Long Term Care – Articles « Elder Care
Articles About Long Term Elder Care
- 10 Questions That Make Sure the Elderly are Treated with Dignity and Respect (MailOnline – 3/15/09)
A checklist for patients and carers includes ten questions to ensure basic needs are met and people are treated with respect.
Patti's Comment: I can tell you that I honestly did not feel that I was treated with dignity and respect while I was in the hospital. Anyone who is being treated or receiving support or care giving services should be asked these questions. - Even Older Americans Get Failing Grade on Their Knowledge About Long-Term Care (Senior Journal – 10/28/09)
Older Americans are really not very knowledgeable about long-term care. Most know what long-term care is and how much it costs, but their scores fall short regarding how many people will need it and how they will pay for it. - Facing Up to the Costs of Long-Term Care (CNN Money – Oct. 2007)
No matter how well you plan your retirement, the catastrophic expense of long-term care could ruin it all. Insurance looks like the obvious solution. Turns out it's anything but. - Fighting Bedsores With a Team Approach (New York Times – Feb. 19, 2008)
Bedsores: an area of skin breakdown that occurs when sustained pressure cuts off blood circulation – usually in patients confined to their beds in hospitals and nursing homes – a bedsore can result in a wound so deep and painful that some patients require narcotics. If a bedsore becomes infected, the complications can be fatal. - Foot Health and Amputation Prevention for the Long-Term Care Resident (McKnight's – 3/24/09)
Older adults in nursing homes and long-term care facilities often have multiple health problems. With medical advances in the treatment of diabetes, aging Americans are living longer with the disease. Foot health and amputation prevention programs for geriatric patients with diabetes are crucial to allowing the elderly to remain functional and independent. Patients with healthy feet can continue to walk and exercise. With proper foot care, falls and fractures can often be prevented.
Patti's Comment: I really like this doctor's goals! - Housing Options for the Older Client (Probate & Property – Nov/Dec. 2008)
On reaching retirement age, many people think about changing their housing accommodations. Here issues are considered that are too often ignored. - Imprisoning the Aged in Long Term Care Settings (AC – 3/9/09)
After 20 years of working in long term care facilities as a Certified Activity Director, I have become disenchanted and frustrated with the lack of respect for the democratic resident rights of our ill and aging senior citizens. - Myths About Long Term Care (The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program) Long term care is a complicated issue. The best way to weed out misinformation about long term care is to learn the facts.
- Next Steps: Start Long-Term-Care Planning Now (Pittsburg Post Gazette – 5/26/09)
Q&A with things to think about when facing this process. - Options to Integrate Health and Long-Term Care for Dual Eligibles (PR Newswire)
The SCAN Foundation released a policy options document by the Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. (CHCS) summarizing four options to integrate care for dual eligibles, the nearly 9 million seniors and adults with disabilities who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. - Policy Recommendations for Future of Long-Term Care (Spectrum Online)
Georgetown University researchers have released four distinct policy options for including long-term care support and services as part of a nationwide health care reform package following on the heels of a survey showing strong public support for improved coverage for long-term care services. - Strategies for Addressing the Long-Term Care Threat (Money Watch – 8/2/10)
This is the fourth post in my continuing series on addressing the threat of ruinous long-term care expenses. The first three posts provided an overview of the threat, assessed the risks we face, and summarized the various long-term care services you can choose. - The Evolution of Long Term Care in the United States (Care Trak – 7/26/10)
In the first century of our country's history there was no such thing as nursing homes or assisted living. Society was mostly rural and people lived in their own homes. Families cared for their loved ones at home till death took them. In the latter part of the 1800's because of an increasingly urban society, many urban families were often unable to care for loved ones because of lack of space or because all family members including children were employed six days a week, 12 hours a day. During this period many unfortunate people needing care were housed in County poor houses or in facilities for the mentally ill. Conditions were deplorable. - The Growing Cost of Compliance in Long-term Care (McKnight's – 11/9/10)
For many of us, some form of organized living arrangement—a nursing home or an assisted living facility (ALF)—is in our future. While few of us will want to spend anytime in a nursing home, many of us may choose to live in an assisted living facility. Both sectors will be under substantial demographic, regulatory and enforcement pressure over the next decade. As the baby boomers age, each sector will experience dramatic growth.
Publications About Long Term Elder Care
- Examining the Role of Private Long-Term Care Insurance in the Financing of Long-Term Care (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
As the long-standing gap between Americans’ need for long-term care services and the public and private funding available to pay for them grows ever wider, this policy brief examines the fundamentals of private long-term care insurance. - Institute of Medicine Report Recommends Improving Direct-Care Jobs (PHI Press Release)
Information on the Institute's latest report, "Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce." - Long Term Care Accommodations (Compiled by Tri-Care Office on Aging)
Services and payment sources as part of the long term care continuum. - Long Term Care Legal Resource Manual (Michigan State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program)
Several years ago, Kelly Quardukus and Elder Law of Michigan undertook a project to compile federal and state law and regulations relating to long term care. It was recently reformatted and renamed Federal and State Regulation of Nursing Homes. Note: this is a 946 page pdf document, so may take some time to download. - Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in Long-Term Care Contracts: How to Protect the Rights of Seniors in Washington (Seattle University Law Review)
In January 2010, the Seattle Times began the first comprehensive accounting of adult family homes in Washington State. The six-part series, titled “Seniors for Sale,” reported that “[a]dult family homes in the state are seen as a national model, and in King County alone, they’ve become more plentiful than Starbucks stores. But the explosive growth, fueled by profiteers and a lack of careful state regulation, is leaving thousands of people vulnerable to harm.” By September, the Times reported that it had uncovered at least 236 deaths indicating neglect or abuse. - Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs (MetLife)
The 2009 market survey of nursing home, assisted living, adult day services and home care costs. - The Essentials: Long-Term Care Insurance (MetLife)
An educational guide and a general introduction to long-term care insurance. It defines terminology generally used in the industry, presents some basic issues, and provides answers to some frequently asked questions. Several versions for different states are linked from here.
