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March 8, 2016
NY State Comptroller's Office Report Finds that Improvements Are Needed in Nursing Home Enforcement
Laurie Kash's mother was admitted into a New York nursing home for temporary care, yet just three weeks later she had become a paraplegic. Kash's mother was injured because of a fall that occurred when a nurse failed to follow a physician's order detailed in her care plan. Her consequent neurological deterioration and pain were dismissed. By the time her paralysis was diagnosed, by a family member who was a heart surgeon, her spinal cord injury was irreparable. She spent the remaining three years of her life in the nursing home, confined to a wheelchair.
Kash filed a complaint with the New York Department of Health (DOH), but after six investigations, the DOH dismissed most of the concerns. Kash and her family filed a lawsuit against the facility and implored the state to act, but the DOH took no significant action. Kash took the case to the New York State Comptroller's Office along with advocates at Long Term Care Community Coalition, NY Statewide Senior Action Council, New Yorkers for Patient and Family Empowerment, and the Gray Panthers, and the Comptroller agreed to perform an Audit and Policy Analysis of DOH's Nursing Home Oversight agency. (The last such analysis was administered in 1999.)
The State Comptroller’s Office’s report found that nursing homes were often cited repeatedly for problems with limited consequences and nursing home fines were delayed for up to six years. It called for improvements in the enforcement of nursing home violations. Recently Laurie Kash, along with representatives of the advocacy organizations identified above, spoke at the Comptroller’s press conference regarding the audit. Read the report, watch a video clip of the press conference and learn more about Ms. Kash’s story here.
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New NORC Resource - LTC Ombudsman Advocacy in Assisted Living Facilities Compendium
The first installments of the Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman Advocacy in Assisted Living Facilities Compendium are now available on the National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) website. The compendium is intended to assist long-term care ombudsmen programs (LTCOP) in increasing their effectiveness in advocacy for and with residents in assisted living facilities (e.g., residential care, board and care).
Additional sections, best practices, and program and practice tips will be shared on the NORC website as they are developed, starting with the section on program assessment, development, and management.
You are encouraged to check the Compendium on a routine basis and to share your program management approaches, best practices, systems advocacy strategies, outreach materials, and training examples related to LTCO program advocacy in assisted living with NORC.
Click here to view the compendium. Contact NORC with questions, comments, or to share your LTCOP's best practices.
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Justice in Aging Toolkit for Advocates on Balance Billing
Justice in Aging has released a toolkit on balance billing, a practice, which is illegal under federal law, when doctors, hospitals or other providers charge beneficiaries with both Medicaid and Medicare for Medicare co-pays, co-insurance, or deductibles. The toolkit includes five model letters advocates can use when their low income clients face illegal billing. It also includes a webinar that explains balance billing protections for dual eligibles and for people who are Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries. It offers examples of how the problem arises and ways to get it fixed. Access the toolkit here.
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CMS Long-Term Services and Supports Open Door Forum
Join Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the Long-Term Services and Supports Open Door Forum. The forum provides an opportunity for dialogue between CMS and all stakeholders who interact with CMS or work with consumers who rely on services that CMS provides. The next quarterly forum is Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at 2:00pm ET. Receive agenda and other announcements by signing up here or find more information here.
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Dementia Action Alliance Releases Paper on Changing the Status Quo
Dementia Action Alliance has released a white paper entitled "Living with Dementia: Changing the Status Quo." The paper reviews how people living with dementia are often marginalized due to societal misperceptions and stigma about dementia. It also draws attention to the traditional medical system, which the paper argues tends to dehumanize and objectify the symptoms of dementia. The paper is intended for a broad audience including policymakers, healthcare practitioners, long-term services and support providers and researchers.
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Spotlight on Educational Resources
The Consumer Voice and the National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) have a multitude of resources available online covering a wide range of long-term care topics. Visit the Consumer Voice website and the NORC website to explore all the available resources. Take a look at this week's highlighted resource:
Assisted Living Fact Sheets - Consumer Voice has several useful fact sheets on assisted living issues. Find information on selecting an assisted living facility, getting quality care, and solving problems in assisted living.
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In this Issue
NY State Comptroller's Office Report Finds that Improvements Are Needed in Nursing Home Enforcement
New NORC Resource - LTC Ombudsman Advocacy in Assisted Living Facilities Compendium
Justice in Aging Toolkit for Advocates on Balance Billing
CMS Long-Term Services and Supports Open Door Forum
Dementia Action Alliance Releases Paper on Changing the Status Quo
Spotlight on Educational Resources
Combined Federal Campaign
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