FDA seeks public comment on ECT

The FDA is asking for comment to determine whether it should reclassify ECT to require "reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness" of the mechanical devices used for electroconvulsive therapy. ECT was already in use when the FDA codified mechanical devices, and hence grandfathered under a classification that today would require testing for safety and efficacy. In response to public interest and complaints, the FDA is deciding whether a "premarket approval" is necessary in the "completion of product development." The answer to this will influence whether they downgrade the classification under less stringent rules. Some consider this tantamount to deregulation......

Read more about the current controversy:
Mindfreedom

Psychiatry Weekly

To comment before Jan. 8, 2010:
Electronic submission: http://www.regulations.gov.

Written comments:
Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630
Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victor Krauthamer, Center for Devices
and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New
Hampshire Ave., W066-1106, Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301-796-2474.

Recovery, ECT, FDA comments

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Cokie and Steven Roberts: A CLASS Act deserves support - Inside Bay Area

Technorati Tags: LTC,CLASS

Edward Kennedy via last.fm

 

WE ARE the lucky ones. Not only are we blessed with two mothers in their 90s — we are doubly blessed with mothers whose resources cover their care. That's not the norm in America, where the aging population's need for long-term care imposes harsh economic as well as emotional stress on many families. A provision of the health-care bill aims to offer some relief to those families, and we're all for it.

The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, called CLASS, was one of Teddy Kennedy's pet proposals in recent years. It's a simple idea. Workers would voluntarily pay into a fund for at least five years and then be able to draw from it if they become disabled by age or illness.

A daily stipend tied to the degree of disability, to be set by the secretary of Health and Human Services but probably starting at about $75, would go for whatever was needed — someone helping out at home, transportation to senior day care, installation of handicap-friendly devices — allowing many individuals to remain in their communities and out of costly nursing homes.

For people who aren't as lucky as we are, that's often the only choice. Their parents or a disabled relative might need assistance in eating, bathing, dressing or moving from a chair to the bathroom. A small stipend can make all the difference. It can mean an elderly person gets to stay at home with some assistance getting dressed and ……

Long-term care program is fiscally sound

Thanks and a Hat Tip to Patti Dudek…

http://bit.ly/8c0jiM

The Dec. 9 editorial "Health reform's heavy lifting" unfairly criticized the fiscal soundness of the CLASS (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) Act, an innovative, voluntary, long-term care insurance program in the Senate health-care bill….

A closer look reveals that the proposal has new provisions to assure financial sustainability by reducing premiums, creating a healthier risk pool and new reserve requirements, and providing numerous safeguards to guarantee solvency over a 75-year period -- thanks to an amendment from Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H)….

Technorati Tags: CLASS,LTC

3 Arrests in Public Guardian's Office

http://bit.ly/687ncn

Technorati Tags: guardianship crime

The Michigan State Police’s investigation into the Arenac County Public Guardian Office, which began in June, has led to three arrests.
A statement from the Ogemaw County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued Dec. 9 said over $300,000 worth of misappropriated funds from approximately 50 clients, during the years 1999 to 2009, was uncovered by the MSP investigation.
According to Detective Sergeant David Rivard, of the West Branch State Police Post, public guardian Robert Romps was arrested by the Michigan State Police on Dec. 8, along with Sherilyn Jones, the public guardian Romps replaced who was fired in August while her office was under investigation for criminal activity by the Michigan State Police and being audited by the Michigan Treasury Department. Jones’ mother, Sally Lebeau, was also arrested…….

Brown University

 

LTCFocUS.org provides data on nursing home care in the US. Our goal is to allow researchers to trace relationships between state policies, local market forces and the quality of long-termcare and enable policymakers to craft state and local guidelines that promote high-quality, cost-effective, equitable care for older Americans.Learn More >

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,state data

Brown University

Senate preserves long-term care program - The ReporterBusiness: Serving North Penn, Indian Valley and neighboring communities

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,CLASS,Senate Bill

Edward Kennedy via last.fm

 

The Senate on Friday turned back a Republican effort to eliminate a long-term care insurance program to help seniors and the disabled, saving the plan once championed by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in its health overhaul bill.
But the vote exposed the difficulties Democratic leaders face in persuading their own moderates to remain united behind sweeping legislation they hope to deliver to President Barack Obama. Eleven Democrats voted with Republicans, who warned that the new program would turn into a drain on the federal budget…..

Senate preserves long-term care program - The ReporterBusiness: Serving North Penn, Indian Valley and neighboring communities

People like me -- chicagotribune.com

 

Last year, I was rushed to the hospital after a severe gastrointestinal infection became septicemia. I was unconscious, inches away from death, but before the doctors would perform their magic they asked my wife, "Are you sure you want us to do this?"
Actually, they said, "Is he full code?" but it meant the same thing.
To my wife, it was clear their uncertainty was due to my physical disabilities. I was born 47 years ago with a congenital neuromuscular delight called spinal muscular atrophy. I've never walked or stood and have very limited use of my hands.
Was my life worth prolonging? Should the hospital provide me with the same measure of medical intervention it would anyone else?
Please! Don't hold my rag-doll body against me!……

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,disability stigma

People like me -- chicagotribune.com

Uninsured Health Care Workers Pose Public Health Risks | PHInational.org

 

The U.S. health care workforce’s lack of health coverage raises “important and perhaps alarming issues,” according to an article in the American Journal of Public Health’s December issue.

