The American Association of Homes and Services a nursing-home association is calling for an independent panel to come up with new methods for overseeing nursing facilities. The association’s task force issued 31 recommendations Tuesday, highlighting steps that can be taken until such a panel can be convened.

“The frustration of good providers has reached a boiling point,” said Tim Veno, executive director of the Kentucky Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, and a task force member. On Tuesday, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) issued its report, “Broken and Beyond Repair: Recommendations to Reform the Survey and Certification System.”

 ”Our short-term suggestions alone won’t bring the system back to the intent of OBRA 87-achieving optimal, quality-based, resident-centered care-but they will tide the system over until broad systemic change can occur,” said Bonnie Gauthier, CEO of Hebrew Health Care in West Hartford, CT, and co-chair of the 20-member task force. Immediate changes needed, according to report authors echoing years-long provider sentiment, include better public reporting of survey results, joint education of providers and surveyors, and greater overall consistency in the process.

Did you know that Sunrise Senior Living is the largest global provider of senior living alternatives? Below is an overview of Sunrise Senior Living. 

Sunrise Senior Living, based in McLean, Va., employs approximately 40,000 people. As of March 31, 2008, Sunrise operated 441 communities in the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, with a combined capacity for more than 54,000 residents. At quarter end, Sunrise also had 40 communities under construction in these countries with a combined capacity for 5,300 additional residents. Sunrise offers a full range of personalized senior living services, including independent living, assisted living, care for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other forms of memory loss, as well as nursing, rehabilitative and hospice care. Sunrise’s senior living services are delivered by staff trained to encourage the independence, preserve the dignity, enable freedom of choice and protect the privacy of residents.

Source and to learn more about Sunrise, please visit http://www.sunriseseniorliving.com.

Senior Living Communities look to be stable in our downward spiraling market. Industry experts are waiting to see if the slowdown in home sales will force seniors to delay moving into continuing-care communities, but the evidence is spotty. So far, most established communities are weathering the housing downturn without much trouble.

Source:dallasmorningtimes.com

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. fell consistently throughout most of Monday’s trading. At about 1:00 pm ET the stock hit a range which held it for the rest of the day. The stock ended the day at $15.44 down $1.65 from Friday’s close. The decline came on above average volume and accelerated a recent downtrend and took the stock to a new low.

Source: tradingmarkets.com

If you are looking for nursing home abuse and neglect report you should visit : http://www.nursing-homes-ratings.com/. Nursing Home Ratings. com hosts information about nursing homes in your area. They provide data on the each nursing home’s inspections and resident ratings. The only downfall with the site is that it is not up to date in every state. It does provide with with a list of many homes.

Good luck with your search.

Nursing Home Aduse is a serious crime. Most states have laws that include criminal penalties for different types of elder abuse. Often, nursing home abuse is not reported  because the individual homes do not take elderly abuse seriously. Residents are afraid they will be embarrassed, hurt or declared incapacitated if they tell.

Who to Report Abuse to

If you or someone you love has been the victim of nursing home abuse, contact legal counsel to find out what your rights are. If someone is in immediate, life-threatening danger, call 9-1-1 immediately.

If the danger is not immediate, but abuse is suspected, you must tell someone. Contact:

• A doctor

• A family member you trust

• Local adult protective services

• Long-term care ombudsman for the appropriate state

• Local police

How to Report Abuse

It is everyone’s personal responsibility to report any suspected case of elderly abuse to the authorities. When making a call to report nursing home or senior living abuse, you should be ready to give the elder’s name, address, contact information and details about your concerns.

Some questions you may need to answer include:

• Does the elderly person have any known medical problems?

• What kinds of family or other social support system does the elderly person have?

• Have you witnessed any incidents of hitting, yelling or other abusive behavior?
If you are reporting abuse but are not related to the victim, calling a nursing home abuse hotline is your smartest choice. Each state has organizations that monitor these hotlines and can offer help.

If you are making a formal complaint against a nursing home or specific staff member, you should find a sitter to monitor them in your absence or remove them from the nursing home right away.
 

An inquiry into acute care in New South Wales public hospitals is claiming elderly patients are being pressured into accepting nursing home beds even though they may not be suitable for the nursing home.

A social worker at Blacktown Hospital, Claudia Graham, has told the inquiry many elderly patients are discharged from hospital too quickly.

Ms Graham says families are often forced to place their loved ones in unsuitable aged care facilities because of pressure from the hospital to make beds available for other patients.

She says she often witnesses a rapid deterioration in elderly patients who have been told they will have to go into a nursing home.

Ms Graham wants to see a change of emphasis from patient flow to patient care.

She has told the inquiry more transitional care beds should be made available to allow time to find suitable nursing homes for patients.

The inquiry is taking evidence today at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital.

A jury Thursday awarded $1 million in punitive damages to the family of a 104-year-old woman who died after a short stay at Villa Valencia Nursing Home in Laguna Hills.

The judgment against the center’s owner, Virginia-based Sunrise Senior Living, comes two days after the same Orange County Superior Court panel rendered a separate $1 million verdict for negligence in the March 2005 death of Mary Kathleen Adams of Laguna Hills.

Sunrise Senior Living operates 440 senior homes in the U.S. and abroad – says it will appeal the decision.

The trial, which began in March, revolved around the physical decline of Adams, a retired teacher who admitted herself to the home after fracturing her leg.

Adams then developed pressure ulcers and was not given adequate treatment, such as daily skin checks, according to the lawsuit. She left the home after about two months, on Feb. 25, 2005, and died about two weeks later because of the ulcers, the lawsuit says.

Medicaid is known as the government health-care program for the poor, but it pays for more than two-thirds of long-term nursing-home stays. That means many middle-income Americans with savings will need the program. Ultimately, medicaid will cover nursing-home care for nearly everyone who needs it but can’t afford to pay on their own.

All Medicaid beneficiaries fit into one of several qualifying categories  of the program - 65 years of age or older, blind or disabled, for example. You must also submit financials that take into account both your income , assets as well as those of your spouse if you are married. The final category is  the people eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income from the Social Security Administration.

The LA Times reported on Monday that seniors may save money by remaining in their home as they age.

Below are the reported cost averages:

*Average national cost per year of private-room nursing-home care: $77,745*

* Average national base rate per year of assisted-living care: $35,628**

* Average cost per year of one hour per day of home healthcare provided by a licensed practical nurse: $13,468***

* Average cost per year of one hour per day of care provided by a home health aide: $6,916***

*Average nursing home costs in Southern California are closer to $100,000 per year.

**As much as several hundred dollars per month may be added for such services as diabetic care, medication management or additional meals.

***For total costs under these scenarios, housing and living expenses should be factored in.

Source: MetLife, AARP,LA TIMES