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The AARP Foundation and other advocates agreed to amend a lawsuit against CMS after the agency which regulates nursing facilities, agreed to reinstate the ability to levy steep finds to hold nursing homes accountable for the health and safety of residents. Previously, nursing homes could be fined only once per violation. Under the new rules, the CMS can levy fines on a facility for every day they are or were in violation of the rules (Source AARP Bulletin, November 2021 Issue, page 4).
I have witnessed first hand nursing home and assisted living facilities giving seniors heavy medication in order to just keep them quiet, sometimes even restraining them. The New York Times recently wrote a story about this practice saying that 1 in 5 nursing homes prescribe Antipsychotics, which are extremely dangerous to give to the elderly, particularly those with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s. The story highlighted David Blakeney, who entered a nursing home with severe dementia. He was restless and agitated and the facility’s physician wanted to prescribe Haldol, a powerful sedative. “Add Dx schizophrenia for use of Haldol,” read the doctor’s order, which essentially added another diagnosis of schizophrenia despite the fact that there were no signs the patient had that condition. These types of drugs are commonly referred to as chemical straightjackets and, unfortunately, they can nearly double the chance of death from heart problems, infections, falls and other ailments for seniors with dementia. But with nursing homes understaffed, it’s an easy solution to just sedate more patients so they can be handled with less staff. The patient in the Times article died at the early age of 64 just eight months after being put on Haldol, but not before suffering devastating weight loss, pneumonia and the amputation of one of his feet due to severe bedsores. This should not happen in this country. If you have a loved one in a facility, regularly ask for a list of prescriptions that they are on. This is all too common.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/11/health/nursing-homes-schizophrenia-antipsychotics.html
One of the biggest mistakes people make in retirement planning is figuring out how much money you will need in your old age to live comfortably, and still be able to pass on gifts to loved ones and your favorite charities. People are living longer and longer and some financial analysts are having to throw traditional models right out the window. The New York Times recently posted an article entitled, “Tallying the Cost of Growing Older,” which explored many of the pitfalls seniors fall into as they enter retirement. “Becoming frail and needing help with basic personal care is probably the greatest financial risk people face at older ages,” Richard Johnson, the economist who directs the Program on Retirement Policy at the Urban Institute,” told the NYT. A 2019 study he undertook for the federal Department of Health and Human Services found that over their lifetimes, about 70% of older adults will need help from caregivers either in their own home or in long-term care facilities. Dr. Alicia Munnell, an economist and director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found that only about half of the U.S. population will be able to maintain their standard of living in retirement. Her team analyzed senior lifetime care needs as low, medium or high intensity, based on how many activities of daily living they need assistance with. Their analysis found that only 17% of 65-year-olds will need no long-term care, while almost one-quarter will develop severe needs, requiring many hours of help for more than three years. Most people are somewhere in-between. Their research also found that only 36% of people in their late 60’s could not even cover a year of in-home care, and that was at 2018 rates of $22 an hour—this has gone up significantly with the current labor shortage. We are a big proponent of long-term-care insurance. It’s very expensive but worth it in the long run if you run into health problems. Few people realize how expensive it can be to remain independent in your own home with the help of paid caregivers.
There is no question that there is a major labor shortage, we are suffering from this ourselves. A recent report said that senior housing facilities are also being hard hit, with employees hard to find and commercial property values sinking as few investors want to be in this type of industry. However, it’s unclear that many are doing everything in their power to please the customers. About 39% of senior housing associations surveyed between July 22 and August 8 said that they definitely or probably would impose vaccine mandates. That’s a surprisingly low number. We have seen an influx of new clients due to adult children moving their parents out of facilities due to their fear of COVID-19. That’s only likely to increase as new variants spread. Thankfully, President Biden has stepped in and said that if nursing homes don’t require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 they will no longer receive Medicare or Medicaid funding. The current nursing home vaccination rate sits at only 61.5%, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This is only a hair above the total population. Some nursing home executives have bristled at the new Biden mandate, stating that staff departures may exceed 20%. Good riddance I say to the anti-vaxers. Keep them away from our seniors.