In some settings — specifically residential care and nursing homes — “almost one third of all workers providing hands-on care to vulnerable adults are uninsured,” the researchers report…….

The authors of the AJPH article argue that their findings raise serious public health and policy issues regarding the quality of the U.S. health care workforce. Of particular concern are “workers transmitting undetected infectious disease because they delay seeking care, and transmitting the flu because they do not receive a flu shot.”……

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,uninsured CNAs

Uninsured Health Care Workers Pose Public Health Risks | PHInational.org

2010 Long Term Care Tax Deductibility | NewRetirement Blog

 

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance has just released a new guide that addresses the new 2010 tax deductible items and limits for individuals and business owners purchasing long-term care insurance.   The “Guide To Tax Deductible Long-Term Care Insurance can be found at their website:  http://www.aaltci.org/tax. This guide provides comprehensive information including state by state deductibility rule s and federal tax deductibility rules….

BuzzNet Tags: ltc insurance,tax deduction

2010 Long Term Care Tax Deductibility | NewRetirement Blog

Info Long-Term Care: Older People's Vision of Long Term Care

 

Commissioned by the Joseph Rowntreee Foundations Independent Living Committee, the Older People’s Programme (OPP1) and the Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA) in the UK, this report explores older people’s experiences of living with high support needs. This work focused on those moving to and living in care homes now, and those using other kinds of supported accommodation or living arrangements (e.g. extra care and adult placement schemes)…..

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,attitudes

Info Long-Term Care: Older People's Vision of Long Term Care

Home :Technology for Long-Term Care

 

Technology for Long-Term Care is a free government funded resource containing information on hundreds of technology products to improve quality of life and care for people in long-term care settings such as nursing homes, assisted living, boarding care, and adult day care programs.

What is the purpose of this web site? Technology for Long-Term Care focuses on products related to important care issues including assistance, bathing, falls, incontinence, lifting and transferring, medication management, and wander management…..

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,technology

Home :Technology for Long-Term Care

Belgian Man Trapped In Coma For 23 Years Was Conscious Throughout

Technorati Tags: coma,misdiagnosis

Rom Houben, a Belgian man whom doctors believed to have been in a coma for 23 years following a car crash in 1983, was conscious all the time: we know because Houben himself has told us, in several media interviews conducted over the last few days.
Doctors in Zolder, Belgium, had repeatedly diagnosed Houben using the internationally accepted Glasgow Coma Scale to assess his eye, verbal and motor responses. But each time he was incorrectly graded as being in a vegetative state, reported the Daily Mail.

Belgian Man Trapped In Coma For 23 Years Was Conscious Throughout

LTCFocUS.org — Long-term Care: Facts on Care in the US « ResourceShelf

 

LTCFocUS.org is a product of the Shaping Long-Term Care in America Project being conducted at the Brown University Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research and supported, in part, by the National Institute on Aging. The website hosts data regarding the health and functional status of nursing home residents, characteristics of care facilities, state policies relevant to long term care services and financing, and data characterizing the markets in which facilities exist and, in the future, we plan to expand to include information about other sectors of the long-term care system……..

BuzzNet Tags: LTC

LTCFocUS.org — Long-term Care: Facts on Care in the US « ResourceShelf

IOS Press - Journal Issue

A Special free issue on Residential Accessibility for persons with brain injury. Downloadable articles through link.

BuzzNet Tags: housing,accessibility,neurorehabilitation

IOS Press - Journal Issue

Alzheimer's Reading Room: Which Drugs Increase the Risk of Falling for the Elderly

 

Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for adults sixty-five and older, and research suggests that those taking four or more medications are at an even greater risk than those who don’t—perhaps two to three times greater……..

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,falls,drugs

Alzheimer's Reading Room: Which Drugs Increase the Risk of Falling for the Elderly

AHCA: Chronic pain a major issue for long-term care - McKnight's Long Term Care News

 

The American Health Care Association is supporting a new report that calls on government agencies, Congress and the medical community to address chronic pain as a public health crisis.

The report, which recently was released by The Mayday Fund, recommends that federal, state and local agencies adopt a fairer regulatory approach toward controlled prescription drugs. States must strike a balance between protecting the public through reducing drug abuse and addressing unrelieved pain. States still have laws that contain outdated requirements or “reflect poor medical practice,” according to the report. …..

BuzzNet Tags: pain management,LTC

AHCA: Chronic pain a major issue for long-term care - McKnight's Long Term Care News

Minnix expects Senate to include CLASS Act in healthcare reform bill - McKnight's Long Term Care News

 

The president and CEO of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging feels confident that the CLASS Act will make it into a final healthcare reform bill.

"I felt like all along it was going to wind up in health reform," Larry Minnix told McKnight's Monday. He spoke during the association's annual conference in Chicago. "It's just the right thing to do."…….

BuzzNet Tags: CLASS Act,Health Reform

Minnix expects Senate to include CLASS Act in healthcare reform bill - McKnight's Long Term Care News

Long Term Care for Senior Veterans - Senior Counsel

BuzzNet Tags: Veterans,LTC

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides three types of long term care services for veterans.

The first are health care benefits provided to veterans who have service-connected disabilities, who are receiving VA Pension or who are considered low income.

The second benefit is state veterans homes.

The third benefit for veterans is disability income programs. The most familiar of these benefits is an income for service-connected disabled veterans called "Compensation." The least known of these is a program officially called "Pension" but popularly known as the "aid and attendance benefit."

