That storm isn’t going away, says Holleran, so the industry needs to use technology—and more—to weather it and survive.

There are plenty of senior care technologies that are either being developed or have already been implemented in some senior care settings, and Holleran names the Intel-GE Care Innovations collaboration, among others, as belonging to the technology sectors that has “certainly done its part to raise the bar on senior living innovations.”

But innovation in senior living, says the white paper, goes well beyond technology.

The lesson for would-be innovators is that they do not have to invent brand new ideas, but rather borrow ideas from other fields. To do this successfully, aging services providers are required to carry out 5 key skills outlined in the Harvard Business Review article, “The Innovator’s DNA.”

These 5 skills include questioning, observing, experimenting, networking and associating. Embedding these skills into the fabric of aging services provider organizations is step one in creating a culture of innovation.

Holleran goes on run through those five skills, giving examples of how those in the senior living industry have applied them and made their organizations stronger and better prepared for the future.

This includes Evangelical Homes of Michigan, one of about a dozen senior living providers who have implemented “CCRCs without walls” programs to provide services to those living in their community who didn’t want to leave their homes.

Other programs and models that have emerged include Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), Small House models, Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities, Villages, and more technology- and policy-minded developments like implementing electronic health records, forming accountable care organizations (ACOs), and making breakthroughs on cures for memory impairment diseases.

“The challenges of the future will be the creation of affordable alternatives for those who have not put together the resources required for comfortable retirements or will not be covered by traditional entitlement programs if funds run out,” says Holleran after concluding that ”Innovating is not for the faint of heart. It takes a willingness to try something new, and risk failure.”

Read the full white paper.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

In many cases, the patient could be adequately cared for in a skilled nursing facility setting, rather than in an acute-care (and extremely expensive) hospital setting, found the investigation, covered in an MSNBC Rock Center article.

But because of current healthcare policies and guidelines, “under federal law, hospitals must treat any patient who needs emergency medical attention even if they have no way to pay. Nursing and rehab facilities are not required by law to do so.”

And with hospitals unable to discharge patients unless they have a plan for post-acute care, many facilities get “stuck” with these permanent patients who have “large medical bills and no way to pay.”

“It would be cheaper to take these patients and send them to the Ritz Carlton,” said Harvard University School of Public Health Professor Ashish Jha in the MSNBC article. “They could get room service all day, and that would be cheaper.”

Tens of thousands of these patients are stuck in hospitals with nowhere to go for long-term care or rehabilitative services, Jha estimates, and the NBC News investigation found officials at “dozens” of hospitals across the country confirming they had long-term patients who didn’t need to be in an acute-care setting.

If so many of these people could be cared for in a skilled nursing setting, is it worthwhile for hospitals to introduce some sort of skilled nursing division into their facility? As of 2010, just 6% of skilled nursing facilities were hospital-based (as opposed to being freestanding), according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee’s 2012 report to Congress.

But while it might be cost-effective for these particular patients to be in a less-acute setting, these sorts of incidents don’t occur to the point where it’s logical for hospitals to add SNF beds, according to Greg Crist, vice president of public affairs at the American Health Care Association, a nursing home industry trade group.

“It’s more the exception than the rule,” he found after getting input from a few providers. “Hospitals can’t necessarily do any sort of economic forecasting to the point where it would be viable.”

While some hospitals have looked into adding a skilled nursing center, Crist says the high number of regulations surrounding the industry have prompted many to just stay in the acute care sector.

Back in January, The New York Times ran a similar piece about illegal immigrants lingering in hospitals at a high cost because they had nowhere to go.

Read the full MSNBC Rock Center article, which talks about a more than 2 year, $1.4 million stay in an hospital by an undocumented immigrant who, according to the hospital’s chief medical officer, belonged in a skilled nursing facility but couldn’t go because she had no way of paying.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

INVENCO Seniors Housing to Build ALF in Fla. for Veterans

INVENCO Seniors Housing, LLC, will pioneer an operating plan to help U.S. veterans find affordable housing solutions for a Viera, Fla.-located assisted living center meant to affordably house U.S. veterans.

Viera Manor Assisted Living Facility will give veterans priority admission for 80% of available units, in addition to a 10% discount off of estimated market rental rates. The facility will have 86 units and 102 licensed beds, and resident veterans will have access to the Veterans Association Clinic, located adjacent to the project site.

Love Funding provided $8.56 million in construction and permanent financing loans, led by senior director Laura Saull-Smith.

