long-term care – Author Site for William J. Beerman, Sr

Boomers Fret Over Cost, Proximity in Caring for Parents, Survey Finds

November 18, 2018 by Tim Regan

Some baby boomers are worrying about the financial costs of caring for their aging parents, and whether they’ll be able to live close to them as they age.

That’s one of the insights contained within a new survey commissioned by Capital Senior Living (NYSE: CSU) about baby boomers’ attitudes as they juggle taking care of their parents and living their own lives. The survey, which was conducted by market research company OnePoll, was sent to 2,000 baby boomers.

While the survey focuses only on boomers who are still caring for their parents, it could provide new insight into what the crucial demographic will ultimately want when they, too, age into senior housing settings. Just 12% of the respondents reported parents who lived in a senior living setting, while 19% said their parents still live at home.

“Baby boomers will be the largest generation entering the senior care system over the next few years and are currently the decision-makers for many of their parents,” Capital Senior Living COO Brett Lee told Senior Housing News. “It’s important that we, as an industry, understand their feelings and concerns about aging — like how prepared they feel — so that we can better answer their questions, help them plan their futures and put their minds at ease.”

About half of the surveyed baby boomers felt like they were “parenting their parents,” with overall concerns related to costs (41%), providing part- or full-time care (38%) and living close to them (32%). And baby boomers fretted that their parents might struggle with staying active (39%), feeling isolated (39%) or keeping up with medications (38%).

The survey also asked boomers about how they felt about their own aging. Boomers responded they worried about being a burden (52%), managing their own health (49%) and staying active (42%). More than three-quarters (79%) of boomers thought more about their own aging since taking care of their parents, according to the survey.

“I think the challenge for us now, as an industry, is to make sure we’re educating boomers on the services that senior living communities provide, and that communities do more than just care for seniors’ physical health,” Lee said. “They help boomers and their parents live a better life.”
Read the rest of the survey online.

New Report Outlines What’s at Stake in Patient Decision-Making About Post-Acute Care

Under stress of illness and hospitalization, patients and family caregivers are not well-positioned to make informed decisions about post-acute care (including nursing homes).

NEW YORK, NEW YORK November 15, 2018—As hospital stays shorten, continued care following hospitalization is now a common part of recovery for many patients who undergo major surgery or experience serious illness. Each year, approximately one in five hospital patients in the United States, including some 300,000 New Yorkers, require such care—in rehabilitation centers, in nursing homes, at home, or in their communities. Yet too often, patients and their families do not have the critical information and support they need to carefully assess their options and make the best possible decisions.

United Hospital Fund (UHF) conducted a year-long inquiry, supported by the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth), to better understand why hospital discharge planning can fall short despite well-intentioned efforts by hospital staff, and today released the first in a series of reports based on that work. The report, Difficult Decisions About Post-Acute Care and Why They Matter, spotlights the many factors that can hinder informed decision-making and limit care choices.

The stakes are high—patients who receive care from lower-quality providers have higher rates of complications and worse outcomes. But patients and family caregivers may not be aware that quality of care varies, and they must choose a provider when they are stressed and under pressure. While most patients and families ask their care team for help with decision-making, many discharge planners will not offer direct advice because of concerns about complying with federal regulations that limit hospitals from recommending specific providers.

Information on post-acute care that is available online also has many limitations. It can be hard to gather and interpret, much of it is too technical, and there are gaps and barriers for those with limited English proficiency, literacy, numeracy or research skills. Mistrust of information on the Internet is an issue as well.

“There’s simply too much at stake to leave sick patients and their families on their own to research and evaluate post-acute care options,” said Lynn Rogut, director of quality measurement and care transformation at UHF and co-author of the report. “They need assistance from health care professionals to identify the best possible choices.”

Today’s report is the first in a four-part series on the Difficult Decisions project, which combined inputs from patients and their families, health care providers, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders with UHF’s own research to identify promising approaches for supporting decision-making at discharge. Forthcoming reports will focus on the experiences of patients and family caregivers and the perspectives of health care providers; they will also identify strategies and policy levers that could help make a difference.

“Arranging for post-acute care can be among the hardest decisions patients and their families have to make, especially when emotions are running high and they’ve been under the stress of dealing with an illness,” said David Sandman, Ph.D., President and CEO of NYSHealth. “Although there are resources available, many families are unaware of their options. These are tangible solutions to help patients and their families make the best care choices for themselves.”

“Our goal with these reports is to bring attention to this significant issue, which affects the health and well-being of many vulnerable New Yorkers,” said UHF president Anthony Shih, MD, MPH. “But, as with all our projects, the larger aim is continuous improvement of our health care system overall.”

The report can be downloaded from UHF’s website here.

About United Hospital Fund Foundation

United Hospital Foundation works to build a more effective health care system for every New Yorker. An independent, nonprofit organization, we analyze public policy to inform decision-makers, find common ground among diverse stakeholders, and develop and support innovative programs that improve the quality, accessibility, affordability, and experience of patient care. For more on our initiatives and programs, please visit our website at www.uhfnyc.org and follow us on Twitter.