• All active-duty veterans who served at least 90 days during a period of war are eligible for Pension and the additional income from aid and attendance or housebound allowances. A single surviving spouse of such a veteran is also eligible.

Long Term Care for Senior Veterans - Senior Counsel

The Dementia Caregiver's Toolbox : Comfort Zone Technology Launched By Alzheimer's Association

BuzzNet Tags: dementia,tracking,GPS

As a member of two committees at my local Alzheimer's Association chapter, I was so pleased to hear about the collaboration between the Alzheimer's Association and Omnilink to launch a special product called Comfort Zone.  This unique product is something that dementia caregivers everywhere have been waiting for.

Using GPS and cellular technology, the Comfort Zone is a web-based location management system for those with dementia. 

Most survelliance systems have been extremely expensive for general consumers.  Comfort Zone has a favorable price point, similar to cell phone service, of a $45 initial hook-up fee with the basic monthly price starting at $42.99 and going up depending on the selected features.

The Dementia Caregiver's Toolbox : Comfort Zone Technology Launched By Alzheimer's Association

MIWatch - Mental health in health reform

 

What's in this bill for people with mental illness and addictive disorders? The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law prepared a detailed summary of how this could :……

BuzzNet Tags: health reform,mental health

MIWatch - Mental health in health reform

Recommendations Issued on Caring for People with Dementia at Home | PHInational.org

BuzzNet Tags: home care,dementia

The Alzheimer’s Association released the first practice recommendations for professionals providing home care to people with Alzheimer’s.

The recommendations were distributed in early November to coincide with National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month.

Dementia Care Practice Recommendations for Professionals Working in a Home Setting (pdf) is the fourth in the association’s series of evidence-based publications aimed at helping providers and caregivers to administer person-centered, culturally sensitive care for people with dementia.

Recommendations Issued on Caring for People with Dementia at Home | PHInational.org

FDA Law Blog: Senate Committee Seeks Improved Access to Controlled Meds for Long-Term Care and Hospice Patients; Drafts Legislation to Address Issue

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,pain management,FDA,DEA

Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have sent a letter to U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder seeking improved access to needed pain and other medications for long-term care and hospice patients.  Their October 19, 2009 letter states current federal Controlled Substance Act (“CSA”) requirements lead to delays in patients receiving needed medication.

FDA Law Blog: Senate Committee Seeks Improved Access to Controlled Meds for Long-Term Care and Hospice Patients; Drafts Legislation to Address Issue

Internet use cuts depression in 55+ elderly -- what's it mean? | Aging In Place Technology Watch

 

Internet use reduces depression in the elderly by 20%.  Whew. I've got to read those news alerts more carefully -- looks like I missed quite a bit of press about the October 15 announcement of a Phoenix Center Policy Paper of data analysis and conclusion by George Ford and Sherry Ford.  The news articles about the study are quite confusing -- mixing up terminology (elderly? seniors?)  so let's look more closely at the process that produced the conclusion…….

BuzzNet Tags: seniors,internrt,depression

Internet use cuts depression in 55+ elderly -- what's it mean? | Aging In Place Technology Watch

F.R.I.D.A.

BuzzNet Tags: LGBT,LTC,survey

The National Senior Citizens Law Center, Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), are working together to raise awareness of the issues facing older adults who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ("LGBT") and live in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other long-term care facilities. We hope to identify areas where policy changes will improve care, and to find other older adults, advocates and providers interested in these issues.
The survey is only 16 questions.

F.R.I.D.A.

The New Wave in LTC Hybrids

 

Nnew rules governing hybrid long-term-care products go into effect on Jan. 1 and may spawn a new generation of hybrids. Avisors need to think about when and why to consider them for clients.

Sales of long-term-care insurance (LTCI) have struggled, often because clients perceive them as risky. You pay a lot in premiums, which reward you handsomely if you later need extensive care, but which disappear if you die before needing them or never qualify for them.

To address these concerns, product providers developed annuities and life insurance policies with long-term-care riders as less-expensive alternatives. For example, insurers tested the waters with single-premium life policies that had provisions for LTC, usually a multiple of the death benefit paid out over several years. Once the death benefit was exhausted, any remaining claims would be applied against "excess benefits" up to a maximum. If the client didn't have LTC costs, the death benefit would ultimately pay out when the client passed away.

BuzzNet Tags: ltc insurance,hybrids

However hybrid LTC policies turned out to have serious tax problems.

The government addressed the tax issues in the pension protection act of 2006 to encourage the development of more hybrid products. Congress provided that the new rules take effect in January 2010 to allow companies to comply.

The New Wave in LTC Hybrids

Info Long-Term Care: A multidisciplinary systematic literature review on frailty: Overview of the methodology used by the Canadian Initiative on Frailty and Aging

BuzzNet Tags: aging,frailty,definition

Abstract: Over the past two decades, there has been a substantial growth in the body of literature on frailty in older persons. However, there is no consensus on its definition or the criteria used to identify frailty. In response to this lack of consensus, the Canadian Initiative on Frailty and Aging carried out a set of systematic reviews of the literature in ten areas of frailty research: biological basis; social basis; prevalence; risk factors; impact; identification; prevention and management; environment and technology; health services; health and social policy. This paper describes the methodology that was developed for the systematic reviews.

Info Long-Term Care: A multidisciplinary systematic literature review on frailty: Overview of the methodology used by the Canadian Initiative on Frailty and Aging

Long-term care costs rise 3.3 percent in 2009 | Healthcare Finance News

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,costs,2009

Despite the economy and subsequent fall in market prices, the cost of long-term care has gone up, according to the 2009 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services and Home Care Costs.