“This innovative VA program is designed to give veterans access to high-quality, affordable housing that meets all of their needs,” said John Goode, a managing member at INVENCO. “We are proud the VA chose us to provide that level of service to the men and women who have provided so much for our country. The Love Funding team led by Laura guided the financing to an optimal outcome. The tenacity and commitment they demonstrated in providing all the services this one-of-a-kind financing required was truly remarkable.”

NRP Group Planning Affordable Senior Housing Complex in Ohio With $1.2 Million in Tax Credits

Developer NRP Group is a planning an affordable senior housing complex in Kent, Ohio, after getting $1.2 million in tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, reports Ohio.com. The city will also contribute $250,000 form its Community Housing Improvement Program.

The development project is being called Four Seasons at Golden Pond and will help replace Silver Oaks Place, a retirement community that was sold last year and converted into student housing, forcing its elderly residents to relocated with only a couple months’ notice, the article notes.

Kent’s Planning Commission has already approved the preliminary site plan for Four Seasons, and NRP Group is in ongoing discussions on how to finance the project.

Lutheran Social Ministries Plans Affordable Senior Housing Project in NJ

Nonprofit housing development organization Lutheran Social Ministries recently got approval for final site plans for an affordable senior housing project located in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, reports the local Patch.com.

Plans including razing most of an old building (the Cinnaminson Home) but leaving a historic brick section intact, then building 55 units of affordable senior housing; Lutheran Social Ministries is waiting for final approvals from the county.

In no communities of those surveyed can a resident smoke anywhere on campus, while in 34%, residents can’t smoke anywhere on campus. Nearly 10% of communities say they deny admission to smokers.

Nearly one-third (31%) allow residents to smoke in designated areas, and 37% allow independent living residents to smoke inside of their units.

Most communities reported that their smoking policies didn’t have much of an effect, negative or positive, on either their sales or occupancy, according to the survey.

Source: Ziegler Investment Banking: Senior Living CFO Hotline

Ziegler says organizations cited a variety of reasons for instituting smoking policies, including state law mandates, concern from non-smoking residents, and the belief that smoking conflicts with the organization’s wellness initiatives.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

“The product that is coming into the investment profile tends to be a higher acuity product. There’s a fair concentration there of adding assisted living where we only have independent living, adding dementia care where we only have assisted living, adding skilled nursing in markets,” said Mark Ohlendorf, co-president and CFO of Brookdale, during the call. “So the rates are going to be higher in any case. But the returns, I think, are at or above what we had expected, below the mid-teens or looking like good numbers.”

In some of the company’s retirement communities where Brookdale has converted independent living to memory care, it’s seeing higher occupancy rates and revenues. “We have seen as high as almost a 20% increase in the independent living rates, once that project is completed at a non-converted basis based on the strength of that repositioning in addition to getting the higher revenue and gross margin dollars out of assisted living and Memory Care,” said CEO Bill Sheriff. 

On creating a care continuum: Turning some independent living units into higher acuity care can in some cases make the independent living units that are left more attractive, according to the CEO, citing an example of converting some retirement center units into assisted living and memory care.

“It strengthened the IL product component. And in many acquisition opportunities out there, they… have that kind of opportunity to make that home product more attractive, make independent living more attractive because it has assisted living and Memory Care available to it,” Sheriff said.

Basically, residents appreciate being able to stay in one community as they reach higher levels of care, and Brookdale benefits from the “higher gross margin dollar and return factors” it gets from an assisted living and memory care component of a campus setting. 

“We like the perspective of looking at products all the way across the spectrum,” he said. 

On modifying communities to reflect current trends: What’s happening is that as people are living longer, more are experiencing multiple chronic conditions and increased physical limitations, along with memory impairments such as dementia of Alzheimer’s-related disorders. 

Across the industry, more than half of those moving into independent living (51%) have walkers or wheelchairs, according to Sheriff. Considering that and the fact that the nation’s oldest cohort is expanding considerably, there will be an increasing element of needs-based care, he said during the earnings call, adding that this means Brookdale needs to change its units accordingly.

Brookdale plans to modify some of its common areas as well to accommodate “the next generation of elderly coming into our market” who have some different expectations on what retirement living looks like, he said.

In the past nine months, the operator has completed eight “Program Max” projects, encompassing nearly 1,800 units and adding 159 new units; it’s currently working on 17 projects encompassing another 1,700 units, and will add 400 new units in the next year. Additionally, another 19 projects are in the approval process, encompassing 4,000 units and adding 800 more.

Brookdale has spent $13 million of cash equity and said it continues to expand to invest between $60 million and $70 million this year on Program Max activities.  

