing
resident rooms, sprinkler installation, quarterly fire drills on each shift,
minimum width for doors in established exit routes, and smoke detectors in
sleeping rooms if residents bring their own upholstered furniture. Although the LSC allows roller latches on
doors in some cases, CMS has called for their elimination. Source: http://www.snfinfo.com,
19. AHCA and NCAL
support funding for nursing initiatives
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the
http://www.ahca.org/news/nr030904.htm;
Source:www.snalfnews.com,
20. CMS
organizes “Building Caregiver Coalitions” satellite broadcast
The Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services is holding a satellite broadcast on September 30 to
explore ways to provide support to informal long-term caregivers. The broadcast titled, “Building Caregiver
Coalitions,” will bring together a 12-member panel representing caregiver
organizations, coalition builders, businesses and potential partners to discuss
strategies and share experiences in building state-focused coalitions to reach
caregivers. There will be a
question-and-answer session after the discussion to allow viewers to talk with
the panelists. The objective is to
motivate organizations to develop, join and sustain coalitions to help provide
services and information to caregivers. In
order to view this broadcast through satellite, you must have access to a
digital steerable dish that receives a K or C band signal. For additional information, please visit: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/events/event.asp?id=54&type=0
Source: CMS website,
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 two daily listservices. (one from the Kaiser Family
Foundation and the American Hospital Association) and other sources happened
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