Findings of the study include:

• For nursing homes, the highest cost for a private room was reported in Alaska ($584/day) while the lowest was in Louisiana ($132/day).
• Assisted living costs were highest in Wilmington, Del. ($5,219/month) and lowest in North Dakota ($2,041/month).
• The highest home healthcare aide rate was $30 per hour in the Rochester, Minn. area, while the lowest was reported in the Shreveport, La. area at $13 per hour.
• Adult day services were highest in Vermont at $150 per day and lowest in Montgomery, Ala. at $27 per day.

Long-term care costs rise 3.3 percent in 2009 | Healthcare Finance News

Newspaper Investigates Dangerous Mix Of Nursing Homes And Psychotropic Drugs

Technorati Tags: psychotropic drugs,Illinois,LTC

…."Frail and vulnerable residents of nursing homes throughout Illinois are being dosed with powerful psychotropic drugs, leading to tremors, dangerous lethargy and a higher risk of harmful falls or even death, a Tribune investigation has found. Thousands of elderly and disabled people have been affected, many of them drugged without their consent or without a legitimate psychiatric diagnosis that would justify treatment, state and federal inspection reports show."…..

Newspaper Investigates Dangerous Mix Of Nursing Homes And Psychotropic Drugs

Genesee County nursing homes rack up hundreds of care violations | Flint News - - MLive.com

 

GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- They are our most fragile and most vulnerable -- and they are not being treated right.

They are being tied down with sheets, being left unsupervised as their caretaker takes a nap, and occasionally being verbally and physically abused, state records show.

In the last two years, Genesee County’s 285 adult foster care facilities have racked up 323 reported violations of state rules, according to a Flint Journal investigation of Michigan Department of Human Services records…..

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,AFC violations

Genesee County nursing homes rack up hundreds of care violations | Flint News - - MLive.com

The Dementia Caregiver's Toolbox : Dementia Book Review - Memory Triggers

 

Memory Triggers is a new series of picture/stimulation books by Nadine Rudner Brechner that were specifically designed for use with persons with dementia by their caregivers. 

Each of three books in the series focuses on one decade:  the 1940's, the 1950's and the 1960's and shows 3 wallet-sized, colored pictures per page, of items that relate to the specific timeperiod.  Using her background as a former activities director and health care manager, Nadine created these books to use with her own mother Charlotte, who has dementia.  Nadine wasn't satisfied with the quality of products available so she decided to create her own…..

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,dementia,memory

The Dementia Caregiver's Toolbox : Dementia Book Review - Memory Triggers

CareRunner Provides The Best Online Tools For Caregivers

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,Caregiver,portal

Post messages and comments to your community about your loved one.

Read More

Have all your medical history stored safely and securely online. It’s easy to print for the next doctor’s visit.

Read More

Answer questions about diseases, drugs, therapies and alternative remedies in our education center.

Read More

CareRunner Provides The Best Online Tools For Caregivers

PatientsLikeMe : Patients Helping Patients Live Better Every Day

Interesting idea. Site is not especially accessible. 

Want to know more about PatientsLikeMe?

Learn all about us. Ask us anything.

Why do we embrace openness,

and what about your privacy?

How do we make money and who are our partners?

Take a moment to read this and find out.

Work in the healthcare industry for a pharmaceutical, insurance or other company?

Looking for more innovative ways to learn from real-world patient experiences? You can find out more about our products and services on our partners site »

PatientsLikeMe : Patients Helping Patients Live Better Every Day

OPM extends window for long-term insurance changes (10/22/09) -- GovExec.com

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,insurance,premiums

Image via Wikipedia

 

In response to a premium hike, the Office of Personnel Management is giving federal employees enrolled in the Long-Term Care Insurance Program two extra months to make changes to their coverage.Daniel Green, OPM's deputy associate director for employee and family support policy, apologized at the October hearing for confusion caused by promotional materials distributed to federal employees enrolled in the program, and said the agency was considering extending the period to enable enrollees to make changes…….

Margaret Baptiste, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, said OPM's decision was an important first step, but the agency should consider how to keep the long-term care insurance program strong in the future.

"The downturn in the long-term care insurance industry and further consolidation could make matters worse in 2016 when the contract is rebid," she said, "Consolidation means there is less competitive pressure on carriers to offer the best possible product.”…..

OPM extends window for long-term insurance changes (10/22/09) -- GovExec.com

A Forgotten Health Debate: Funding Long-term Care : NPR

BuzzNet Tags: NPR,LTC

Image via Wikipedia

 

Donna Taylor's father was the rock of the family. He was the primary caregiver for his disabled wife and her elderly mother. But he got sick and went into the hospital for 10 days. When he got out, he couldn't walk.

Taylor, 41, and her siblings — all of whom had families and children of their own — helped out. But with three elderly, disabled adults in one house, caregiving got expensive. Taylor says her father was surprised at how quickly the family went through its savings.