On ancillary services: Brookdale also noted that its home health business has grown, and higher revenue helped soften the impact of the 11.1% Medicare reimbursement rate cuts.

“The actual impact [of the cuts] in the first quarter was about $2.4 million from home health rate change, largely becuase we have a larger caseload now than we did early last year,” said Ohlendorf. 

In the first quarter, Brookdale purchased two home health agencies as part of its growth strategy for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $3.7 million.

On acquisitions: Although Brookdale is busy with its new development of “Sweet Life” campuses, it’s still looking to be active in the market and make opportunistic moves.

“We’ll end up being in a year with a fair amount of transactions,” said Sheriff. “We will still be looking at what really strategically measures little difference in our company.” 

Earnings highlights: In the first quarter ended March 31, 2012, Brookdale reported a net loss of $10.3 million, or $(0.09) per diluted share. This is a slight improvement from the previous year’s loss of $12.3 million and $(0.10) per share. 

Revenues increased about 16% to $683.5 million, mostly derived from resident fees. 

Average occupancy increased 60 basis points to 87.8% compared to the first quarter of 2011, but remained flat from the previous quarter. 

Read the full earnings call transcript. 

Written by Alyssa Gerace 

In its exploration of real estate and housing preferences for the 55-plus population, and with the help of U.S. Census data, Esri narrowed down the five counties with the highest projected growth for older Americans. It found St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana would see the greatest increase between 2010 and 2016 (65%) with Geary County, Kansas; Sublette County, Wyoming; Fort Bend, Texas; and Lincoln South Dakota having the next highest increases.

“Developers need to determine which type of seniors they want to target, since housing requirements for seniors are as varied as seniors themselves, with needs based on affluence, age, lifestyle, and geographic location,” Esri writes.

“Tired of dealing with harsh winters and home maintenance, some seniors in colder climates migrate to warmer places or downsize when they retire and their children leave home. This migration, though, has decreased in recent years as the economy has worsened.”

Written by Elizabeth Ecker

It’s common for these drugs to be used “off-label”—meaning, not as they were intended to be used—and this can both harm patients and costs Medicare hundreds of millions of dollars.

Last year, an investigation by the federal Department of Health & Human Services inspector general found that 14 percent of nursing home residents were prescribed anti-psychotics but 8 in 10 were off-label, and, thus, not for treatment of mental illness.

Still, this is not a simple issue. Sometimes, aides cannot provide basic hygiene for dementia patients without the use of these meds. Patients can be too violent or agitated for an aide to change their diaper or bathe them.

Edelman said the Center is not opposed to all uses of these medications but rather wants nursing facilities to try other solutions first.

Alternatives to drugs can be time consuming and may require special skills. For example, a patient may react poorly to a specific aide—not because the aide is not competent but because there is something about her that triggers agitation. A nursing home can figure this out and make adjustments. But it takes time and training.

A recent study published in Psychiatry Research in 2011 suggested that dementia could be more effectively treated through behavioral therapy rather than by psychotropic drugs, since many delusions suffered by dementia patients actually have a rational basis. 

The researchers found that drugs used to mitigate dementia systems such as delusions can do more harm than good, and these findings could have a significant impact on the way senior living providers respond to dementia patients.

Read the full Forbes article here. 

Written by Alyssa Gerace

In other senior care technology news, Independa recently closed its convertible note funding at $2.35 million, with plans to expand sales, support, and engineering operations along with marketing efforts to broaden its customer base; additionally, UK researchers are working on vehicle technology to support older drivers, and RediLearning Corp. just made its continuing education webcasts accessible online for purchase.

1. Politico: FDA Meets Mobile Health Technology, Regulation Ensues

“An onslaught of mobile health technology has forced an arranged marriage between smartphone app makers and the Food and Drug Administration—because someone had to regulate them,” reports Politico. “There’s just one problem: Many of the tech wizards aren’t used to FDA supervision. And now, both sides are struggling to figure out how to live with each other.” Read more…

2. LeadingAge: How Will Supreme Court Ruling on Health Reform Impact HIT?

“Experts agree that a possible ACA repeal would not affect the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program, which was authorized by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act,” reports LeadingAge. “However, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) maintains that a Supreme Court repeal would hamper HIT efforts because ‘the ACA’s payment reforms, pilot projects and other delivery system reforms are built with the expectation of having IT-enabled providers.’”

