CULTURE CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE
CONTINUUM
OF LIFE-LONG LIVING & LONG-TERM CARE
"We
are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are
confronted with the fierce urgency of
now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a
thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often
leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide
in the affairs of men does not remain at flood -- it ebbs. We may cry out
desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea
and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous
civilizations are written the pathetic words, "Too late." ~
Martin Luther King, Junior
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2. GEORGIA NEWS |
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Pioneer Network Announces
Departure of Bonnie Kantor
Congratulations
to Bonnie!
(Source: FROM THE DESK OF MEGAN HANNAN, Pioneer
Network)
As President of the Pioneer Network Board of Directors, I
share with you today that Bonnie Kantor will be leaving her position as Pioneer
Network Executive Director to accept a position with the Director of the Ohio
Department of Aging. We congratulate Bonnie in her new endeavors and extend
our great appreciation for her many contributions to the Pioneer Network.
Bonnie Kantor has brought national attention to changing
the culture of aging in the 21st century amongst many constituents including
regulators, policy makers, foundations (funders) and aging services providers
across the country and abroad. She has accomplished this through effective
research, production of white papers, grants and tireless education efforts on
culture change -- resulting in dramatically increased exposure to our cause and
setting a strategic course for positive policy and regulatory directions.
Please join me in thanking Bonnie for her many and
significant contributions. Although the board and staff will miss Bonnie we are
thankful for our strong staff team, committed board and involved network.
Together, we look forward to continuing the process of a smooth transition,
that will ensure the powerful work of the Pioneer Network carries on.
Posting for the Pioneer Network Executive Director position
will occur in the near future, following selection of the recruitment team.
Inquiries may be directed to our Chief Operating Officer at or by phone at 312-224-2574. LINK HERE
Now Hear THIS! Nursing Homes Engaging in
Culture Change Can Not Only Improve Their Residents’ Quality of Life, but Can
Also Achieve Better Financial Returns.
(Source: Authors: Amy E. Elliot, Ph.D., Commonwealthfund.org)
Nursing
homes engaged in “culture change” to become more resident-centered in their
approach achieve higher occupancy rates and increased revenue, according to a
study comparing culture change adopters with a comparison group of traditional
nursing homes. Over the four-year study period, homes undergoing culture change
realized an additional 3 percent in occupancy and over $11 per bed per day in
extra revenue. MORE
Giving Alzheimer’s Patients
Their Way, Even Chocolate: New York Times Article About “NEW” and
“Inventive” Approaches to Care…
(EDITORIAL NOTE: This is a very important article. Be sure to read the comments from “CONSUMERS”
at the end of this article!!! Blog from
Dr. Al Power follows – see below)
(Source: By Pam Belluck, New York Times)
Todd Heisler/The New York Times
Margaret Nance with the doll that has been calming to her at the Beatitudes nursing home.
Margaret Nance was, to put it mildly, a difficult case. Agitated, combative, often reluctant to eat, she would hit staff members and fellow residents at nursing homes, several of which kicked her out. But when Beatitudes nursing home agreed to an urgent plea to accept her, all that changed. Disregarding typical nursing-home rules, Beatitudes allowed Ms. Nance, 96 and afflicted with Alzheimer’s, to sleep, be bathed and dine whenever she wanted, even at 2 a.m. She could eat anything, too, no matter how unhealthy, including unlimited chocolate.
And she was given a baby doll, a move that seemed so jarring that a supervisor initially objected until she saw how calm Ms. Nance became when she rocked, caressed and fed her “baby,” often agreeing to eat herself after the doll “ate” several spoonfuls. Dementia patients at Beatitudes are allowed practically anything that brings comfort, even an alcoholic “nip at night,” said Tena Alonzo, director of research. “Whatever your vice is, we’re your folks,” she said. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
NOW Read This Brilliant Blog
From Dr. Al Power
A “Blinding Flash of the Obvious”
(Source: Al Power, changingaging.org)
Here’s a “Blinding Flash of the Obvious,” or “BFO”, as our friend
Jane Verity, CEO of Dementia Care
Long-Term
Care Improvement Guide,
Created by Planetree and the Picker Institute, Is a MUST READ!
Funded by Picker Institute, the Long-Term Care Improvement Guide was created to propel long-term care communities in their improvement efforts by presenting a collection of concrete strategies for actualizing a resident-directed, relationship-centered philosophy.
“The
Long-Term Care Improvement Guide, which you are holding in your hands or
reading on your Kindle or your computer screen, is a practical resource
intended to support continuing care communities in their efforts to bring about
culture change. Like its groundbreaking predecessor, the Patient-Centered Care
Improvement Guide, published in 2008 by Planetree and Picker Institute, the Guide
has been shaped by the perspectives of patients—in this case, patients in long-
and short-term care—and their families, as well as those of the staff and
leadership of the skilled nursing homes, independent and assisted living
facilities and rehabilitation centers where so many of the elderly live.
But the Guide is not just for elders and their families and their caregivers. Old age is universal, and the drive to change the culture of aging is one in which we must all participate if we are to be assured that our lives will remain our own to the end of them.” DOWNLOAD HERE
AARP Writes About THE GREEN
HOUSE®
'Green House' Homes: A Model for Aging That
Promotes Growth ~ Facilities look
and feel like comfortable houses
(Source: by: Sally Abrahms, AARP Bulletin)
— Dimitri Vervitsiotis/Getty Images
Jan Cassidy Wood and her siblings knew that if their older brother
Jack Cassidy ever needed long-term
nursing care, it would fall to them to find
it. He was unmarried and lived alone, and since childhood has had serious
health issues. After a stroke this past
January, the 68-year-old retired mail clerk could no longer take care of
himself in his home. So Wood, a former
high school teacher, researched 32 long-term care facilities in the
Then, last February, Wood toured the
Congratulations GEDCO and Maryland
Bill
Thomas Talks About THE REVOLUTION
GEDCO
CEO Mitch Posner and Green House Project founder Dr. Bill Thomas speak at the
groundbreaking ceremony for
Pioneer Network Develops
Promising Practices, Web-Based Resource for Providers Who Are Navigating the
Revisions to the CMS Interpretive Guidelines
Promising
Practices in Dining, the First Topic, Illustrates How Providers Can Honor
Resident Dignity and Choice
(Source: Pioneer Network)
Promising Practices
is a web-based resource for providers who are navigating the revisions to the
CMS Interpretive Guidelines. Providers
have indicated interest in tools and resources for nursing homes to
operationalize the guidelines which are all about resident Quality of Life,
Person-Centered Care and a Home Environment. Promising Practices serves to meet
that need.
Promising Practices
in Dining is the first topic, with
Promising Practices in Home and the Environment expected next. The release of
the June 12 2009 CMS Interpretive Guidelines reinforces the need for nursing homes
to re-evaluate resident quality of life, including the methods by which
providers honor resident dignity and choice in dining. Pioneer Network has incorporated and
highlighted promising practices in dining from a broad range of nursing homes
and care settings to create this easy-to-use resource. This resource was
created in response to providers asking for a concrete resource during
February’s Creating Home in the Nursing Home II ‐‐ A National Symposium on
Culture Change and the Food and Dining Requirements.
“Providers throughout
the country have asked us to develop a ‘one stop shopping site’ so they can
more easily create responsive and cost effective systems and practices that
exceed their residents’ expectations,” says Bonnie Kantor. “Thanks to the
generosity of the Commonwealth Fund and our many partners we were able to
launch Promising Practices to address that need.” Visit the Promising
Practices in Dining resource.
Consumer Voice Offers Free
2011 Trial Membership for New Members
Last
year the Consumer Voice offered a trial membership for individuals who have
never been members. They set a goal of
750 new members and reached 1,000! The Consumer Voice is pleased to offer
the trial membership again. The free,
one-year trial membership (membership starts January 1, 2011) is available to
individuals who were not members in 2009 or 2010. Trial members from 2010 are
not eligible. This offer is available until December 31, 2010. SIGN UP TODAY!
