The 2001 Waxman Report had some very alarming statistics:
One out of every 3 nursing homes in the United States was cited for elder abuse.
Of the 9,000 complaints of abuse between January 1999 and January 2001 3,800 were not discovered by inspectors. Instead the abuse did not come to light until a formal complaint was made.
For every case of abuse that is reported it is estimated that another 5 cases go unreported.
http://www.ltcombudsman.org/ombpublic/49_369_1847.CFM
According to the Safestate website in California alone elder abuse has grown 25% with 2/3’s being committed by the family members. One might infer that this increase is because family members are taking more of an active role in caring for their elder family members then placing them in facilities. Elder abuse can not only include physical and psychological harm but financial abuse as well. Nationally it is estimated 1 in 20 elderly persons will be abused in their lifetime.
http://safestate.org/index.cfm?navId=11
As a society how do we combat this problem?
The statistics above are alarming and disturbing. Even with the great strides that have been made since the Waxman report of 2001 there is still a long way to go to protecting our elders from abuse. In 2006 the NCCNHR campaign kicked off a 2 year campaign to improve the quality of long term care facilities. This is a collaborative project involving legislators, administrators and consumers with the goal of improving nursing home care. The NCCNHR boost they have a 45.6% participation rate of nursing homes at this time in their program.
http://www.nhqualitycampaign.org/
Other ways to combat this problem is increase public awareness. Every state is required to have an Obudsman representative where people can address their concerns and complaints to. The Obudsman program in Florida is a volunteer based program but operates under state and Federal law. If someone suspects elder abuse in a long term care facility contacting the LTC administrator or your state’s Obudsman representative is the first step to stopping the abuse.
http://ombudsman.myflorida.com/
In order to break the cycle of abuse we need to arm ourselves with the knowledge to combat it. This means increased training for employees in LTC facilities, awareness campaigns for family members and arming those residents in LTC facilities with the information of where to report abuse. As a society we need to demand tougher regulation and fines for those LTC facilities that have repeated complaints. The screening process for employees of LTC needs to be more stringent and consistent across the board. Increasing public awareness of this problem is the first step in combating it.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Veterans Homes- A Different Kind Of Long Term Care
In researching my next topic for Blog number three, I ran across a website discussing Veterans Homes. This website caught my eye especially since I myself am a Veteran and my husband is currently still serving in the Army today. Currently in Florida there are six Veterans home.
What are Veteran's Homes?
Veterans homes are long term care facilities that provided a variety kind of care. In most cases this a partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs and states. They have short term care mainly for rehabilitative services after surgery or those awaiting placement in a community nursing home. Short term care is defined by 90 days or less. Care is also available for those that require care over 90 days. Those individuals must met a specific set of criteria such as prolonged wound care, ventilator and respiratory care, and spinal cord injury care for example. Veterans home also provide care, short term and long term, for those needing some sort of dementia care. Palliative Care is also available in some Veterans Homes. The range of services in State Veterans homes vary (VA)
Who is Eligible?
In the State of Florida those veterans who have been residents of Florida for over a year prior to the date of needing care and have qualifying wartime or peacetime experience. Those Veterans with service related injuries needing long term care and those veterans unable to pay for nursing home care will be first priorities (FL Vets)
Disadvantages?
Veterans homes do have some disadvantages such as unlike its civilian counterparts the application process is typically a long one followed by a waiting list. Those needing care for alzheimer's usually have the longest waiting list. There also is a certain set of criteria that has to be met before one can even be considered such a low income Veterans with limited means (VeteransBenefits).
Who covers the cost?
In state veterans homes the Department of Veterans Affairs pays the state a per diem. To make up the remaining costs some states charge a flat rate monthly per diem to residents and other have a sliding scale based on economic means and rely on other subsidies to cover the rest.
Veterans homes are a priceless benefits to those veterans who have served our country proudly. These state veterans homes are held to the same state guidelines as those private and other state nursing homes.
http://www.floridavets.org/nursing/nursing_rq.asp
http://www1.va.gov/geriatricsshg/docs/VA-NHCU.pdf
http://www.veteransbenefitsmo.com/Articles/state_veterans_homes.htm
What are Veteran's Homes?