"He said, 'I worked and I did the right things. I had a pension and I put money away in savings and I had what I thought were the right insurances and the money didn't go far enough.' It just, it just wasn't enough."……

A Forgotten Health Debate: Funding Long-term Care : NPR

AMERICAblog Gay | A great people deserve their rights: HHS to Create a National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders

BuzzNet Tags: LGBT,LTC

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced plans to establish the nation’s first national resource center to assist communities across the country in their efforts to provide services and supports for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals.
Experts estimate that as many as 1.5 to 4 million LGBT individuals are age 60 and older. Agencies that provide services to older individuals may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the needs of this group of individuals. The new Resource Center for LGBT Elders will provide information, assistance and resources for both LGBT organizations and mainstream aging services providers at the state and community level to assist them in the development and provision of culturally sensitive supports and services. The LGBT Center will also be available to educate the LGBT community about the importance of planning ahead for future long term care needs.

AMERICAblog Gay | A great people deserve their rights: HHS to Create a National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders

Senate addresses long-term care plan - Cleveland.com

 

If you live long enough after becoming seriously sick or disabled, chances are high that you will spend all your money, be declared poor and get the government to pay for your care.

It happens to millions every year. But Congress could soon give working Americans another choice. Buried in congressional health care reform proposals is a seldom-mentioned plan for a government-run long-term care insurance program…….

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,insurance

Senate addresses long-term care plan - Cleveland.com

The Faces of Medicaid III: Refining the Portrait of People with Multiple Chronic Conditions

 

While creating better systems of care for aged, blind, and disabled beneficiaries is a priority within Medicaid, it is a challenge given the vast heterogeneity of this complex population. The Faces of Medicaid III: Refining the Portrait of People with Multiple Chronic Conditions provides insights for targeting efforts to improve care and control spending for the program's highest-need, highest-cost beneficiaries.

Building on the 2007 Faces of Medicaid II report, this subsequent analysis examines two data sets -- pharmacy claims and five years of diagnostic data -- to further refine what is known about Medicaid beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions. Researchers Rick Kronick, PhD, and Todd Gilmer, PhD, both from the University of California, San Diego, found that by looking at pharmacy data in addition to claims:

• The proportion of Medicaid beneficiaries with disabilities who are diagnosed with three or more chronic conditions increases from 35 percent to 45 percent;
• The frequency of psychiatric illness among Medicaid beneficiaries with disabilities increases from 29 percent to 49 percent, and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease increases from 32 percent to 44 percent; and
• Costs for beneficiaries with three or more chronic conditions increases from 66 percent to 75 percent of total spending for beneficiaries with disabilities…….
BuzzNet Tags: LTC,Medicaid,chronic conditions

The Faces of Medicaid III: Refining the Portrait of People with Multiple Chronic Conditions

David Oaks, Director: MindFreedom International

BuzzNet Tags: Recovery process,MFI,Utne,David Oaks

ABC News had just done a feature on mental health and had prominently featured MindFreedom International, a group that advocates for “psychiatric survivors” who have battled mental and emotional problems. But the second half of the show hinged on the lurid tale of a guy who had gone off his meds and committed an ax murder. Typical media sensationalism, says MindFreedom director David Oaks.

“How do you debate an ax murderer?” he vents. “There are no issues there. We’re pro-choice on taking psych drugs. So that was very frustrating.”……

David Oaks, Director: MindFreedom International

Atlanta Action Redux

 

So, my netbook decided to start hating the hotel wireless and Atlanta and I never had the time or inclination to buy the wireless service when I moved on to DC, so here I am back in MI wanting to say something at least about the final 2 days of the Atlanta ADAPT action!

Tuesday was, by far, the most intense of the 3 days of direct action.  We assembled in the ballroom, as it was still raining, before venturing forth to the Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights regional headquarters.

Our aim was to start an authentic conversation about enforcing the Olmstead supreme court decision in Georgia and the surrounding south eastern region.  Complying with this ADA case law would mean providing long term care services to people with disabilities in the least restrictive setting, namely, not an institution.  The case was decided a decade ago, in 1999, but there are not mechanisms in place for the government to hold itself accountable to the ruling.  ADAPT showed up in force to raise this issue in a way that a few local “advocates” cannot do on their own with polite phone calls and letters.  This is not to diminish the efforts of those in Atlanta working every day to free our people.  However, there comes a time when power is so unbalanced that direct action is the only way to create the tension necessary to force dialogue…..

BuzzNet Tags: ADAPT,Atlanta

Atlanta Action Redux

Results For "mental illness hope recovery" - SearchMedica - Professional Medical Search

 Many More articles-most crap, some good…..

CME (22)

BuzzNet Tags: recovery,search,articles

Complementary Medicine (8)

1 Illness Management and Recovery for Veterans With Severe Mental Illness - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov

Psychiatric symptoms substance abuse hope employment independent living [ Time Frame: 18 ... step to systematically evaluating the effectiveness of a comprehensive manual-based approach to improving recovery outcomes for veterans with severe mental illness. As an implementation package IMR offers mental health providers useful tools that could be widely disseminated across the VA system. ... http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00515671

www.clinicaltrials.gov Aug 17, 2009
Cached Was this helpful?