(Source: Dr. Bill Thomas, www.changingaging.org)
In the movement to make elderhood a rich and productive
time of life — not just a leftover — the voices of those who are living
through and grappling with this transition must be heard. Social media and blogging have provided a
platform for millions and millions of unheard voices to speak out, and that’s
why ChangingAging.org is partnering with the Picker Institute to launch a new blog — the Picker
Report on Aging in America at www.PickerReport.org — dedicated to promoting person-centered care by building
a social network of elders, their advocates, care givers and families.
Using streaming video
and Skype, we want to talk directly to YOU. Join the conversation by
watching our welcome message below and subscribing to our new YouTube Channel and Twitter account @PickerReport. By subscribing you’ll get instant updates with our latest
conversations. You can send us messages by commenting on our videos, messaging
us through YouTube, Twitter or emailing us directly at PickerReport@Gmail.com.
The Picker Institute
is the nation’s leading foundation advancing person-centered care. They’ve been
transforming the way patients and doctors approach health care by funding
research, education and awarding outstanding advances in person-centeredness. LINK HERE
‘VIVE’: Interviewing Frail Elders
(Source: Picker Institute)
The systematic inclusion of the resident’s voice in her or his own assessments represents an enormous advance in the new Minimum Data Set 3.0 (MDS 3.0). The Video on Interviewing Vulnerable Elders (VIVE) demonstrates best-practice approaches for implementing the new MDS interviews for cognition, mood, preferences and pain. Specific video sections explain why interviews have been added; review techniques to improve communication with older, frail populations; and demonstrate each interview being conducted. Using real-life nurses interacting in scenarios based on actual situations, VIVE helps to build understanding and ease implementation of MDS 3.0 for nursing home staff members. The goal of VIVE, funded by Picker Institute and developed by the UCLA/Jewish Home Borun Center, is to help staff members build the confidence and skills they need to interview their residents both for MDS 3.0 and for other clinical evaluations. The “VIVE” video is available at no cost from CMS. Click here to order. SEE MORE
2. GEORGIA
"Reaching 100 years of
age may be more about attitude and adaptation than health history, UGA study
finds"
(Source: www.uga.edu)
Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia research has provided new clues on surviving to be 100 years old, finding that how we feel about ourselves and our ability to adapt to an accumulation of challenging life experiences may be as or more important than health factors.
The research found that critical life events and personal history,
along with how people adapt to stressful situations and cope with them are
crucial to explaining successful aging.
“Understanding health in these terms has huge implications for quality
of life,” said Leonard Poon, director of the
A majority of past research on the oldest of the old focused on
health factors, but the researchers found that centenarians’ feelings about
their own health, well-being and support systems, rather than measures such as
blood pressure and blood sugar are stronger predictors of survival, said
Poon. READ MORE
HERE
Care At Home: A New Civil
Right
(Source: by Joseph Shapiro, NPR)
If you ever visit Martin Luther King Jr.'s gravesite in
Hendrix has lived at this nursing home for five years. She says no one's ever taken her across the street to visit the grave. She'd like to go, but she'd rather just get out of the nursing home.
"I get up in the morning. Eat my breakfast. Take a shower. And make my bed and all that and sit in this chair all day," she says. "I look out the window. Laugh. At least it gives you something else to look at."
Many people believe that nursing home residents are too sick to live
at home. Yet there are many people who have the same disabilities found in
nursing homes, who are able to live in their own homes with assistance from
family or aides. There's a growing body
of law and federal policy that states when the government pays for someone's
care in a nursing home, that person should have the choice to get his care at
home. That it's a civil rights issue. MORE
Congratulations
to Dianne O’Donnell, New Senior
Citizens Advocacy Project (SCAP) Coordinator
Dianne O'Donnell will be advocating for
Environments for Aging
March
20-22, 2011
Sheraton Atlanta | Atlanta, GA
Explore innovations in the design and creation of leading-edge
environments for the aging population!
Environments for Aging offers the latest strategies and ideas
for creating attractive and functional living environments that meet the needs
of our aging population. During this comprehensive three-day learning
experience, attendees will network with peers while learning the latest
innovations and best practices in the design of long-term and residential care
settings.
Attendees will share common goals and innovations as well as
building, architecture and design best practices. Don't miss this opportunity
to gain inspiration through a gathering of like-minded, forward-thinking
individuals with a vision for the future, and who will be instrumental in
shaping it.
Conversations with Carmen
This monthly web talk show is hosted by Carmen Bowman and
produced by Action Pact. In one
jam-packed hour your team will hear from an expert in the culture change
movement on a timely subject, be exposed to some up-to-date "Culture
Change in the News," and a closing feature called "Words to
Consider" - taking a look at undignified language and dignified replacements
to consider.
Friday, Jan. 21, 2011 ~ Learning About
and From the Household Model
Guest Addie Abushousheh, Executive Director
of the Association of Households International
Addie will share the
latest regarding the Household Model including results from the May 2010
Next month's guest and topic is:
Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 ~ The Latest with Altered Consistency
Diets
Guest Dr. Karyn Leible, Chief Medical Officer Pinon
Management and incoming President of American Medical Directors Association
Dr. Leible will take
the time to flesh out the latest thinking and research studies regarding
altered consistency diets, something that has the interest of many desiring to
figure out how honor choice in this area.
There is more info at culturechangenow.com.
Action
Pact Offering “Choreography of Culture
Change” Feb. 20-25, 2011
Prime yourself to choreograph and lead the 'dance' of Culture Change. Open up to deep self-awareness as you grow with others. You will come away with the confidence of a mature 'dancer'. You'll gain the knowledge needed to think through organizational change; and the skills necessary to design and facilitate change processes. Prepare yourself for a dramatic experience that will change your life as a facilitator of deep culture change. Come empty handed, leave with a duffel bag of tools you will be proficient at using including handouts, curricula, video, DVD, textbook and music!
As participants, you will have the opportunity to learn, to practice skills at nearby facilities, to be videotaped in order to review and discuss your work with each other. As a result you will benefit from this training whether you are a 'newbie', or a mature trainer. It will meet your needs whether you are knowledgeable about culture change and want to learn how to help others; or whether you are a skilled facilitator just learning the content of culture change for your changing organization. This intense session will bring you the opportunity for new friends and a support network for the development of your facilitation skills.
Prepare yourself to take a major facilitating role in shaping the
future of long-term care. This
educational offering has been reviewed by the National Continuing Education
Review Service (NCERS) of the National Association of Boards of Examiners of
Long Term Care Administrators (NAB) and approved for 37 clock hours and 37
participant hours. MORE
INFO HERE
Eden at Home Trainer
Certification Workshop: Creating Quality
of Life for Care Partner Teams Living with Dementia
Hosted by Culture Change
Network of Georgia
SAVE THESE DATES for Upcoming
Pioneer Network Conferences
August
2 – 4, 2011
in St. Charles, Missouri
August
6 – 8, 2012
in Jacksonville, Florida
August
12 – 14, 2013
in Bellevue , Washington
(near Seattle
Family Matters: Public Policy
and the Interdependence of Generations
(Source: Generations United)
Our families, our society, and our economy
are in trouble. One in five children lives in poverty. More than a third of
older adults have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty line. The
Download the new report today! Report includes results from a poll conducted by Harris Interactive. LINK HERE
Eldercare – a Burden or a
Blessing
(Source: Elder Care ABC - http://eldercareabcblog.com)
If you are old enough to be getting ready for the day when your parents can no longer care for themselves, you are old enough to remember the hit television series of the 1970s — The Waltons.
That show depicted a time and a culture where our elders were not considered a burden to be borne by their adult children, but a blessing [2]. Even today, there are cultures across the world where extended families are still the norm. The thought of elders who can no longer care for themselves as burdens simply does not exist.
