Here’s a collection of news bites pertaining to the senior housing and long-term care industries, gathered from around the nation. Many of the articles are state-specific, but could eventually have national implications or influence senior care trends. Click the links to access the full article.
From the San Francisco Gate (Calif.)—Number of Centenarians in Nursing Homes Drops to 35%
“Only about 35 percent of people over 100 nationwide live in a nursing home, requiring around-the-clock care—down significantly from 48 percent as recently as 1990,” reports the San Francisco Gate. “That means most of the rest are living with family or independently, and experts say that number will grow in coming years. “The Baby Boom generation has been having its surge into the older ages for a few years now,” said Hans Johnson, demographer with the Public Policy Institute of California. “And since the oldest Baby Boomers were born in 1946, the oldest are still only 67. So there is a lot more growth to come.” Government funding picks up the nursing-home bill only after a senior citizen has become impoverished. With more people living to 100, there will be more people spending many years on the public tab.” Read more…
From the Associated Press—CMS to Issue Nursing Home Evacuation Planning Requirements
“In Superstorm Sandy’s wake, health experts and regulators are warning that thousands of nursing homes nationwide are still ill-prepared for a natural disaster. The late October storm was the latest in a string of disasters to reveal gaps in emergency planning, despite an industry-wide effort to improve preparedness in the years since Hurricane Katrina,” reports the Associated Press. “Some changes could be in the works. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it expects to issue new disaster planning requirements for nursing homes this year, with an aim toward avoiding the types of problems seen in Sandy.” Read more…
From NWAonline (Ariz.)—Coroner to Spot Check Nursing Home Deaths
“Roger Morris, Washington County coroner, received an extra $20,000 from the Quorum Court to do spot checks on deaths at nursing homes this year,” reports NWAonline.com. “State law outlines requirements regarding reporting deaths that occur in nursing homes. Part of the law says: In all cases of the death of a long-term care facility resident or a hospice facility resident, that facility shall immediately report the death to the appropriate coroner. All hospitals must also report the death of a person who was a long-term care facility resident within five days before entering the hospital. The report is required regardless of whether the hospital believes the death to be from natural causes, the result of maltreatment or any other case.” Read more…
From CMS—Changes to Part 2 Provisions to “Promote Program Efficiency, Transparency”
“This proposed rule would reform Medicare regulations that CMS has identified as unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome on health care providers and suppliers, as well as certain regulations under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA),” says CMS. “This proposed rule would increase the ability of health care professionals to devote resources to improving patient care, by eliminating or reducing requirements that impede quality patient care or that divert resources away from providing high quality patient care.” View the rule in the Federal Register.
From the Courier-Journal (Ky.)—Bill Creating Review System for Nursing Home Maltreatment Cases Sparks Outcry
“In a brazen abuse of her power as committee chairwoman, Ms. Denton called for a vote on SB 9 immediately after industry supporters gushed about its benefits (mostly to themselves). Opponents got no chance to speak before the vote,” says an editorial printed in the Courier-Journal. “The bill would create a “medical review panel” of three physicians to review complaints before a case could proceed to trial — a system no other alleged victim of maltreatment must navigate before filing a lawsuit. The alleged victim would have to submit the claim in writing and pay a $110 filing fee just to get before the review panel.” Read more…