Veterans homes are long term care facilities that provided a variety kind of care. In most cases this a partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs and states. They have short term care mainly for rehabilitative services after surgery or those awaiting placement in a community nursing home. Short term care is defined by 90 days or less. Care is also available for those that require care over 90 days. Those individuals must met a specific set of criteria such as prolonged wound care, ventilator and respiratory care, and spinal cord injury care for example. Veterans home also provide care, short term and long term, for those needing some sort of dementia care. Palliative Care is also available in some Veterans Homes. The range of services in State Veterans homes vary (VA)
Who is Eligible?
In the State of Florida those veterans who have been residents of Florida for over a year prior to the date of needing care and have qualifying wartime or peacetime experience. Those Veterans with service related injuries needing long term care and those veterans unable to pay for nursing home care will be first priorities (FL Vets)
Disadvantages?
Veterans homes do have some disadvantages such as unlike its civilian counterparts the application process is typically a long one followed by a waiting list. Those needing care for alzheimer's usually have the longest waiting list. There also is a certain set of criteria that has to be met before one can even be considered such a low income Veterans with limited means (VeteransBenefits).
Who covers the cost?
In state veterans homes the Department of Veterans Affairs pays the state a per diem. To make up the remaining costs some states charge a flat rate monthly per diem to residents and other have a sliding scale based on economic means and rely on other subsidies to cover the rest.
Veterans homes are a priceless benefits to those veterans who have served our country proudly. These state veterans homes are held to the same state guidelines as those private and other state nursing homes.
http://www.floridavets.org/nursing/nursing_rq.asp
http://www1.va.gov/geriatricsshg/docs/VA-NHCU.pdf
http://www.veteransbenefitsmo.com/Articles/state_veterans_homes.htm
Sunday, September 7, 2008
LTC Wild Card Post
Take a moment to let these numbers sink in from the National Clearing house for Long Term Care:
• $187/day for a semi-private room in a nursing home
• $209/day for a private room in a nursing home
• $3,008/month for care in an Assisted Living Facility(for a one-bedroom unit)
• $29/hour for a Home Health Aide
• $18/hour for a Homemaker services
• $59/day for care in an Adult Day Health Care Center
I have to wonder how on earth my parents will afford LTC with their modest retirement pension and savings. How does any average middle class person afford this?
One of the topic’s that interest me most in Long Term Care is cost and the ability of the “Average Joe” to pay for LTC. With nursing home care costs topping an astonishing $68,000 annually for a semi-private room it is amazing that any average person can afford this. According to the National Clearinghouse for Long Term Care, 70% of Americans at some point will need LTC. One has to wonder how the average person can afford these extraordinary costs. With the Baby Boomer’s facing their gold years the generations after them are worried as well. Soon many of the offspring from the Baby Boomer generation may be stuck in the “sandwich” where they are facing the costs of caring for their aging parents while trying to afford the cost of putting a child through college. I am one of those with baby boomer parents who worries how my parents and I will afford the cost of LTC when it is needed.
Many people have the misconception that Medicare will cover one’s long term care needs, I use to be one of them. When in reality Medicare only covers long term care costs in the case where one needs to receive care from an injury or illness but what happens when a person needs permanent indefinite care in a long term care facility. Many are startled to find out that Medicare will not cover the cost of their care. Medicaid will cover some cost if you qualify but most people, like my parents, do not qualify for Medicaid. Where does that leave the “Average Joe” who has too many assets for Medicaid, no long term care insurance and definitely not wealthy enough to afford long term care? It’s a situation many baby boomers may soon find themselves in.
As a society, more needs to done to educate the general public in regards to the misconceptions of Long Term Care and cost. A national public campaign needs to be implemented in educating the public on their options for covering the cost of LTC. Long Term Care insurance premiums need to be more affordable for the average person as well as educating the younger generations how important it is to purchase a policy when young. Alternative means to approaching LTC also need to be discovered. The old cliché of “it takes a village to raise a child” also hold true for the edlderyl. The village needs raisethe elderly too.
National Clearninghouse for Long-Term Care Information. (2008, May 5). In U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved September 6, 2008, from http://www.longtermcare.gov/ltc/main_site/paying_ltc/costs_of_care/costs_of_care.aspx
• $187/day for a semi-private room in a nursing home
• $209/day for a private room in a nursing home
• $3,008/month for care in an Assisted Living Facility(for a one-bedroom unit)
• $29/hour for a Home Health Aide
• $18/hour for a Homemaker services
• $59/day for care in an Adult Day Health Care Center
I have to wonder how on earth my parents will afford LTC with their modest retirement pension and savings. How does any average middle class person afford this?