What happened? I do not have an easy answer but if you think I am overstating the case, think again. Search the Internet for articles of different eldercare issues and you will find the underlying assumption of most is more about burdens than blessings. READ MORE
(Source: The Picker Institute)
This is Don Berwick's excellent plenary speech at the International Forum in Berlin 2009
Household Built on Knowing
Residents
(Source: Action Pact, Culture Change Now Newsletter)
When
Household Coordinator Jean Sandberg talks about her household at Episcopal
Church Home in
Jean
has also developed Resident Bingo games for staff to help them engage residents
and know more about them. “In the beginning, it was information that they could
get from their chart. Things like, ‘Who was born in
It is
also important for residents to get to know each other. Residents in Isabella
House put together two-sided “scrapbook” pages of pictures of themselves and
the people and things that are important to them. These laminated pages sit on
the household dining tables with the salt and pepper shakers an can be used by
anyone to help strike up mealtime conversation among tablemates. Not only does
this help folks get to know each other, it helps make meal times more
interesting. Most Isabella House
residents are living with dementia. Jean said knowing things about residents is
particularly helpful in guiding them through difficult situations. For example,
when assisting someone to the bathroom, Jean said, knowing that that person
grew up on a farm and used to go to an outhouse can be useful in understanding
where they may be at and in negotiating with them.
The
folks at Isabella House know that getting to know someone can and should happen
in many different ways. They have made it a way of life in the household by
looking for opportunities to make connections with each other throughout the
day. When everyone really knows each other in special ways, life in the
household feels so much more natural. It feels like home. MORE
Mean Girls: Not Just
Teenagers Anymore
(Source: by IAHSA - The
Global Ageing Network)
Nick Oza/The
Doris Lor, a 76-year-old retired secretary, says
she first encountered bullies when she moved into a retirement community in
An article in The Arizona Republic highlights the increasing problem of bullying in American retirement communities. The article looks at the story of Doris Lor, a 76-year-old retired secretary, who experienced bullying upon joining an retirement community outside of Phoenix. According to Doris: “There is a clique here that is meaner than mean,” adding that “[n]o matter where you go, even if you pay for the activity, the clique saves all the seats,” and that she has “never had a problem like this anywhere else. I have never been bullied at any other time in my life.”
According to Robin Bonifas, a gerontology expert and assistant professor at the Arizona State University School of Social Work, who is researching bullying “10 to 20 percent of older people in care homes experience some type of abuse from fellow residents.” The article also quotes Melanie Starns, an Assistant Arizona Department of Economic Security Director, stating that bullying is “a pretty big deal. The mean girls were there in school and as we get older, they are still around.” Starns explained the behavior by noting that “older people act like bullies for the same reasons that younger ones do: to respond to someone or something that makes them feel insecure. Dementia also may be one underlying cause of nasty behavior.” She adds that “[w]hen people become more frail, they feel more vulnerable … [s]ome people adjust, while other people develop difficult and destructive behaviors.” MORE HERE and HERE
She's Got Some Advice on
Aging -- and the Years to Prove it Works
(Source: By Mary Forgione, For the Los Angeles
Marguerite Miller, 90, is one of what's believed
to be the country's oldest triplets. (Harry Fisher /
Aging gracefully has little to do with wrinkle creams and much to do with exercising and staying active in the community. That's what works for Marguerite Miller, anyway, and that's also what has brought the 90-year-old a bit of celebrity. Miller and her sisters are believed to be the oldest living triplets in the country. Notes an Allentown Morning Call story: "…
A national
expert on longevity says the sisters' healthy lifestyle, and not genetics, is
more likely why the sisters have lived such healthy lives." So what exactly is a healthy lifestyle? Here
are some tips on healthy aging and a nutritional
guide from HelpGuide.com. And here’s how the federal Healthy People 2020 campaign aims to
keep older people healthy.
That should get you started. Of course, if you’re far from your golden years,
no reason not to start on a healthy path now. Check out "Fit
for Life" at Healthkey.com LINK HERE
Resident Involvement is
Essential
Action Pact consultant Megan Hannan shares
her thoughts on resident involvement and a story of its power in one
organization
(Source: Action Pact, Culture Change Now Newsletter)
We so often think we know what residents want or what they
think, but the only way to really know and to really have resident-directed
life is to have them involved as much as possible throughout the culture change
process and then every day after. We can assert our commitment to resident
input and decision making by involving them right from the start on the
Steering Team for the organization's culture change. It's important to have residents on the team
because they give us unique perspectives on daily life in the home. It also
sets the stage for a new way of behaving in the organization: being
person-centered and having elders involved in organizational decisions. When
residents are around we speak and think differently, helping us to keep them in
the forefront of our discussions and desired outcomes. By working with
residents on something other than personal care, we begin to see them more as a
person not only a frail person who needs help. This too helps us be more
person-centered, seeing elders for the whole of who they are, not just their
disabilities.
Laclede Groves Retirement Community (an LSS community), in Webster Groves, MO,
recently had their second Steering Team meeting and invited resident Maurine
Lamar to join the team. Maurine's presence was particularly felt when we did a
team activity in which teams answer a questionnaire together about where in the
culture change journey different areas of the organization fall. The answers
must be decided by coming to consensus. While staff sometimes perceived things
one way, Maurine was able to weigh in on how she really experienced those same
things.
At the end of the meeting we did a closing circle wherein all 30 members of the
team stood in a circle and each answered the question, "What is something
that really stuck out for you about the day?" While everyone was standing,
I offered to Maurine, who walks with a walker, that perhaps she would like to
sit down as 30 answers can take a while. I assumed that she would want to rest
and I was wrong. She wanted to be sure to stand for the whole thing and she
did. When it was her turn to answer, Maurine said, "I now feel I have purpose.
Thank you." And we were all reminded of exactly why we were there. MORE
Timely
Depression Diagnosis Critical To Maintain Health of Elderly
Depression
affects approximately 30 to 40 percent of nursing home residents, but it often
goes unrecognized, according to American Geriatrics Society, which can lead to
lower quality of life or even suicide. Now, researchers at the
Prompt diagnosis and treatment of depression is essential to improve the quality of life for nursing home residents," said Lorraine Phillips, assistant professor in the Sinclair School of Nursing. "Many elderly people develop certain clinical characteristics at the same time they develop depression. Understanding these changes is essential to quickly and accurately diagnosing depression in nursing home residents." full article
Elderly Wheelchair Bound Man
Robs Bank To Go Back To Jail
(Source: by Jerrie Dean, San Diego Headlines Examiner)
A 71-year-old man that robbed a bank while in a wheel chair said he
did it because he felt hopeless because of all his health problems and wanted
to go back to jail. Peter Lawrence
rolled his wheelchair into a San Diego Chase bank and held it up with a replica
BB gun last July. He got away with $2,000 and made it a few blocks away
before he was arrested on the 700 block of
"I'm ready to die right now,"
Lonely Elders at Risk for
Health Problems
(Source: Carol Bradley
Bursack , Editor-in-Chief, Eldercarelink.com)
Numerous studies show that humans are social creatures and too much isolation can have a negative effect on mental and physical health. Lonely elders are abundant in our society. Though we may not always succeed, we caregivers need to do what we can to encourage them to get out and socialize.
Most of us know at least one elder who insists that life is fine though he sits in front of the TV for the greater part of each day and barely eats. Yet this person maintains that going out is too much trouble and having people in just doesn't make sense.
For some, this becomes a real sickness called agoraphobia which is the fear of leaving one's home. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I am a person who, by nature, needs a great deal of alone time. I am a homebody who reads for relaxation. So, I do feel rather sympathetic toward these folks. However, I also know that I need social contacts and so do these elders.
Many studies have shown that people of all ages need an active social life. If we don't get that, we can become withdrawn and prone to depression. Add to that the fact that older people tend to have more health problems which, in turn, make them prefer staying home, plus transportation problems that make getting around hard, and it's easy to see how elders can become withdrawn. Also, many of these people always went places with a spouse, so it seems unnatural for them to go out alone. LINK TO ARTICLE
(Source: –
by Matthew Ozga, PHI International)
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has approved a Registered Apprenticeship program for direct support professionals (DSPs), updating the prior direct support specialist apprenticeship. DSPs work in home and community-based settings. The program was developed jointly by the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR). Registered Apprenticeship programs teach American workers the skills they need to embark on a successful career.
