NORC Gazette
National Citizens’ Coalition
for Nursing Home Reform
Due to NCCNHR’s
Annual Meeting
This will be the
last Gazette until
Table
of Contents
Ombudsman Program Updates
1. WA advocates celebrate
Residents’ Rights week
2. FL advocates highlight residents’ rights through seminars and events
3. FL State Ombudsman highlights residents’ rights in the media
4. CA officials recognize Residents’ Rights week
5. News for Ombudsmen attending NCCNHR’s annual meeting
Ombudsman Calendar of Events
Home and Community-Based Care/Olmstead
6. CMS
funds community living projects
Nursing Home News
7.
9.
Nursing Home Quality Initiative
10. National
Quality Forum adopts new quality measures
Assisted Living
11. OR officials scramble to determine why
residents are becoming ill
Medicaid
12. KY lawsuit attacks Medicaid cutbacks
13. Study links low Medicaid reimbursement to
resident harm
Research
14. New
diabetes drugs could cause trouble for some residents
DC Doins'
15. OIG includes nursing homes in 2004 work plan
16. DOL initiative targets the health care workforce
17. Daily Money Management Programs
18. NCCNHR board member receives national aging and law award
19. AoA celebrates Hispanic heritage month
20. Families
Ombudsman
Program Updates
1.
WA advocates celebrate Residents’ Rights week
In celebration of residents’ rights week,
2.
FL advocates highlight residents’ rights through seminars and events
3. FL State Ombudsman highlights residents’
rights in the media
In letters to the editor
appearing in the Tampa Tribune, the Naples Daily News and the Miami Herald,
Brian Lee, Florida State Ombudsman, emphasized the importance of residents’
rights and encouraged Floridians to educate themselves about the rights
guaranteed to residents of long term care facilities. “In recognition of October
being named Residents' Rights Month, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
encourages Floridians to learn more about elders' rights and to share that
information with seniors. Thanks to our efforts, many seniors enjoy autonomy,
fair and courteous treatment, privacy and control of their financial matters,”
Lee wrote. Lee
also noted “There are more than 150,000 Floridians residing in nursing homes or other
long-term care settings. The state has made great strides in protecting them
and ensuring their right to age with dignity. However, too often these
individuals aren't made aware of their rights.” Source
4. CA officials recognize Residents’
Rights week
In spite of all the political happenings in
5. News for ombudsmen attending NCCNHR’s
annual meeting
Conference registration is nearly 300 participants,
including 22 state ombudsmen and over 120 local ombudsmen. We can hardly wait to see you next week! Please
feel free to introduce yourself to the staff and plan to attend the receptions
and auction to enjoy the fellowship of advocates from across the country.
Scholarships
available
A
limited number of scholarships ($60 value) are available from the National
Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center to ombudsmen wanting to attend an
intensive at the NCCNHR Annual Meeting, Sunday October 19th. Ombudsmen who want to attend an intensive,
but do not have the funding to do so, please contact
Wanted
Show off your
program in the Resource Room at the NCCNHR Annual Meeting Oct. 18-21. Brochures, videos, promotional materials,
program displays and photos are welcome.
You may bring materials with you or send to NCCNHR now. Contact
Ombudsman Calendar of Events
November
2003: National Family Caregivers Month
January 22-14, 2004
March 2-3, 2004
Home
and Community-Based Care/Olmstead
6. CMS
funds community living projects
The Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) funded five new demonstration projects aimed at
helping recruit, train, and retain personal assistants, including three that
will test whether offering health insurance benefits helps keep workers on the
job. The grants are intended to help states and other eligible entities make
lasting improvements to home- and community-based services programs for people
living with disabilities or long-term illnesses. Both sets of grants are part
of the New Freedom Initiative, which promotes community living for people with
disabilities. To read a press release
about the workforce demo grants, go to http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20031002.html. To read a press release about the Real
Choices grants, go to http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20031002a.html.
Source: CMS Press Release
Nursing
Home News
7.
Two
lawsuits were filed in response to the fire that ultimately killed 11 residents
and injured scores of others at a
Nursing home fires represent only about 0.5 percent of the
560,000 structure fires each year in the
Source: The Advocate,
9.
The owners of The Waters nursing home chain will pay $3 million to New York
State (NYS) to settle allegations the facilities were consistently understaffed and
that employees falsified records and neglected patients. Facility owner, Neil M. Chur Sr., will
avoid criminal charges after a three-year grand jury probe by the Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit. Under the agreement, Chur will be allowed to operate his
other facilities in NYS and his companies will make no admissions of liability
or wrongdoing. The settlement will have
no effect on several pending lawsuits filed by families who claim their
relatives were neglected or mistreated in The Waters homes. The $3 million settlement is one of the
largest nursing home settlements ever in NYS.
McKnights LTC Daily News,
Nursing Home Quality Initiative
10.
National Quality Forum adopts new quality measures
The
National Quality Forum (NQF), an independent contractor for the Centers for
Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), recommended a consensus set of “Nursing
Home Performance Measures” for CMS to adopt. For
long-term skilled nursing facility residents, the NQF recommended that CMS add
measures to assess residents who are in bed most of the time, experience
decreased ability to move about, have urinary tract infections, have moderate
or severe pain, were physically restrained during the seven-day assessment
period, or experience worsening of depression or anxiety. The only addition for
short-term care residents the NQF suggested was a Quality Measure (QM) for
residents who lose bladder or bowel control or have an indwelling catheter
despite being at low-risk for these issues. Two QMs the NQF endorsed for all
residents were the receipt of pneumonia and flu vaccines. Weight loss in
long-term care residents and nurse staffing were placed on the back burner for
further study. Source
Assisted
Living
11.