One of the topic’s that interest me most in Long Term Care is cost and the ability of the “Average Joe” to pay for LTC. With nursing home care costs topping an astonishing $68,000 annually for a semi-private room it is amazing that any average person can afford this. According to the National Clearinghouse for Long Term Care, 70% of Americans at some point will need LTC. One has to wonder how the average person can afford these extraordinary costs. With the Baby Boomer’s facing their gold years the generations after them are worried as well. Soon many of the offspring from the Baby Boomer generation may be stuck in the “sandwich” where they are facing the costs of caring for their aging parents while trying to afford the cost of putting a child through college. I am one of those with baby boomer parents who worries how my parents and I will afford the cost of LTC when it is needed.
Many people have the misconception that Medicare will cover one’s long term care needs, I use to be one of them. When in reality Medicare only covers long term care costs in the case where one needs to receive care from an injury or illness but what happens when a person needs permanent indefinite care in a long term care facility. Many are startled to find out that Medicare will not cover the cost of their care. Medicaid will cover some cost if you qualify but most people, like my parents, do not qualify for Medicaid. Where does that leave the “Average Joe” who has too many assets for Medicaid, no long term care insurance and definitely not wealthy enough to afford long term care? It’s a situation many baby boomers may soon find themselves in.
As a society, more needs to done to educate the general public in regards to the misconceptions of Long Term Care and cost. A national public campaign needs to be implemented in educating the public on their options for covering the cost of LTC. Long Term Care insurance premiums need to be more affordable for the average person as well as educating the younger generations how important it is to purchase a policy when young. Alternative means to approaching LTC also need to be discovered. The old cliché of “it takes a village to raise a child” also hold true for the edlderyl. The village needs raisethe elderly too.
National Clearninghouse for Long-Term Care Information. (2008, May 5). In U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved September 6, 2008, from http://www.longtermcare.gov/ltc/main_site/paying_ltc/costs_of_care/costs_of_care.aspx
Sunday, August 31, 2008
What does LTC mean to me?
In simple terms long term care means to me providing care to an individual over a period of time that is longer then the normal time set a normal individual would need. Long term care does not necessarily mean it is only for the elderly population but for any individual that needs assistance with activities of daily living. Providing medical care and assistance with their ADL's is not all that long term is care either. Providing care to meet the emotional needs of the individual is just as important.
As the product of baby boomer parents and a husband who has deployed several times long term care is something that I do think about on a regular basis. I worry about how I would provide care to my loved ones if the case were to arise or how I would afford a long term facility for my loved one if one was needed. Complex long term policies and rising cost in care are troubling and make it all too easy for me to say it is something I will worry about later.
However, with the baby boomers entering the age of retirement the question of who will provide long term care for some of these individuals as they get older is a perplexing one. Cost is obviously one of the fore front issues regarding long term care but so is the availability of long term care resources. As a society great strides need to be made to meet the needs of the aging baby boomer population and the long term care needs some of them will need in the near future. I am not referring to building a ton of nursing homes but more instead of researching more inventive ways to provide long term care to the aging population. More of a focus on assisted living centers so that an individual can still feel a sense of independence and empowerment is one means of long term care.
Long term care is something that will touch almost everyone's life in one way or another whether it is needing care yourself or having a loved one who needs care. Being an informed individual is the best way to arm yourself.
As the product of baby boomer parents and a husband who has deployed several times long term care is something that I do think about on a regular basis. I worry about how I would provide care to my loved ones if the case were to arise or how I would afford a long term facility for my loved one if one was needed. Complex long term policies and rising cost in care are troubling and make it all too easy for me to say it is something I will worry about later.
However, with the baby boomers entering the age of retirement the question of who will provide long term care for some of these individuals as they get older is a perplexing one. Cost is obviously one of the fore front issues regarding long term care but so is the availability of long term care resources. As a society great strides need to be made to meet the needs of the aging baby boomer population and the long term care needs some of them will need in the near future. I am not referring to building a ton of nursing homes but more instead of researching more inventive ways to provide long term care to the aging population. More of a focus on assisted living centers so that an individual can still feel a sense of independence and empowerment is one means of long term care.
Long term care is something that will touch almost everyone's life in one way or another whether it is needing care yourself or having a loved one who needs care. Being an informed individual is the best way to arm yourself.
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