Training
DSPs: Like other Registered
Apprenticeship programs, the newly approved program for
DSPs (pdf) combines formal, competency-based instruction with
on-the-job learning. Additionally, the
DSP program will promote opportunities for career advancement within the field
of direct care. It will also encourage DSPs to help their clients maintain
strong, active ties to their community. “The program offers clear career steps
for committed individuals who value this profession, while emphasizing their
role in providing person-centered care that maximizes the ability of those they
serve to live fully engaged and satisfying lives,” said Maureen Sheahan,
PHI Midwest training & organizational
development specialist. “This is
a great contribution to our work to develop high standards for training and
recognition for workers serving all people who need long-term care supports and
services,” Sheahan said.
Other
Apprenticeship Programs: The Labor Department already
offers Registered Apprenticeship programs for three other occupations related
to direct care: certified nursing assistant, health support specialist, and
home health aide. PHI has compiled resources pertaining to
those four programs on its Training & Organizational Development website.
Registered Apprenticeship programs debuted nationally in 1937. LINK TO ARTICLE
Getting to Know You
(Source: By PAULA SPAN, newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com)
If you have a relative in a nursing home, you’ve probably had variants of these conversations:
Visitor: How’s my father doing today?
Aide: Which one is your father?
Or:
Visitor: Is my mother’s appetite better today?
Aide: I’m not sure; I wasn’t here
yesterday.
Or:
Visitor: How’s my aunt getting along with her
new roommate?
Aide: I’m sorry, I don’t know. I usually
work on the third floor.
The problem isn’t that certified nursing assistants, who provide the great bulk
of hands-on care in nursing homes, are as a group callous or unobservant. It’s that they typically rotate through the
facility, moving from one floor or unit or shift to another as needed, which
rarely allows them to truly know the fragile old people in their care. The idea that the same aides should care for
the same residents, day after day, has come to be known as “consistent
assignment.” It hardly seems a radical proposition.
The Commonwealth Fund’s ongoing national campaign to improve nursing home quality recommends that no more than eight staff members care for a single resident in a month. (Six would be better, but because administrators have to cover three shifts each weekday and three more on weekends, and to find substitutes when aides take sick days or vacations, eight seemed a reasonable goal.)
Nearly
43 percent of nursing homes have signed on to the Advancing Excellence in
Consumers Are Blogging About
The Nursing Home Bill of Rights:
Review
the nursing home resident’s bill of rights.
(Source: by
Joy Loverde, Elder
Care ABC
Under federal law, all nursing homes must have a written description
of the rights of the residents. A copy of the Bill of Rights must be made available
to any resident and family member who requests it.
National Consumer
Organization Expands Project Dedicated to Achieving Quality Care for Older
Adults
(Source:
The National Consumer Voice)
Consumers for Quality Care, No Matter
Where, is a three-year project (also
funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies – see September 29 press release at http://www.theconsumervoice.org/media),
expanding the organization’s national grassroots advocacy network to focus on
health care issues faced by older long-term care consumers requiring care in
their homes or communities. As part of the grant, the Consumer Voice will
develop models for engaging consumers through five state pilot projects,
including
Dealing With the “Difficult
Family Member”
(Source: by Carmen Bowman, Owner,
Edu-Catering: Catering Education for Compliance and Culture Change, in The Western New
York Alliance for Person-Centered Care Blog)
Won’t each one of us be a “difficult family member?”
So many labels in long term care. Thanks to the culture change movement and the Eden Alternative, we are all watching our language and changing it. They say if you change language first, practice will follow. I just wonder why we got so good at labeling people? Does it go along with the fact that in institutional care the task comes before the person? Did labeling just come naturally along with task-doing? I’ve heard it said that in order for caregivers to endure the dehumanizing ways they treat people they had to de-personalize the person. Otherwise it is too heart wrenching to think about how we make people do things they don’t want to do, such as get up when they would rather be sleeping, eat even though they are not hungry — the list goes on and on.
We label by diagnoses: “the hip” in room 200, the Alzheimer’s resident and the diabetic. We label with some undignified terms such as “the frequent faller,” “the wetter,” “the screamer.” It is so sad. I would like to ponder the label “difficult family member” here.
I often ask the long term care audiences when speaking, how many of you will be a difficult family member? Most of us raise our hands and of course we laugh a little. But we know we would advocate for a parent, family member or friend. Absolutely. Of course we would and no one would get in our way.
So then I say, “I invite all of us to never ever refer to a difficult family member in that way again.” With tears in my eyes I honestly say we need to thank God those residents have a “difficult family member” looking out for them. And then I propose we embrace, instead of avoid them. The Eden Alternative has brought us the new language of “care partner” to stress how we are equal partners in all this, no lines of demarcation or differentiation. Let’s extend that title of honor to the “difficult family member.”
Now, let’s ponder “difficult.” What does that mean anyway? I think we would agree it means one who is willing to speak up for their resident relative or friend. But you know what I think it really means? Riddled with guilt. Please, let’s just all remember the guilt family members feel and that by being “difficult” or really just advocating and speaking up for the resident they are trying to deal with their heavy guilt. Won’t we too have guilt when we help one move into a nursing home? When you see a “difficult” family member coming down the hall, try to train your brain to see what you can do to help them relieve a little guilt, ask them if all is well, ask them what you can do better. “Strike while the coals are hot” in the sense of embracing them as a care partner and their expertise in knowing the person. Partner means you need them and they need you. Let’s act like it. Let’s embrace each other. Let’s continue to flip how we do everything including from negatively labeling to positively embracing those who really just care as much as we do. LINK HERE
10 Caregiver Confessions:
Secrets We Aren’t Proud Of
(Source: Carol Bradley
Bursack , www.AgingCare.com)
Wouldn’t it be nice to be perfect? Wouldn’t it be nice to be a caregiver who had only loving thoughts every moment of the caregiving day? Maybe there are caregivers like that. If you are one of them, I truly congratulate you. Most of us who have been through years of caregiving will not fall into that category. I don’t. How about you? Here’s a sampling of “caregiver confessions” that I’ve heard. You’ll likely feel better just reading them.
Some Non-Angelic Caregiver Thoughts
- I have no life of my own and I’m sick of it.
- Mom acts like my boss even when it comes to what I eat.
- How much longer can I keep this up? There is no light at the end of this tunnel.
- Dad has no clue what I give up to do this. He thinks his care is routine.
- Everybody wants a piece of me – there’s nothing of myself left for me.
- I can’t even take a bath without someone needing me.
- Nothing I do pleases them – they are never happy.
- I just want to scream, run away, hide somewhere, or change my identity.
- Maybe if I just take all of Mom’s sleeping pills I won’t have to wake up to this again.
- She is suffering so much. She’s been half dead for months. Why can’t she just let go and die?
Obviously, some of these thought are more serious than others, however what is most important is the frequency of the thoughts and the duration. Let’s look at them more closely. LINK TO ARTICLE HERE
(Source: |
November 22 2010)
This week many of us will be making the "pilgrimage" home to see our family members, such as mom, dad, and elderly relatives. And for many of us, what we will find after not having been home for a year since the last Thanksgiving holiday may be surprising, alarming, or downright frightening. Over the past 12 months, we have all gotten another year older, and so has our mom, dad, or other elderly family member. A lot can happen in a year, and it is precisely at this time when adult children become aware that they elderly loved ones may not be doing okay and might need assistance with everyday living.
In the long-term-care industry, the Friday after Thanksgiving is known as the busiest day of inquiry by family members searching for nursing homes, assisted living communities, home care agencies, and elder law attorneys. The telephone rings constantly (and you thought everyone was out at the shopping malls). These inquiries often come with unrealistic expectations, i.e., "Can someone come out and help my mom today or over this weekend, as we will be leaving Sunday to go back to…" Hopefully, you are getting my drift.
There is no way any professional or service organization can "fix" in an hour or a weekend the problem that your elderly relative has had 80-plus years to create. It is this Friday after Thanksgiving when reality sets in—that mom or dad cannot safely be left alone anymore and it is going to take a lot of time, particularly your time, to help manage this situation. Also, modern Western medicine, despite all its advances and costs, still has not come up with a “pill” one can take to be young again or to cure dementia or other diseases….