Author to Discuss Nursing Home Book on Radio Show

William J. Beerman, Sr. has been invited to appear on the “All About Books” radio show on KTAL-LP, 101.5 FM in Las Cruces, NM from 12:30-1 p.m., Friday, November 9. He will talk about his book, “Mary Regina’s Nursing Home,” with host Lynn Moorer.

The book is a journalistic novel that wraps a human-interest story around factual information about nursing homes and the government oversight systems for nursing homes. The wide-ranging book includes coverage of New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas’s lawsuit against a New Mexico nursing home chain. Details about the book are presented on the website https://www.wBeerman.com

Nursing home lawsuits to continue after court actions

By William J. Beerman, Sr.

Recent court actions determined that two major lawsuits by state attorneys general (AGs) against nursing home chains will continue.

In one case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on September 24, 2018 reinstated a suit that the state’s Commonwealth Court had dismissed. In the second case, a court-administered status conference September 27, 2018 in New Mexico determined that an AG suit against a nursing home chain will remain alive — but stayed (suspended) — pending legal determinations in separate bankruptcy court proceedings. A spokesman for the New Mexico AG Office in Santa Fe said the office expects that another status hearing on the stayed case will be held in about 6 months.

The Pennsylvania case involves the Golden Living/Golden Gate senior care chain, and the New Mexico case is about the Preferred Care chain. Both cases are covered extensively in my book, Mary Regina’s Nursing Home, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s September 24 opinion is posted on my website, https://wbeerman.com under the index listing “Litigation-Related Documents.” Also posted there is the earlier Commonwealth Court decision, a dissenting judge’s minority opinion, and the AG’s complaint in the Preferred Care case.

Both the New Mexico and Pennsylvania cases essentially alleged that the nursing homes had not provided all the care for which they billed. My book includes the arguments presented by the nursing home chains as well.

A statement by Preferred Care, Inc., of Plano, Texas, said it filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in November 2017 to allow it to remain in business as it defended against 163 personal injury cases. A lawyer for Golden Living did not respond to my request for comment on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision.

When the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court dismissed the Golden Living case, concerns were raised that attorney general lawsuits might no longer be a viable tool to enforce standards of care in nursing homes. The various reasons why are contained in the Commonwealth Court opinion and in a dissenting minority opinion by one of the Commonwealth Court judges.

“The Supreme Court’s decision allowing our lawsuit against this nursing home chain to continue is a significant victory for Pennsylvania seniors and their families,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

Under the Supreme Court ruling, the state can recover public funds charged for services not provided – “a win for taxpayers,” Shapiro said.

“This ruling allows my team to hold businesses accountable for deceptive, misleading practices under our Commonwealth’s consumer protection law,” Shapiro said.

Mary Regina’s Nursing Home reports on state AG lawsuits and AG research that encompass 65 nursing homes and more than 1 million patient-days of nursing home care. The investigations for the AG lawsuits elicited reports on nursing home operations from former employees such as certified nurse’s assistants (CNAs) who became confidential witnesses for the AGs. Their insider view of nursing home operations is reported in the book. The investigations looked not only at how residents were treated, but at how the nursing homes interacted with oversight agencies and with their parent corporations.

AHCA Members Meet with HHS Secretary

AHCAPressOffice@ahca.org
(202) 898-3165

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(L-R) Neil Pruitt, Jr, Mike Cheek, Bob Hagan, Secretary Tom Price, Tom Coble, Mark Parkinson, and Dr. David Gifford

6/12/2017

Washington, D.C. – Last Monday, American Health Care Association (AHCA) President and CEO Mark Parkinson joined association members to meet with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tom Price, M.D., to discuss challenges the long term care profession faces as the nation’s population ages and the importance of maintaining access to quality long term care.

AHCA members discussed with Secretary Price the need for responsible regulation that supports and incentivizes quality improvement. Recent regulatory changes impose both redundant and unnecessary stipulations on providers and are not focused on improving care at the bedside. AHCA members specifically noted that some of the practices detailed in the Requirements of Participation, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued last October, interfere with person-centered care and day-to-day operations.

“We commend Secretary Price’s efforts to work with us to empower our members to achieve our goal of providing quality care for seniors and individuals with disabilities,” said Parkinson. “AHCA will continue to advocate for responsible regulation that advances our mission of improving lives by delivering solutions for quality care.”

Secretary Price and AHCA members also discussed significant improvements in key quality measures across the long term care profession. In 2012, the Association launched its Quality Initiative, which challenges providers to improve key quality performance measures. Since the Initiative’s inception, member providers have successfully prevented more than 79,000 individuals from returning to the hospital within 30 days of their skilled nursing center stay and have reached or surpassed a nationwide goal in safely reducing antipsychotic usage by at least 30 percent.

Members in attendance at the meeting with Secretary Price included Tom Coble, Chair of AHCA Board of Governors, and President and CEO of Elmbrook Management Company; Bob Hagan, President of Sterling Healthcare, Inc.; Neil Pruitt, Jr., Chairman and CEO of PruittHealth.

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represent more than 13,000 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers and homes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit www.ahca.org or www.ncal.org.