2 How to Support Recovery for People With Mental Illness -- Diamond 60 (9): 1155 -- Psychiatr Serv

Chronically Mentally Ill Patients Recovery Related Article Taking Issue How to Support Recovery for People With Mental Illness Ronald J. Diamond M.D. Department of Psychiatry University of Wisconsin Madison ... First support the attitude of recovery whenever and wherever it occurs. Support hope. ... http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/short/60/9/1155

ps.psychiatryonline.org Sep 1, 2009

Results For "mental illness hope recovery" - SearchMedica - Professional Medical Search

IRS Announces Higher Tax Deductions For Long Term Care Insurance, Long Term Care Insurance

 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has approved increased deductibility levels for long term care insurance policies purchased in 2010 according to a just-issued report by the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance, the industry trade group……

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,insurance,IRS,deduction

IRS Announces Higher Tax Deductions For Long Term Care Insurance, Long Term Care Insurance

Medicaid spending for home- and community-based care soars, report finds - McKnight's Long Term Care News

 

Medicaid spending for home- and community-based services (HCBS) skyrocketed by 81.5% between fiscal years 2001 and 2007, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Center for Assisted Living. Meanwhile, spending on nursing homes grew by a modest 9.8% during that time……

BuzzNet Tags: HCBS,spending

Medicaid spending for home- and community-based care soars, report finds - McKnight's Long Term Care News

California Home Care Cuts Put on Hold | PHInational.org

Technorati Tags: California,HCBS,home care

A federal judge stopped the state from sending notices to 130,000 elderly and disabled Californians to inform them that their home care supportive services would be reduced — or eliminated entirely — on November 1.

A temporary restraining order — granted the day before the letters were to be dropped in the mail — prohibits the state from sending the notices until a court decides on October 19 whether it should issue a longer preliminary injunction.

The ruling is a win for advocates and unions that filed a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of California’s home care supportive clients.

California Home Care Cuts Put on Hold | PHInational.org

Disability Protest at CNN World HQ - iReport.com

 

Disability Protest at CNN World HQ - iReport.com

Technorati Tags: ADAPT,CNN,CCA

Disabled advocates score meeting with GA gov staf

ATLANTA (AP) - A group of disabled advocates who forced their way into the State Capitol have left after scoring a meeting with Gov. Sonny Perdue's chief of staff.

Roughly 200 protesters representing a national organization of disabled activists surrounded the Capitol Monday morning.....

Supporting culture change in nursing home

 

1328_Stone_supporting_culture_change_smarter_state_nursing_home_reg.pdf (application/pdf Object)

ABSTRACT: The traditional nursing home regulatory approach, which uses survey and enforcement to achieve performance improvement, has created tensions between providers and surveyors. It has had limited success in improving quality overall and not necessarily allowed innovation to flourish. This has been the perception of many homes wanting to undergo transformative “culture change” reforms. To move toward a new model of nursing home regulation, the states and federal government must strike a balance between the traditional regulatory approach to weed out substandard facilities and a partnership model aimed at promoting high performance. This issue brief highlights the importance of how such a model is structured, as well as the need to adequately train and educate regulatory staff and providers about culture change. Regulators, providers, consumer groups, residents, and their families also will need to commit to the principles of person-centered care to ensure the success of the new collaborative approach….

Download Original Article through this link

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,nursing homes,culture change

ADAPT Press Release: Atlanta Action

….."We're here in Atlanta to demand freedom from nursing homes and
institutions for people with disabilities and who are older," said Randy
Alexander, Organizer for Tennessee ADAPT. "Currently, Medicaid law is
biased in favor of forcing people into expensive nursing facilities and
other institutions, rather than mandating that people can choose to stay
at home with the assistance they need. As a result, hundreds of thousands
of older and disabled Americans have lost their homes and their freedom,
and have been virtually locked up for the crime of disability or age. It's
a violation of our civil rights!"……

BuzzNet Tags: ADAPT,Atlanta

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Your gateway to info about STOPPING FDA rubber stamp of ECT — MFI Portal

BuzzNet Tags: Recovery,ECT,fight

he US Food and Drug Administration wants to give the device used for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT or electroshock) a rubber stamp of approval without ever having investigated the device for safety or efficacy. Here's your gateway to the latest info about the campaign to say "no" to reclassification, how to take action, and background information.

Your gateway to info about STOPPING FDA rubber stamp of ECT — MFI Portal

Elderly Mobility Challenges and Falling Out of Bed

Why Bed Rails Are Not Mobility Aids

…..Many bed falls are mobility related. The most common solutions were to confine the person or restrain them with bed rails, sometimes both. Today’s focus is on individual needs and keeping people mobile without confining or restraining them.

One myth is that the elderly fall out of bed because the bed rails are not raised. Yet we never hear what caused them to “fall out of bed” so informed decisions are rare. Exploring the reasons why the elderly and others fall out of bed will help us make better mobility decisions now, and in the future. Bed fall examples:

1. Accidental, rolled off the bed while reaching for a TV remote or glass of water on a night stand, usually an accident. Is this a balance or mobility issue, both or just an accident?……..

Original Article

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,falls

Nursing Home Industry: New Funding Reductions Will Force Closures

"The nation's nursing homes are perilously close to laying off workers, cutting services - possibly even closing - because of a perfect storm wallop from the recession and deep federal and state government spending cuts, industry experts say," The Associated Press reports. "A Medicare rate adjustment that cuts an estimated $16 billion in nursing home funding over the next 10 years was enacted at week's end by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services." This move came in addition to state-level reductions or flat-funding "that already had the industry reeling. And Congress is debating slashing billions more in Medicare funding as part of health care reform."……

Original Article

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,Nursing Home finance

New thinking about suburbs needed to help baby boomers age in place

……The Wall Street Journal article "Making Suburbia More Livable" offers several examples of communities that are redesigning suburbs so that boomers can age in place.

These communities are:
Making new street grids to reduce traffic and improve walkability.
Building town homes and condominiums.
Adding greenways and parks to promote social interaction.
Adding social spaces, shops, transportation options, and recreation and entertainment facilities to help address the needs of people as they grow older…….