While I hope that no one ever has to deal with all of these issues, we all know most of us will either be the caregiver or the care recipient at some time in our future. Longevity is both a blessing and a curse. If none of the things that I have outlined here is happening in your family, I am happy for you. It is time though, to talk about these things with your elder family members so that they can be ready and so can you…. LINK TO ARTICLE HERE
Talking With Justice Sandra
Day O'Connor: Battling Alzheimer's
(Source: by Paula Spencer, Caring.com senior editor)
November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month -- and this week (November 11) marks one year since Alzheimer’s made a widow of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She and her late husband, attorney John J. O'Connor, had lived with his diagnosis for almost two decades. Seeing little progress against what she calls "this dreadful disease," Justice O'Connor is calling for the country to commit to developing a national strategy against Alzheimer's, with the goal of finding a breakthrough by 2020.
She stepped down from the high court in 2005 to help relocate her husband to a care facility. As his condition deteriorated, she and her family coped with many common Alzheimer's effects, including his failure to recognize them and his developing romantic attachments to fellow residents.
"I suspect that you will not hear from many of my fellow caregivers directly," Justice O'Connor testified before Congress in 2008, her first public remarks about her story, "simply because they do not have the resources to take time away from their loved ones in order to come before you." READ THE INTERVIEW HERE
Families Struggle to Care for
Veterans
(Source: By PAULA SPAN, newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com)
When Jim
Hewes, a
Spouses caring for cancer
victims endure such trials. But a new report suggests the job can grow still more complicated and demanding when
the people they care for are combat-era veterans with service-connected
illnesses or disabilities. READ
ARTICLE HERE
Dance Helps Parkinson's
Patients Harness Therapeutic Power of Movement
Special
correspondent Dave Iverson looks at a unique program that uses dance as therapy
for people with Parkinson's disease.
Is Bingo Really
That Popular?
(Source:
by Anne Basting, forgetmemory.org)
There
was a surprise moment for me today in the middle of a day-long pre-conference
intensive at the Pioneer Network conference in
I was stunned. Is it REALLY that popular? Why? I asked people to dissect Bingo. WHY do they want to play it 7 days a week? What are the elements of Bingo that we can apply to other activities that the residents are clearly not engaging with? What did they say? They like to WIN. They might never have won anything for years. They like the spontaneity – the element of surprise. They like the relaxing quality – an activity they can do without explanation, and don’t need help. (who likes that I asked…staff or residents?) The discussion went on and on – some folks defending Bingo with all their heart.
I’m not saying Bingo is evil. I’m saying that if your residents are THAT reliant on Bingo, you need to seriously look at what other programming you are offering – and if it is reflecting the interests/needs of the residents. I also asked just how people might be able to wrap meaningfulness around Bingo. Earlier in the day, someone mentioned that seeing an aide and a resident in close discussion is an ideal. That is engagement, and it models relationships for the whole group. HOW could we possibly get to that through Bingo?
Have residents make up their own cards – use a different word of their choice – and custom make the boards. Give them as a gift to another group. Invite in people to play with. Create your own celebratory ritual for winners. Create social roles around Bingo – (Bingo Captain of the week; Prize Distributor).
I still think that Bingo addiction is a sign that other programming is off. It’s thinking small. It’s not thinking about learning and growth and engagement. But…if you DO have all that…an occasional Bingo game won’t kill you…;) LINK HERE
Jane Fonda's Latest Workout
DVD Is Aimed At Seniors
(Source: NPR)
The original Jane Fonda Workout released in the 1980's
sold 17 million copies and helped usher in the home fitness craze. Fonda's new
series is aimed at seniors and emphasizes low-impact exercise over intense
aerobics. The fitness maven is 72. LINK HERE
Reaching
People with Alzheimer's and Other Dementias through Music
Dr. Oliver Sacks, Professor of Clinical Neurology and Psychiatry at Columbia University, in his current bestselling book, Musicophilia, writes about the amazing therapeutic effects of music on people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. He states, "Music is no luxury to them but a necessity, and can have power beyond anything to restore them to themselves and to others at least for a while." In this eye-opening book he devotes a chapter to this subject entitled, "Music and Identity: Dementia and Music Therapy." For this population Dr. Sacks describes how familiar music is the key to eliciting emotions and unlocking words that have been silent. full article
Alzheimer's disease and the
Power of Music 9 & 10
WATCH THESE!
(Source: Lori La Bey, From: AlzheimersSpeaks)
This is a short clip of my Mother who is in her end stages of Alzheimer's disease and the power of music. Songs played by Barbara Lee Friedman are: Take me out to the ball game & Glory Glory
Hats off to Anne Basting for
this FABULOUS blog post – with response by Richard Taylor. It’s time to wake up folks!!!
A blast from 1983
(Source: by Anne Basting, forgetmemory.org)
This … cover of Time Magazine gave me vertigo. I was spinning backwards several decades to a story in the early 80s, that used nearly the same catastrophic language. In the 80s, Alzheimer’s was just coming into public parlance. And with the shock, the most predominant image was of the “fade”, the person we know/knew is half there and slowly fading into oblivion…
We don’t do this here. We have walks for the CURE. We have add campaigns that feature advocates, not people diagnosed. We rely on the tragedy of the disease to fuel donations for medical research. We don’t spend enough on ANY research, medical or social. We are making the whole thing WORSE.
Pushing for medical cure is fine. We should. But it needs to be matched by an equal push for the cultural cure at the same time. Which means we can no longer stop at the “fade.” People are living with the symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s for 15 years! If we can’t SEE them, how can we properly CARE FOR THEM?
Response from Richard Taylor
…Don’t we each and all have a moral responsibility to support others who cann’t fully support themselves? We support children because they can’t always do everything for themselves. We support elders who can afford to pay for others to do somethings for them that they cann’t do for themselves. For the rest of the folks living with dementia we offer a bed in a nursing home in which they can deal with their own slipping cognitive abilities and memories, while the medical community hovers over them taking care of a body that doesn’t need nursing home type taking care of, and ignoring the mind that does require our attention and support.
Forget memory? Hell we are trying to forget people with dementia, we are trying to forget our own futures, we are trying to forget others and take care of ourselves. Whales, elephants, dogs, dolphins, wolves, and the list goes on…all take better care of each other – especially as they grow old – than do many many human beings. Is it time for us to regress, rather than “progress?” I’m not as sure of that answer as I once was…. READ WHOLE BLOG HERE
Alzheimer's
Disease Health Scare Experiment Reactions
The Doctors try to fight
back tears as they react to the powerful images from Dr. Sears’
Alzheimers disease experiment
(Source: The Doctors)
Alzheimer's
disease, the seventh-leading cause of death in the
Pediatrician Dr. Jim Sears' grandfather suffered from the disease, so in an
effort to better understand it, Dr. Sears undergoes an unconventional experiment
using the Second Wind
Dreams Virtual Dementia Tour.
WATCH
THESE!
See how even the simplest
tasks become extremely difficult for someone with Alzheimer's.
The Doctors try to fight back tears
as they react
to the powerful images
from Dr. Sears' experiment.
Alzheimer's and Aging: This Fall, First Steps toward
a Statewide Plan in Wisconsin
(Source: Helen Bader Foundation)
What
will Alzheimer's care look like in
The listening tour is being
held in conjunction with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the
Planning Council for Health and Human Services. Titled "A Hand in the
Plan: Shaping Wisconsin's Approach to Alzheimer's," the tour features
engaging guest speakers who will share their perspective on the disease. The talks will be followed by a moderated
discussion on what the state can do about the issue for all those it affects.
The Department of Health is using a two-year, $145,000 grant to lead the
planning. A new online survey is now
available to help Wisconsinites share their perspective on the condition, with
segments added monthly to reflect the topics of the discussion sessions. Go to planningcouncil.org to
start the survey.
The state Office on Aging is developing a state plan to address
Alzheimer’s disease. The Committee for a Wisconsin Response to Dementia is
charged with developing a set of implementable recommendations to expand
current resources, make effective service and support programs widely
available, enact legislative changes for systems improvements, and identify
sources of funding to embed the changes in the system permanently. The state
Office on Aging, the Helen Bader Foundation, and the Planning Council for
Health and Human Services seek your input on the major topics around
Alzheimer’s disease. Outcomes from this series of surveys will be used by the
Committee as they draft
Publicity About Alzheimer's
Has Led To Confusion For Some: Many Ask Is It Alzheimer's or Dementia?
