AARP Public Policy Institute has released a report entitled “Meeting the Needs of Diverse Family Caregivers.” In 2009, there were 42.1 million family caregivers in the US providing care to adults who need help with daily activities. Ten percent of these caregivers are Hispanic and eleven percent are African American. AARP performed qualitative research using a series of focus groups with Hispanic and African American family caregivers, nurses and social workers to gain insight on the issues that define who these family caregivers are and what responsibilities they are taking on.

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The Consumer Voice congratulates Ashley Carson Cottingham on her new position as the National Field Director at Compassion & Choices. Ashley concluded her position as the Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Primary Health & Aging of the US Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee last week; she was previously Senior Policy Counsel for the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Prior to coming to the Senate, she was the Executive Director of OWL – The Voice of Midlife and Older Women, where we had the pleasure of sharing an office suite with her. Ashley is a committed advocate to aging issues and has been instrumental in advancing Older Americans Act reauthorization. She will be greatly missed on Capitol Hill by the advocacy community, but we wish her much luck in her exciting new role!

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Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act and Strengthening of the OAA's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Provisions

A bill to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA), including stronger ombudsman provisions, has just been introduced in the US Senate. The OAA is important to older long-term care consumers because it funds services that help older adults get the care they need in their own homes, helps educate older Americans on their long-term care options and benefits, and protects elderly long-term care consumers. Stronger ombudsman provisions would help long-term care consumers by giving ombudsmen greater freedom to represent the interests of residents, improving ombudsman access to residents and reducing conflicts of interest. Consumer Voice has created a fact sheet outlining these benefits of reauthorizing the OAA and strengthening ombudsman provisions. In addition, you can find more information and a wealth of resources on our revised OAA web page and our new Long-Term Care Ombudsman web page.

Stay tuned for more action on this issue in the coming weeks!

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Federal officials are threatening legal action after an investigation in Florida found hundreds of children with developmental disabilities unnecessarily relegated to nursing homes designed to serve the elderly when they could be suitably served at home or in more integrated environments with proper supports. In a letter to the state’s attorney general, US Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez wrote “The state’s reliance on nursing facilities to serve these children violates their civil rights and denies them the full opportunity to develop bonds with family and friends and partake in education, social and recreational activities in the community.” The letter required Florida to take corrective action to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Justice Department may file a lawsuit.

For more information, read the article on disabilityscoop.com.

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The CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network has released a new tracking component allowing nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to monitor healthcare-associated infections. The component allows facilities to track various drug-resistant infections, urinary tract infections, and healthcare worker adherence to basic infection control procedures.

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September is National Preparedness Month. Emergency preparedness resources are available from a variety of sources:

United We Serve’s “Community Renewal: Community Preparedness” Toolkit

Information from the Administration on Aging – Emergency Preparedness and Response

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A recent article from the Provider encourages caregivers to view patients with dementia in a new way.   Rather than thinking of people with dementia as people with a disease, some health professionals want caregivers to start thing of dementia patents as people with shifted reality. Many health professionals believe “Just because someone has a brain disorder doesn’t mean the person isn’t still experiencing life.”

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The National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC) is seeking information to share with the federal government about when a living arrangement is considered “community-based” for purposes of Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) funding. NSCLC asks “Should a person living on property that includes an institution (such as a nursing facility or intermediate care facility) be eligible for Medicaid HCBS funding? Always, never, or only under certain conditions?” Please contact NSCLC if you are aware of an HCBS-funded living situation like this or if you find these situations beneficial or not.

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The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse is looking to identify additional coalitions and teams for the NCEA database.

Click here to fill out the form to be a part of the database.

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Forum on Disability Positions of 2012 Presidential Candidates

This Friday representatives from President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaigns will speak at the National Forum on Disability Issues in Columbus, OH. Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy, Jr. and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) will present their party’s positions on matters relating to Americans with disabilities. This forum is the only national event that provides a platform for representatives of the two presidential campaigns to present their candidate’s policy positions on disability issues. The forum will also be available via webcast.

National Presidential Forum on Disability Issues
Friday, September 28, 2012
12:30pm - 3:30pm EST

For more information, read the press release. To register for the webcast, visit www.nfdi.org.

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Elder Justice Coordinating Council to Meet on October 11

The Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC), created by the Elder Justice Act, will meet on October 11, 2012 in Washington, DC. The Council is comprised of six Cabinet Secretaries and five Agency Directors. The Council is mandated by Congress and is charged with recommending the creation and coordination of efforts throughout the federal government to address elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of older Americans. 

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