OR
officials scramble to determine why residents are becoming ill
State health officials are searching for reasons to explain why 22 residents from two Wilsonville, OR-based senior health care facilities--an assisted living facility (ALF) and an independent living facility--developed pneumonia. In July one resident contracted the illness, leading to five in August, and then jumping to 21 in September. Though not every case was diagnosed as pneumonia, three of the sickened residents were diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease--a disease caused by breathing in contaminated water vapor, such as that emitted from air conditioners or vents. Health officials admit that they are unsure as to the cause of the surge in pneumonia cases in the two facilities but say that the investigation is ongoing.
Source: BAL Weekly
E-Newsletter,
Medicaid
12. KY Lawsuit attacks Medicaid cutbacks
Legal Aid lawyers filed a federal lawsuit aimed at blocking
controversial cuts to the Kentucky’s Medicaid program that are forcing hundreds
of elderly and disabled Kentuckians to lose nursing home care and other
services. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 10 elderly or disabled people being
cut from Medicaid, alleges the cuts violate federal law that requires states to
set "reasonable standards" for providing Medicaid services. It also
alleges the state has violated rights of Medicaid clients by providing
inadequate or confusing and conflicting notices that they are being terminated
from Medicaid. Advocates have had some success getting the courts to block cuts
in other states struggling with Medicaid shortfalls. Judges in
Source The Courier-Journal,
13.
Study links low Medicaid reimbursement
to resident harm
An independent study released by Lake Success, NY based
MyZiva.Net in September found that government fiscal policies have become a
major contributing factor in poor nursing home care in the United States. The
study, which linked staffing levels and Medicaid reimbursement to facility
performance, found that nursing homes in states with the lowest Medicaid
reimbursement rates tend to have staffing levels substantially lower than the
national average of 3.84 nursing hours per day. According to MyZiva.Net,
analysis of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data shows that
current staffing and Medicaid policies negatively affect resident care and the
ability of nursing homes to provide care that complies with standards. Out of
the 20 states with the lowest Medicaid reimbursement in the nation, 77% of
their nursing homes have staffing levels below the national average, the study
reported. Visit http://www.myziva.net/press/pressrel/20030929.php for additional information. Source:
MyZiva.net News Release,
Research
14. New
diabetes drugs could cause trouble for some residents
Researchers at
the
DC
Doins'
15.
OIG includes nursing homes in 2004 work plan
The
Office of Inspector General (OIG) Work Plan sets forth various projects to be addressed
during the fiscal year. The Work Plan includes projects planned in each of the
Department's major entities including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services. Next year, OIG reports will
include; access to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) under the prospective
payment system (PPS); nurse aid registries; nursing home reporting of minimum
data sets, resource utilization group assignments
16. DOL initiative targets the health care
workforce
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has chosen health care as one of the areas
of focus for its new High Growth Job Training Initiative. The goal of the
initiative is to address the nation’s most severe workforce deficits. The High Growth initiative, she said, seeks
to create partnerships with educators, employers and the public workforce
system where all three will work collaboratively to meet today's workforce
needs. Other job growth initiatives include one by the Council for Adult and
Experiential Learning (CAEL), a nonprofit organization that helps adult’s
access educational programs. With the help of DOL funding, CAEL is increasing
the number of CNAs, LPNs, and RNs at five demonstration sites throughout the
country through various means, including CNA apprenticeship training programs
for both incumbent and prospective workers. To read DeRocco’s speech, go to
Source
17.
NCCNHR board member receives national aging and law award
Congratulations to NCCNHR board
member Alison Hirschel who is this year's recipient of the National Aging and
Law Award. Alison works as a Staff
Attorney for the Michigan Poverty Law Program and is considered one of the
preeminent legal advocates for this nation's low-income and frail elders. Alison is highly regarded as one of the
leading experts in the
18. Daily Money
Management Programs
Advocates working with elders recognize
that seniors who are unable to manage their finances are susceptible to
exploitation by unscrupulous family members, acquaintances, and predators.
Daily Money Management (DMM) is increasingly being viewed as a promising way to
protect seniors from those who exploit them. A manual from the San Francisco
Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention describes what DMM is, how programs are
organized and administered, and the potential role such programs might play in
preventing elder abuse and neglect. Source
19. AoA celebrates
Hispanic heritage month
The Administration on Aging (AoA) honors the rich history and cultural
traditions of the nation’s growing Hispanic population by recognizing October
as Hispanic Heritage Month. October is a time to celebrate the many contributions
that Hispanic Americans have made in education, medicine, the arts, industry
and politics. It is also a time to reflect on how we can continue to assist our
Hispanic elders to remain healthy, active, integral part of their families and
their communities. In 2000 Hispanic Americans made up nearly 6 percent of the
older population. By 2028, the Hispanic population over age 65 is projected to
be the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the 65+ age group. For additional information, please visit http://www.aoa.gov. Source: AoA Website,
20. Families
Families USA announced the creation of the Wellstone Fellowship for
Social Justice to honor the late Senator Paul D. Wellstone of
Source: Families
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
upon by NORC staff and consultants. To start a subscription to AHA News
Now, send a message from your subscribing e-mail address listserv@ahals.aha.org and write in
the message area
The
For more information contact the