(Source: by Carol Bradley
Bursack , Editor-in-Chief, eldercarelink.com)
Alzheimer's activists have been educating the public about Alzheimer's disease and encouraging research to prevent and treat the disease. This activism has resulted in substantial publicity about Alzheimer's. However, this same publicity has lead to some confusion among people who ask about differences between Alzheimer's and dementia. What many don't understand is that Alzheimer's disease is a type of dementia.
Hindsight
tells me that my mother-in-law, Alice, was already suffering from dementia
while she was the primary caregiver of my very ill father-in-law, Milton. I
still remember one of the times when I was keeping
However,
Now, it's different. Today, when people ask me, "Is it Alzheimer's or dementia?" I not only tell them that Alzheimer's is is dementia, I tell them an early diagnosis can be vital. Now, a diagnosis as early as symptoms appear could mean, for some people, months or even years of a better quality of life than they would have without treatment.
If it's dementia of another type, there may be something that can help, or there may not be. The only way to find out is to get a diagnosis to determine what type of dementia is present and go with the advice of a doctor trained in treating dementia.
Don't let that window of opportunity close while you wonder. Take advantage of the ever growing bank of knowledge and be proactive. It could make a world of difference to the people with the disease and their families. READ ARTICLE HERE
(Source: By Angil Tarach-Ritchey, Alzheimer's Reading Room)
I
recently became friends with a wonderful man named Norms. We aren't face to
face, meet for coffee kind of friends, but we are friends, nonetheless. We are
current day pen pals, meaning we write to each other in emails, and
messages..... Norm has been diagnosed
with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Norm is 53 years old, and lives in
the
I
feel a special privilege to be friends with these gentlemen, and honored by the
comfort Norm feels, sharing his thoughts, fears, and accomplishments, with
me. I am learning a lot about Alzheimer's through Norm's and Richard's
perspective. I have always known that the best way to provide care is
through an empathetic perspective, and they allow me and all of you to be
in their shoes, being diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's, and what
it's like living with Alzheimer's, every day.
I asked Norm if I could share some of what he shares with me, because I
would never disrespect him or his privacy. He has been gracious enough to
allow me to share. Today I am sharing a poem Norman McNamara,
who likes to be called Norms by his friends, shared with me early in our
communication. It's called "Frightened Little Boy". The
words Norms has written is a very telling tale of life with Alzheimer's.
My hope is it causes everyone who reads it to gain empathy when meeting,
treating, or caring for a person with Alzheimer's.
Frightened Little Boy
As I tell my tale of Alzheimer`s, Through smiles and heartfelt joy,
When really, somewhere deep inside I`m just a frightened little boy,
I’ve faced many things in my life, Some things too hard to tell,
But Alzheimer`s and all it brings, Makes my life, a living hell,
Every day a piece of me, Is lost, forever gone,
It won’t give up I know, Until memories I have none,
So when you see and hear me, Chatting about my day,
My head rocking back with laughter, And smiling all the way,
Please spare a thought of who`s inside, Behind the warmth and joy,
Sitting there with head in hands, Is just a frightened little boy.
I don't know what or how much I'll share about my conversations with Norms. If or when I do, it will only be with the deepest respect, and only for the possibility of changing and improving the treatment, and care of those affected by Alzheimer's and other dementia's. To learn more about Norms and to read directly what he wants to say I invite you to his blog, or to read his book, "Me and my Alzheimer's", by Norman McNamara. Let's all try to learn from people like Norms, and Richard. Let's open ourselves to understanding, and advocating on their behalf and the behalf of millions affected by Alzheimer's Disease. We will all become richer people because of knowing these men. They are offering the lesson, please take it. LINK HERE
Seeking to End the Stupor
Instead of treating
behavioral problems with antipsychotic drugs, the Ecumen chain of 15 homes is
using strategies including aromatherapy, massage, music, games, exercise and
good talk. The state is helping out.
The aged woman had stopped biting aides and hitting other
residents. That was the good news. But in the
Inside a Dementia Ward
(Source: Maja Daniels photographs residents, Andrea
Gillies reflects on the journey there and what lies beyond the locked door, 
)
Am I alone in being reminded by these
photographs of a nursery – or, even more poignantly, an orphanage – in which
children are locked in a room without any toys?
The damage to the door around the lock as people
have tried repeatedly to break out: that’s a devastating image. No one would
suggest that people with dementia are like children. Indeed, that’s the point:
these are people who’ve raised children and worked at jobs, run households and
offices and farms. In their minds, many of them still do.
Andrea Gillies is the author of Keeper: Living With Nancy
– A Journey Into Alzheimer’s, published
by Short Books at £7.99. It won the 2009 Wellcome Book Prize, and the
2010 George Orwell Book Prize.
PLEASE WATCH THIS CLIP AND THINK ABOUT IT… THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE
10. DISABILITY COMMUNITY
The Council on Quality and
Leadership (CQL) Publishes Guides for Person-Centered Services and Supports for
People, Announces New Organization Development Consultation
(Source: Thank you to Debbie Conway for sharing this
information!)
For more than 40 years CQL has been a leader in working with human service organizations and systems to continuously define, measure and improve the quality of life of all people. Services that are person-centered ... that support each person to live his or her own life - to plan, to contribute, to participate, to choose; and to be respected and valued is WHAT REALLY MATTERS. CQL offers consultation, accreditation, training and certification services to organizations and systems that share our vision of dignity, opportunity and community for all people.
On behalf of the Board and Staff of CQL, we are pleased to announce our new Guide to Person-centered Services, a product of CQL’s What Really Matters Initiative. CQL launched the initiative in 2009 to take a new look at the challenges and solutions in realizing person-centered services and supports across a range of human services. Inspired by the words of the artist Georgia O’Keeffe – “Only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis do we get at the real meaning of things” – we embarked on the development of new definitions, metrics and improvement methods focused on person-centered services.
Over a 12-month period, we sought out the
best thinkers and innovators across a wide range of human services to guide our
work in developing new measures for person-centered thinking. We commissioned a
number of research and content reports from external experts; conducted an
international
The What Really Matters Initiative has resulted in identification and development of 8 Key Factors and 34 Success Indicators that characterize excellence in person-centered supports and promote personal quality of life outcomes. These key factors and success indicators are the basis for CQL’s new Guide to Person-centered Excellence. We have developed three service –area applications of the Guide. Please find the links below. We begin our international dissemination by sharing these materials with you,
Guide to Person-centered Excellence: Application for Services for Older Adults
Guide to Person-centered Excellence: Application for Services for People with Disabilities
We urge organizations to use the factors and indicators as part of their own internal quality improvement program. We recommend that organizations prioritize the success indicators in their own setting and begin to implement those that will have the greatest impact and the most probable success for the people receiving services and supports.
CQL is happy to also announce the CQL Focus Forum a unique consultative experience for human service organizations to implement person-centered excellence. The Focus Forum utilizes the Key Factors and Success Indicators as part of 2 ½ days of interactive dialogue, debate, and action planning. The CQL Focus Forum concludes with an organization-wide plan, identification of resources, timeframe for implementation, and measures of accomplishment. To learn more about the CQL Focus Forum click here.
The Future Face Of Senior
Fitness?
(Source: Senior Housing News)
Tired of
pickup lines at the gym? Well how about an exercise robot that flirts
with you while you workout? According to seniors at Southern California
Presbyterian Homes, this robot is a real Casanova. The robot named
Bandit, featured at the 2010 AAHSA Idea House, was developed by Dr. Maja J.
Mataric, professor and senior associate dean at the
Senior Housing Design: Tour
the AAHSA Idea House 2010
(Source: Senior Housing News)
Everyone
wants to stay in their homes longer but what is possible in a single family
home with today’s products? At the annual convention of American
Association for Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) in
Reducing Antipsychotic
Medications in Nursing Homes - Ecumen Awakenings Initiative
(Source: Author, Eric Schubert, Minneapolis
In
six months, Ecumen colleagues at
"The chaos level is down, but the noise is up -- the noise of people laughing, talking, much more engaged with life. It's amazing."
