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KENTUCKIANS FOR NURSING HOME REFORM |
“A non-profit organization dedicated to the welfare of the “Forgotten Kentuckians” |
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NURSING HOME REFORM NEWSLETTER December 6, 2006 NOW IN ‘NEWS NOTES’ Many of you have told us you like this newsletter because it is short and the items are brief. There is so much information coming along every day about nursing home care, however, that we have designed a system to keep this newsletter as brief as possible, but still have all the news for you if you want it. Just go to our Web site, http://www.KyNursingHomeReform.org, and on the front page you will see NEWS NOTES. Under that will be the latest info on nursing homes we get. Like this month, go there to read:
* State Will Work to Prevent Illness Outbreak
in Nursing Facilities GOOD ONE, GUV… WELL SORT OF Gov. Ernie Fletcher says he is going to create a new department called Aging and Independent Living. He says he wants to centralize policy coordination, services and leadership on aging and disability issues. That’s all good, but the name of the proposed department worries us. Again this administration is leaving out long-term care which includes nursing home care. The name of the department lets you know that independent living will be dealt with, but what about the 23,000 “Forgotten Kentuckians” in nursing homes? We think that Gov. Fletcher once again is getting bad advice, probably this time from AARP which cannot see beyond independent living issues on anything. If you have time, write the governor again and tell him to change the name and focus of his new department to Aging, Independent Living, and Long-Term Care. And while you’re at it, tell him to make the state long-term care ombudsman job once again a merit position. It was changed a year ago to a political appointment. HEY, BEN. REMEMBER US? In a news release announcing that he would not run for governor, Congressman Ben Chandler said, "Kentucky needs progressive leadership in Washington. Leaders willing to be forward-thinking on matters such as the environment and alternative energy. Leaders willing to make investments in education and in promising new technology in areas such as stem cell research. That's the kind of leader I want to be for Kentucky in Washington.” Hey, Ben. Don’t forget the 23,000 “Forgotten Kentuckians” in your state who need your “progressive leadership,” too. You can help them by your support of the Congressional bill to establish minimum staffing standards. You are already a co-sponsor. Now a little of your leadership on that bill would help, too. It’s H.R. 4293, the “Nursing Home Staffing Act of 2005.” Newly elected Congressman John Yarmuth from the Third District says he will co-sponsor it, too. Why don’t you guys get together and really push it? FIRE! Fifteen nursing facilities in Kentucky are not adequately protected against the threat of fire, according to information released to us by a state official. The federal government now requires states to put the names of the facilities on their “Nursing Home Compare” Web site. One of our great volunteers is going through the list of some 300 facilities to get the names of the places not adequately protected against fire and we will have that for you next month. But right now there are six facilities without sprinkler systems and nine only partially sprinkled. A bill passed in the 2006 session orders these facilities to tell anyone applying for admission to be notified of the lurking danger. It is not clear whether the state has told these facilities about this new law. We will have more next month. CNA’S – LAST ON THE LIST AGAIN A national organization that researches the pay of healthcare workers says that Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) in nursing homes are paid less than their counterparts who work in home healthcare or hospitals.
Here’s the comparison:
Also, it is no surprise that the researchers found that the turnover rate among CNAs in nursing homes was 42.75 percent compared to about 25 percent in hospitals and home healthcare. The study was done by the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service, located in New Jersey.
The complete story is on our Web site
at
http://www.KyNursingHomeReform.org
... MEDICAID WATCH LIST Be on the look-out in the coming New Year for attempts at changing Medicaid. Both the feds and Kentucky officials are looking for ways to cut this enormous expense. A federal advisory panel called for big changes, such as putting nursing home residents in managed care plans. The study was done on the Republican watch and now the Congress has a slight Democratic majority, so look for big battles on what to do. It is almost inevitable that some changes will be made. A Kaiser Family Foundation study discovered that 7 percent of Medicaid long-term-care users accounted for 52 percent of Medicaid spending. In Kentucky, watch for the state to keep some people out of nursing homes because they deem them not sick enough. This could cause enough consternation to launch it as a big issue in the next governor’s races. We will keep you posted. QUALITY INDICATORS? There’s a big national campaign we told you about last month to promote quality care in nursing homes. It sounds like a public relations gimmick because it will take more than a campaign to get quality in most nursing home care. And in Kentucky so far only four nursing homes have volunteered to participate – the Fair Oaks Health Systems, Jamestown; Golden Living Center Hillcreek, Louisville; Rosewood Health Care Center, Bowling Green; and Woodland Oaks Health Care Facility, Ashland. That’s out of 300 facilities statewide. Results will be announced, the campaign organizers say. Yeah, sure, and with a spin on it just like all the other propaganda the industry puts out. Our national organization – National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform – is also a participant, hopefully to keep the industry ”honest.” SPEAKING OF ‘NICK-NER’ …. The national advocacy organization for nursing home reform – National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform – is apparently talking about changing its name to one that would take in assisted living and home care. There are people needing advocacy in assisted living facilities and in their homes, say the new-name proponents. True. But the main problem could be that in legislative circles in Washington NCCNHR (“Nick-ner” as it is called) is fairly well recognized. The promoters of a new name should recognize that change on this scale is hard, and sometimes backfires. WHITHER 176? Thanks to the work of Sen. Ernesto Scorsone and Sen. Julie Denton, Senate Joint Resolution 176 was passed in the last session. In short, it said that the state would move quickly to jump at any opportunity to be a part of a federal program that would reward nursing homes for quality performance – and this meant having sufficient caregivers, more staff training and improving on staff turnover. Nothing has happened on this in Kentucky, but the so-called “pay-for-performance” idea was picked up by California and it looks like they are going to be a pilot state to test the idea out. Where were our state guys? One catch is that the state has to agree to install information technology systems to track the nursing homes compliance with the new standards. Then along comes the respected Institute on Medicine that says Congress should cut base payments that Medicare makes to nursing homes and hospitals and use the savings to create pools for pay-for-performance. In the meantime, we are still asking the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the two senators about what Kentucky is doing to get in on this pay-for-performance. BAD CHRISTMAS GIFT The feds have cut off Medicaid and Medicare funding to a Lexington nursing home for alleged repeated violations of regulations. State regulators have cited the facility, Hamburg Healthcare, numerous times. But Federal Judge Joe Hood has stepped in and issued a temporary restraining order on the federal funding cut, and will rule this week on what to do. Most of the residents want to stay, it is reported. The state says in effect that it’s just doing its job. It’s a mess at Christmastime with the residents the losers as usual. GOOD CHRISTMAS GIFT Kentuckians For Nursing Home Reform received its Christmas gift early this year. We were just notified by the IRS that our application for non-profit status has been approved. This means that we are better able to seek grants, and any gifts to us are tax deductible. Thanks, Santa! P.S.
An elderly man in
Louisville calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your
day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing;
forty-five years of misery is enough."
"We're sick and tired of
each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, So you call your sister
in Chicago and tell her." And he hangs up.
THAT’S
IT FOR THIS TIME, BUT DON’T FORGET... And thanks to all of our hundreds of volunteers and helpers who have joined the good and important fight to help the people in nursing homes.
And my personal regards to each of you
for a Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year,
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