Original Article

BuzzNet Tags: Aging in Place,suburbs

Floridians Forced Into Nursing Homes Earn Settlement at PHInational.org

 

The state of Florida has agreed to spend up to $27 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by Medicaid recipients who argue they were forced into nursing homes.

The lawsuit was filed in early 2008 on behalf of approximately 8,500 elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients who allege that Florida’s Medicaid program made it prohibitively difficult to obtain funding for home- and community-based care. By doing so, they argued, Medicaid essentially coerced them into nursing homes…..

BuzzNet Tags: HCBS,lawsuit settlement

Floridians Forced Into Nursing Homes Earn Settlement at PHInational.org

Briefs Examine Role of Evaluation for LTC Providers at PHInational.org

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,provider,evaluation

PHI has launched an issue brief series called Learning Through Evaluation examining the unique role evaluation plays in supporting PHI’s training and organizational development and policy work.

“Evaluation is an important tool to advance our learning and improve our work with providers of eldercare and disability services,” says Marcia Mayfield, PHI’s director of evaluation.

First Brief Now Available

The first issue brief in the evaluation series — Plan, Implement, Study, Act (pdf) — focuses on PHI’s work with the Northern New England LEADS Institute, an initiative aimed at improving job quality for direct-care workers in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Briefs Examine Role of Evaluation for LTC Providers at PHInational.org

Technology That Helps Seniors Stay at Home - BusinessWeek

Much More in the article……

BuzzNet Tags: aging in place

As Baby Boomers retire, companies as varied as GE, Philips, and Nintendo are working on technology that helps seniors stay at home and remain independent

Technology That Helps Seniors Stay at Home - BusinessWeek

Slate's interactive guide to the Senate Finance committee markup on health reform. - By Timothy Noah and Chris Wilson - Slate Magazine

Are you REALLY into the health care reform debate?

BuzzNet Tags: health care reform

The health reform bill (text, summary) introduced last week by Sen. Max Baucus, D- Mont., chairman of the Senate finance committee, is kind of a dog. The product of many months of negotiation among a bipartisan seven-member "coalition of the willing" (reduced to six after the defection of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah), it includes so many concessions to the GOP that at least three Democrats (Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington) are threatening not to vote for it. Yet the bill has not won the support of a single Republican.Slate's Chris Wilson, who sees opportunity where others see an ungainly data dump, assembled all these amendments into a single spreadsheet that can be sorted according to sponsor, party, budgetary offset, and whether the amendment in question addresses insurance coverage, reform of "delivery systems" (i.e., doctors and hospitals), or financing (taxes). (Some readers may need to log in to Gmail to view the sortable version. A low-fi version is available here.)

Slate's interactive guide to the Senate Finance committee markup on health reform. - By Timothy Noah and Chris Wilson - Slate Magazine

PASS THE COMMUNITY FIRST CHOICE AMENDMENT! : Center for Disability Rights : Free Our People

 

This is huge news!  This past Friday, New York Senator Schumer introduced the Community First Choice amendment to the Senate Finance Committee’s health care reform!

This is the closest we’ve ever been to getting the language of the Community Choice Act into federal law.  It’s not the “whole enchilada,” because it wouldn’t make it the law of the land, but it would give every state a financial incentive to try community first, consumer directed services and supports based on functional need, not age or diagnosis. This is a very big deal!

The next step is to urge the Senate Finance Committee to pass the amendment.  We need every Senator on the Committee to hear from constituents in their state, urging them to support the Community First Choice Amendment…..

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,community choice

PASS THE COMMUNITY FIRST CHOICE AMENDMENT! : Center for Disability Rights : Free Our People

MIWatch - Thought parity was a done deal?

 

Celebrations of last year's landmark mental health parity legislation ending insurance and business discrimination were premature. What once seemed a turning point now seems less certain if the federal guidelines for implementation of the Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act are delayed beyond the Oct. 3 deadline. Such a delay could spell disaster for the 46 percent of the population whose treatment will be halted or never started, with lives lost, livelihoods delayed, but the status quo intact.

We should recall that parity was hotly debated before two bills (HR 1424 in the House, S 558 in the Senate) and were folded into last year's stimulus package. It was an initiative supported by a unique collaboration between advocates in the mental health community and those in the addiction community, with coverage extending to the self-insured and to those in Medicaid managed care. The House initiative, led by Reps. Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad, wanted to base treatment criteria on the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Insurance and business were able to determine that the Senate's bill allow them to define "medical need."

This provision, allowing the insurance companies to manage medical conditions, mandated there be no discrimination against mental illnesses or addictive disorders. Yet, many companies are attempting to reduce what they are calling "medical necessity" and in this way are encouraging the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury to undermine the fact and the spirit of parity………

BuzzNet Tags: recovery,parity

MIWatch - Thought parity was a done deal?

Classical conditioning in the vegetative and minimally conscious state : Abstract : Nature Neuroscience

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,disorders of consciousness,learning

Pavlovian trace conditioning depends on the temporal gap between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. It requires, in mammals, functional medial temporal lobe structures and, in humans, explicit knowledge of the temporal contingency. It is therefore considered to be a plausible objective test to assess awareness without relying on explicit reports. We found that individuals with disorders of consciousness (DOCs), despite being unable to report awareness explicitly, were able to learn this procedure. Learning was specific and showed an anticipatory electromyographic response to the aversive conditioning stimulus, which was substantially stronger than to the control stimulus and was augmented as the aversive stimulus approached. The amount of learning correlated with the degree of cortical atrophy and was a good indicator of recovery. None of these effects were observed in control subjects under the effect of anesthesia (propofol). Our results suggest that individuals with DOCs might have partially preserved conscious processing, which cannot be mediated by explicit reports and is not detected by behavioral assessment.