Now
based on the work of Eva and her team, Ecumen is bringing this drug-reducing
strategy to Ecumen's 15 other nursing homes. Helping make the work possible is
a multi-million dollar grant from the State of
- In 2005, Medicaid spent $5.4 billion on atypical antipsychotic medicines, which is more than it spent on any other class of drugs, including antibiotics, AIDS drugs or medicines to treat high blood pressure.
- According to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, more than half are prescribed inappropriately to control dementia-related behaviors even though there is no mental illness diagnosis.
LTCCC Project With State CMP
Stakeholders - Report & Resources
A new report published by the Long Term Community Coalition offers strategies on how consumers across the country can be involved in how nursing home penalties can be used in their states to improve nursing home resident care and quality of life. Federal Civil Monetary Penalties (CMPs) and state CMPs/fines are imposed by regulatory agencies if a nursing home does not comply with regulatory standards. They present a valuable resource to improve the quality of nursing home life and care. Because the federal CMPs are required by law to be used to fund projects or activities that benefit residents or that protect a resident and his/her assets if a facility is closing, they are a unique and potent resource to fund innovative activities that can make a difference in the lives of nursing home residents, such as culture change or other activities that improve the life and care of nursing home residents. The participation of consumers and their advocates in the process of developing the criteria for funding is crucial. With public participation, the likelihood of innovative and creative uses of the funds increases.
Funded by The Retirement Research Foundation and The Commonwealth
Fund, this report, Increasing Transparency
& Consumer Participation In States’ Uses Of Nursing Home Civil Monetary
Penalty Funds, details how LTCCC worked with consumers and long term care
ombudsmen in four states (Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and California)
to help them increase transparency and consumer involvement in the awarding of
CMP funds in their states.
The Long
Term Care Community Coalition worked with consumers and long term care
ombudsmen in four states to help them participate in the awarding of CMP funds
in their states. The specific goals of the project were to increase consumer
involvement and public transparency in handling of CMP expenditures for nursing
home projects in the four states and to change state funding practices in these
four states towards increasing the funding of projects tailored to benefit
residents that will have a significant and, if possible, lasting benefit for
nursing home residents. Using strategies
developed in
More Young People are Winding
up in Nursing Homes
(Source: By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press)
Quadriplegic Adam Martin, right,
works with physical therapist Wes Bower at a nursing home.
Adam Martin doesn't fit in here. No one else in this nursing home
wears Air Jordans. No one else has stacks of music videos by 2Pac and Jay-Z. No
one else is just 26. It's no longer
unusual to find a nursing home resident who is decades younger than his
neighbor: About one in seven people now living in such facilities in the
"It's just a depressing place to live," Martin says. "I'm stuck here. You don't have no privacy at all. People die around you all the time. It starts to really get depressing because all you're seeing is negative, negative, negative."
The number of under-65 nursing home residents has risen about 22 percent in the past eight years to about 203,000, according to an analysis of statistics from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That number has climbed as mental health facilities close and medical advances keep people alive after they've suffered traumatic injuries. Still, the overall percentage of nursing home residents 30 and younger is less than 1 percent.
Martin was left a quadriplegic when he was accidentally shot in the
neck last year by his stepbrother. He spent weeks hospitalized before being
released to a different nursing home and eventually ended up in his current
residence, the Sarasota Health and
"It's lonely here," Martin says, as a single tear drips from his right eye. Martin exchanges muted hellos with older residents as he travels down the hall to smoke outside. His entire daily routine, from showering to eating to enjoying a cigarette, is dictated by the schedules of those on whom he relies for help. READ MORE HERE
Nursing Home Administrator
Becomes Resident for a Day
(Source: The
Gazette, A product of the Consumer Voice and the National Long-Term Care
Ombudsman Resource Center, November 2010)
Avera Brady Health and Rehabilitation Administrator Veronnica
Smith recently spent a day as a resident in her facility in order to improve
perspective on how to provide better service and care. Smith spent 24 hours as a resident on the
skilled unit with a right-side stroke and was confined to a wheelchair. The
staff provided her care during her stay, including showering and changing her. As a result of Smith’s day as a resident, the
mirrors and bulletin boards in the facility are being lowered, and the flooring
will be leveled out to eliminate bumps, which can be difficult for residents in
wheelchairs to navigate.
Smith would also like to renovate the homes’ bathrooms as she found them to be small, colorless and poorly ventilated. She felt the current restrooms made waiting seem so much longer. She is suggesting adding books, music and artwork to the bathrooms to improve them. Read more about Smith’s experiences online.
(Source: Pioneer Network)
Residents Can Leave the
Nursing Home Without Losing Medicare Coverage
(Source: The Gazette, A product of the
Consumer Voice and the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center,
November 2010)
A
November 22, 2010, Center for Medicare Advocacy Alert reminds consumers and advocates
of nursing home residents’ right to leave the facility for short periods of
time for holiday festivities without losing Medicare coverage. “The Medicare
Benefit Policy Manual recognizes that although most beneficiaries are unable to
leave their facility, ‘an outside pass or short leave of absence for the
purpose of attending a special religious service, holiday meal, family
occasion, going on a car ride, or for a trial visit home, is not, by itself
evidence that the individual no longer needs to be in a SNF for the receipt of
required skilled care.’ ” The Alert further states, “a facility should NOT
notify patients that leaving the facility will lead to loss of Medicare
coverage. The Medicare Policy manual says that such a notice is ‘not appropriate.’
” View CMA’s alert, which includes
references from the law and additional information about billing.
Minnesota
(Source: The Gazette, A product of the
Consumer Voice and the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center,
November 2010)
On November 19, 25 of the 77
residents at the
Prior to the vacation, a weekly
“cruise meeting” was held to discuss details of the vacation such as roommates,
food options and attire during the trip.
Residents’ excitement was evident. “Been on a cruise?” said resident
Barb Hougo in a news article. “I’ve never even been on a plane. I don’t know
which to be more excited about.”
The trip is free for the
residents and the 13 staff members attending. The facility’s vendors and a few
others have donated enough money for 15 of the travelers, and Letich hopes to
raise the rest of the necessary funds but admits, “We’re all going, and if I
pay for the last few people myself, that’s OK.” Letich does not want this to be
a one-time event; he is planning a seven-day cruise next year.
Aging in Place Partnerships: A Training
Program for Family Caregivers of Residents Living in Affordable Senior Housing CLICK HERE
(Source: www.sify.com)
A funeral home in a Brazilian city has begin to broadcast funerals live for the family members of the deceased who are living abroad, a media report said.
The Gonzaga funeral home, which is located in the interior of the
state of Minas Gerais, now offers live transmission via the Internet of the
Mass said for the deceased, the funeral procession and even the burial so that
the 40,000 former residents of Governador Valadares who now live abroad can say
their last goodbyes to their loved ones.
'We know that there exist funeral parlor chapels with cameras, but we're
pioneers since we're offering a mobile service' covering events occurring
outside the funeral home itself, funeral home director Eres Gonzaga told the
daily O Globo.
The Long and Short of Hospice
Time in Nursing Homes (Research)
(Source: Frances Shani Parker, Author, Hospice and
Nursing Homes Blog)
Through the years, I have had hospice patients stay as short as one day and as long as three years in nursing homes. With little quiet or privacy, almost all of them shared rooms with one to three non-hospice residents. My three-year patient was 94 years old. Having few visits from relatives and friends who lived out of town, her biggest fear was the possibility of being released from hospice care and the nursing home. I’ve also had rare happy patients who were released from hospice because their health improved.
One patient with dementia seemed to have a premonition that she
would be leaving soon when she said to me one day,
“I was wondering if you could help me find another apartment. I’ve been
thinking about looking for a new place to stay, maybe a place closer to where I
used to live. This apartment building is too noisy. Just close your eyes and
listen to all the talking, buzzers, and everything. People come into my place
without even knocking. They just walk right in and go through my closet and
drawers. It’s not right. Three ladies even moved in with me when I wasn’t
looking. Now, I can’t get them out.” I had never heard her say anything about
leaving before. Two weeks later, she was released
from hospice care and moved to a nursing home near her son’s house. MORE
When Do I Let My Mother Die?