AARP’s Legal Team is fighting in the courts for the health and safety of residents of nursing homes. We have all heard of the horrific stories of seniors being abused in assisted living facilities and rehab centers, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought this once again to the surface. AARP first started its suit in January, and in April the team won a judgement in California on behalf of Gloria Single, a nursing home resident who was barred from returning after a stay in the hospital. There are now four other lawsuits pending, and I hope they are successful.
A senior care facility which has been in the planning stages for several years continues to face opposition from the community, who say that the plan deviates from what is called the Las Palmas Specific Plan. The issue revolves around increased traffic as well as the possibility that ambulances will frequently be zipping in and out of Las Palmas. That document outlines land-use for the area and any amendment to this requires approval by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. The River View at Las Palmas Residential Care Facility is a massive complex which has 90,000 square feet and three levels of care with 142 beds; 13 casitas for independent living, a two-story assisted living facility and a three-story “memory care” facility. It was already approved by the county Planning Commission on a 6:4 split vote, but could still be held up by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, which will hold a hearing on the issue on Tuesday.
We have seen a noticeable uptick in people asking for 24-7 service due to the fact that children are increasingly moving their parents out of nursing homes and assisted living facilities and back home. Although the COVID-19 numbers have continued to taper off and nursing home resident have been vaccinated, a shockingly high number of workers refuse to be vaccinated. This increases the risk to seniors that they are working for, particularly as new strains of the virus work their way across the globe. The New York Times recently noted the problem, citing statistics from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care which showed that the occupancy rate in nursing homes had fallen from 86% in the first quarter of 2020 to 75% in the fourth quarter of 2020.By 2034, 34% of households will be headed by someone over 65, up from 26% in 2018, according to the Harvard center. The share of households age 80 and over will grow even more rapidly. It’s clear that we must address the issue of allowing people to age at home because there’s no doubt that coronavirus will be around for a long time and no one knows what other deadly virus is lurking around the corner.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/business/nursing-homes-covid-retirement.html
A California court has ruled that a woman who was barred from readmission to a Sacramento nursing facility after being sent to a hospital had her rights violated. The process, called dumping, is used when assisted living facilities have a resident who is either unruly, isn’t paying enough, or for whatever reason is not welcome by the staff and owners. AARP Foundation took up her case. Although the 82 year old woman won the case, it came after both she and her husband died. Sadly, they were never reunited after she was barred from the facility.
coronavirus is changing the way Americans face retirement by “accelerating developments already under way,” physician Bill Thomas said to the reporter. “It’s going to make people rethink retirement altogether,” Laura Carstensen, director of Stanford University’s Center on Longevity said. Most people will age at home, and remain independent, she said. I believe that her view is true. With roughly 40% of COVID-19 being staff and residents of nursing homes, nobody wants to go into a facility these days. We have been getting a number of calls from fearful children who want to get their parents out of assisted living and back home, where they can reduce the risk of coronavirus exposure. Although COVID-19 will eventually be wiped out, there will clearly be more devastating diseases in the future which makes these facilities dangerous.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-covid-19-will-change-aging-and-retirement-11605452401
COVID-19 has made aging at home in vogue. The Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article on how coronavirus is changing the way Americans face retirement by “accelerating developments already under way,” physician Bill Thomas said to the reporter. “It’s going to make people rethink retirement altogether,” Laura Carstensen, director of Stanford University’s Center on Longevity said. Most people will age at home, and remain independent, she said. I believe that her view is true. With roughly 40% of COVID-19 being staff and residents of nursing homes, nobody wants to go into a facility these days. We have been getting a number of calls from fearful children who want to get their parents out of assisted living and back home, where they can reduce the risk of coronavirus exposure. Although COVID-19 will eventually be wiped out, there will clearly be more devastating diseases in the future which makes these facilities dangerous.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-covid-19-will-change-aging-and-retirement-11605452401