Classical conditioning in the vegetative and minimally conscious state : Abstract : Nature Neuroscience

Text of S.1256 as Introduced in Senate: Home and Community Balanced Incentives Act of 2009 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,HCBS

A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to establish financial incentives for States to expand the provision of long-term services and supports to Medicaid beneficiaries who do not reside in an institution, and for other purposes.

Text of S.1256 as Introduced in Senate: Home and Community Balanced Incentives Act of 2009 - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress

What is a Medicare “Never Event” in Nursing Home or Hospital

BuzzNet Tags: LTC,"Never Events"

Medicare won’t pay for conditions “that could reasonably have been prevented.”

These preventable conditions, sometimes dubbed “never events,” i.e. events that should never have happened, may include:

• Bedsores or pressure ulcers not present on admission.
• Injuries caused by falls
• Infections caused by catheters left in blood vessels or bladders
• Sponges or other objects left in patients during surgery
• Incompatible blood transfusions
• Death from other blood products
• Misuse or malfunction of medical devices
• Wrong site surgeries.
• Restraint strangulation.
• Deaths from medications.
• Deaths from childbirth.

What is a Medicare “Never Event” in Nursing Home or Hospital

CDC - National Center for Health Statistics Homepage

BuzzNet Tags: health statistics,LTC

The National Center for Health Statistics' website is a rich source of information about America's health... More

CDC - National Center for Health Statistics Homepage

Draft rule opens long-term care, leave programs to domestic partners (9/14/09) -- GovExec.com

BuzzNet Tags: LTC insurance,lgbt

Citing changing demands on families and the need to recognize diversity, the Office of Personnel Management proposed regulations on Monday opening up the long-term care insurance program and certain leave programs to the same-sex partners of gay and lesbian federal employees.

"With America's changing demographics and socioeconomic trends, employees have increasing personal needs and family care obligations," Jerome Mikowicz, deputy associate director at OPM's Center for Pay and Leave Administration, wrote in the draft leave regulation. "OPM believes it is important to address the needs of a more diverse workforce. By ensuring consistent policies within the federal government we set an example as the model employer of a diverse workforce."

Draft rule opens long-term care, leave programs to domestic partners (9/14/09) -- GovExec.com

Not Dead Yet News & Commentary: It's Suicide Prevention Week - Except for Old, Ill and Physically Disabled People

Technorati Tags: suicide,euthenasia

I'm not sure how many people are aware of this, but we are nearing the end of National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 6-12). In fact, today - September 10 - is World Suicide Prevention Day.Specifically, there is an appalling lack of voiced concern over the promotion of suicide in the populations of old, ill and physically disabled people. For the first few months of this year, there was nationwide coverage of the Final Exit Network - an organization that supports and facilitates the suicides of people with nonterminal disabilities and chronic conditions. Over the course of many months, stories appearing in countless outlets included the URL for the Final Exit Network in their stories. The website provided information on obtaining suicide instructional materials and how to get involved with the Final Exit Network. Most of the articles treated the Network and its "work" sympathetically.

Not Dead Yet News & Commentary: It's Suicide Prevention Week - Except for Old, Ill and Physically Disabled People

Pain In People With Dementia Often Undiagnosed

Technorati Tags: dementia,pain

The elderly who suffer from dementia aren't able to say when something hurts or is sore. They may demonstrate their pain through behaviours like rocking or striking out, and we often dismiss these actions as symptoms of the dementia instead of pain, which is usually from a different problem. Arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, fractures, muscular contractures, bruises, abdominal pain and mouth ulcers are among the list of common ailments that go undetected. It is important for those who live or work with persons with dementia to know how to identify when an elderly person is experiencing pain - and receive treatment sooner rather than later.
The University of Alberta's Cary Brown, PhD, has a new tool to help. She has developed an online workshop and toolkit for caregivers, health-care providers, family members and friends of people with dementia.
The researcher from the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine created an evidence-based website with a narrated presentation on pain and dementia, a downloadable resource pack for family members, a downloadable pain log and a facilitator's toolkit with background material, a planning guide, promotional material and supplemental information for organizations who wish to put on a workshop.
The online workshop and toolkit are available at: http://www.painanddementia.ualberta.ca

Pain In People With Dementia Often Undiagnosed

AMNews: Aug. 31, 2009. Accountable care organizations: A new idea for managing Medicare ... American Medical News

 

….The accountable care organization is one of the latest designs for managing Medicare that is gaining traction among policymakers desperate to control costs and boost quality in the system. Proponents of the concept want to see it tested along with such alternatives as patient-centered medical homes, pay-for-performance and payment bundling.

A typical Medicare ACO would include a hospital, primary care physicians, specialists and potentially other medical professionals. Services would still be billed under fee-for-service, but the organization's members would coordinate care for their shared Medicare patients with the goal of meeting and improving on quality benchmarks. Because ACO members are held jointly accountable for this care, they would share in any cost savings that stem from the quality gains……

Technorati Tags: LTC,coordinated care

AMNews: Aug. 31, 2009. Accountable care organizations: A new idea for managing Medicare ... American Medical News