(Source: Carol Bradley
Bursack, Healthcentral.com)
The reality of caregiving is that many of us are forced to make difficult decisions on a day to day basis.
Sometimes, we need to decide if we should argue our reality against the reality of someone with Alzheimer's disease. Sometimes we have to decide whether we should encourage food or fluid intake to the point of forcing a loved one to eat or drink, or if we should step back and hope the right thing, whatever that may be, happens. Sometimes we have to decide what is "enough," when it comes to medical care for someone who is dying. The later of these decisions is one of the most painful decisions a family caregiver may ever have to make. MORE
(Source: National Senior Living Providers Network)
TTU —
Willie Ruth West greets TTU students Chanztyn Salters and Caleb Spicer.
Among requirements of the course are that the students visit
“What I try to do in these courses is get the students to realize that what we do as physical education teachers, coaches, occupational therapists, physical therapists and fitness professionals is give of ourselves to make the quality of life better for others,” Rosemond said. “The entire goal of the course is to help them understand a giving life philosophy.” Rosemond’s classes have been traveling to Masters in Algood for three years during academic semesters. A few of the students, however, have developed relationships that extend far beyond the semester. “There are so many good friends over there now. Some students still visit every semester even after the class is over,” she said.
“We have been very impressed with the students that we get here from Tennessee Tech because they are so focused on the residents and their needs. This doesn’t seem like a chore for them or a class assignment. They really seem to enjoy the friendship of the patients,” said Melinda Bilbrey, admissions coordinator and daughter of resident Willie Ruth West. Salters, a sophomore in pre-physical therapy, said he has learned valuable lessons while visiting the nursing home. “It’s helped me realize the importance of communication and how to connect with older people. We talk about situations and experiences. I’ve enjoyed it,” he said.
Josh Graves, a sophomore in exercise science, said he enjoys the visits as much as the residents do. “It’s good to give back; you actually learn from people here,” he said. “It helps you with people skills. You come here not knowing what… READ MORE: Herald Citizen – TTU students extend classroom to nursing home
21. MEDICAL COMMUNITY
Study: Patient Satisfaction
with Hospitals on the Rise
(Source: www.ahanews.com)
Hospitals are improving the inpatient care experience, according to a study reported today in Health Affairs. The study assesses changes in the mean percentage of positive responses on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey for hospitals participating in March 2008 and March 2009. "We found improvements in all measures of patient experience, except doctors' communication," the authors state. "These improvements were fairly uniform across hospitals. The largest increases were in measures related to staff responsiveness and the discharge information that patients received." The Hospital Quality Alliance, whose members include the AHA, began reporting the survey findings on the Hospital Compare website in March 2008. LINK HERE
New Policy Brief on Supporting
Direct Care Workers in Caring for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Individuals
(Source: The Gazette, A product of the Consumer Voice and the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center, November 2010)
A new policy brief by the Direct Care
Alliance provides an overview of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
elder issues within the long-term care system, expresses the need to provide
direct care workers with training and support in order to improve the quality
of care for LGBT elders and offers tools and resources to their improve
services. The brief states the aging
process is particularly difficult for LGBT elders due to unique barriers they face
such as social stigma, the fact that their chosen family may not be legally
recognized and the lack of supportive laws and programs.
Historically, there
has been a lack of services available for LGBT services and a scarcity of data
available regarding the LGBT elder community. One study including 24 federally
funded Area Agencies on Aging found “nearly 1 out of 2 respondents (46%)
reporting that openly LGBT seniors would not be welcome at senior centers in
their areas” and “96% of them offered no LGBT-specific services.” Due to a lack
of available services and support, LGBT elders may become more isolated and
suffer greater health risks.
According to the
brief, “the landscape for LGBT care has begun to change,” and progress has been
made to improve access to services for LGBT elders, but more data is needed to
assess their needs, dispel myths and prejudices and improve their quality of
care. The brief argues that direct care workers as an “under-acknowledged and
under-resourced” group have an “inherent solidarity” with the
“under-acknowledged and under-resourced LGBT clients” and could be strong
advocates for LGBT elders, especially when they receive quality training and
support.
The brief also includes
recommendations for improving service to LGBT elders and a chart reflecting
laws that affect the LGBT community. According to the chart only three states (
23. VOLUNTEERING
(Source: The Beauty of Aging Blog)
...illemer, Thomas E. Fuller-Rowell, M.C. Reid, and Nancy M.
Wells, The Gerontologist, 50, 594-60
24. INTERNATIONAL
Alzheimer Scotland
A major
fund-raising drive has been launched in Scotland
(Source: www.hc2d.co.uk)
The
campaign by Alzheimer
Alzheimer
Lady
Hamilton said: "Hospital staff have very little specific dementia training
- and that is a huge problem because it can be a terrible experience for people
with dementia and their families.
"The staff can do the job of fixing a broken hip, or repairing a
heart valve, but if they don't know how to handle a person with dementia, it is
hopeless.” Alzheimer
Private Home-Care Companies
'Abusing Elderly' (Ireland
(Source: By Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent, Irish
Independent)
A growing number of complaints about private home-care companies abusing older people behind closed doors is leading to mounting concern about the unregulated industry. Friends of the Elderly has recorded complaints about the lack of training of home-care workers, and poor language skills. In other cases, the complaints have highlighted neglect of the person they are looking after, verbal abuse, offices not answering phones and unexplained increases in fees.
The problems have arisen with private home-care companies which are hired directly by the older person, or are paid by the Health Service Executive (HSE) under the Home Care Support Scheme, to provide a range of supports to people in their own homes. The concerns, which will be aired on RTE's 'Prime Time' tonight, were previously highlighted by the Irish Independent, which revealed the HSE is spending more than €300m a year on home care. A report by the government think tank, the National Economic and Social Forum, has already uncovered major flaws in the sector. LINK HERE
Huge Demand Forecast for
Elderly Friendly Home Environment (Taiwan
(Source: By Alex Jiang) ENDITEM /pc)
"The concept of creating an elderly
friendly residential environment is still in its infancy in
The over-65 population in
Lee said the steep rise in the number of elderly
people in the country, coupled with the disabled population that now stands at
1 million, will drive demand for facilities geared toward creating a more
convenient home environment for that demographic. A recent survey conducted by the real estate
agency found that 60 percent of people would prefer to live at home on their
own when they grow old, while 15.33 percent would choose a nursing home or an
assisted living complex. That will
translate into a market of 4 million people requiring special residential
facilities in 20 years, the agency forecast.
25. ANIMALS,
INTERGENERATIONAL, PLANTS & ETC…
Pets as Relationship and Home Builders
(Source: Culture Change Now, Action Pact Newsletter)
Therapy animals and visiting animals have made appearances
in nursing homes for years, but something really special happens when animals
actually live at the nursing home. In our homes, pets hang out. They
come and go from rooms, they snuggle up when they want to be pet, they go off
and do their odd little animal things. For many of us, their presence in this
way has always been a part of daily life so that similar presence in the
nursing home is a great comfort and a step in the direction of
"normal."
When a pet lives at the nursing
home residents and staff have a chance to build a relationship with it - and
around it for that matter; staff and residents share a communal sense of
ownership of the pet and always have a shared interest conversation
starter. Of course, some of these pets choose to make their own
relationships. A while back, our own Culture Change Now Magazine Vol. 4
(http://www.actionpact.com/mag-ish4.html) featured a story about
Mandy, a dog that had a special bond with one resident in particular.
More recently, Ollie the cat from Episcopal Church Home in
Of course residents should be consulted about if they would
like to have a pet in their home and arrangements need to be made with staff
for its care. This link to the NHRegs site is helpful for checking Federal and
State regulations regarding pets. MORE
WATCH this little clip of PETS ~ they sure do add spice to life !
26. PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
FUN can CHANGE things for the BETTER!