The Medicare Shared Savings Program/ACOs, a bundled payment pilot depending on coordinated care between acute and post-acute care facilities, and a clause penalizing excessive hospital readmissions all need a “robust HIT infrastructure.” Read more…

3. PwC: Consumers Using Social Media to Find, Review Healthcare Providers

“Patients may be a step ahead of their local hospitals in adopting social media tools, a new report by consulting firm PwC suggests,” reports eWeek.com. “For its report “Social Media ‘Likes’ Healthcare: From Marketing to Social Business,” released April 17, the Health Research Institute at PwC interviewed 1,060 U.S. consumers. The consulting firm found that four in 10 consumers use social media to find reviews of doctors and treatments and one in four posts material about their experience using social tools. Health organizations, such as hospitals, health insurers and pharmaceutical companies, are behind consumer community sites in adopting social media tools, PwC reported.” Read more…

4. Independa: Telehealth Solutions Provider Closes Convertible Note Funding at $2.35 Million

Telehealth solutions provider Independa recently closed its convertible note funding at $2.35 million, an investment surpassing its $2.2 million target, indicating “strong affirmation” of the company’s strategy to offer integrated technology solutions that help seniors live independently.

In addition to the $1.6 million in seed-round venture capital funding Independa announced last September, the company got another $750,000 in backing, and is now engaged in discussions with venture capital firms and strategic investors on a round of equity-based venture capital.

The funds will be used to expand sales, support and engineering operations, according to Independa CEO Kian Saneii, as well as marketing efforts aimed at broadening its customer base.

The company helps seniors requiring care services to stay at home longer and more safely through the use of technological solutions that can increase comfort and reduce costs of caregiving.

5. DriveLAB: “Granny Nav” Technology Helps Seniors Stay on the Road Longer

Newcastle University’s Intelligent Transport team is developing technology that supports older drivers and helps them remain on the road longer. The researchers recently converted an electric car into a mobile laboratory dubbed “DriveLAB,” featuring tracking systems, eye trackers, and bio-monitors meant to help researchers understand the challenges older drivers face, and to identify where key stress points are.

“For many older people, particularly those living alone or in rural areas, driving is essential for maintaining their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others,” said Professor Phil Blythe, who led the Newcastle team in investigating in-vehicle technologies for older drivers. “But we all have to accept that as we get older our reactions slow down and this often results in people avoiding any potentially challenging driving conditions and losing confidence in their driving skills. The result is that people stop driving before they really need to.”

The research is part of the Social inclusion through the Digital Economy (SiDE) project, a £12 million research “hub” led by Newcastle University and funded by Research Councils UK’s Digital Economy program. Read more about the research initiative.

6. RediLearning: Senior Care Personnel Resource for Continuing Education

RediLearning Corp. recently launched an online resource for senior care personnel allowing people to purchase continuing education webcasts, produced in collaboration with the American College of Health Care Administrators. It’s the only place where people can access RediLearning Live and On-Demand webcasts, which feature content offering 1.5 and 2.0 CE credits to long-term care professionals.

The facility opened at the end of 2010 with 125 beds and is operated by affiliates of Legend Healthcare, LLC. The transaction is expected to close within the next 30 days and will be funded from available cash and from borrowings on NHI’s revolving credit facility.

“This acquisition of a new high quality asset continues the growth and positive diversification of NHI’s portfolio,” said Justin Hutchens, NHI’s president and CEO. 

The REIT reported net income of $18.4 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012, down nearly 4% from the previous year. Diluted net income per common share fell to $0.66 from $0.69 in 2011′s first quarter.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Senior housing is changing, as demonstrated by consumers who want newer, different models of care—either in an age-specific community or in their own homes. And because products are shaped by what consumers want, builders are starting to pay attention to current market demand.

Rising number of multigenerational households

Multigenerational housing is an emerging niche market, at least in certain areas, says Steve Melman, Director of Economic Services at NAHB, adding that the trend is “something to be aware of.” 

As the saying goes, history repeats itself—and so do multigenerational living trends, apparently. By the end of the Great Depression, about 25% of the U.S. population lived in multigenerational households, but 20 years later that number dropped to 15%. By 1980, just 12% of the population lived in multigenerational households.

Right now, the nation is struggling to recover from what’s being called the Great Recession, and the trend is similar: In the past few years, recent figures show multigenerational households surging back up to about 17% of the population, according to Pew Research studies.

“Something’s clearly changing, and there are probably a couple of reasons: the recession is forcing people to move in with each other, or cultural shifts mean some groups are more comfortable having multiple generations living together, aside from economic reasons,” says Melman.

What might multigenerational development look like?

When building a home meant to house more than one generation, there needs to be a different design than for a traditional single-family home. 

One architect says he’s seeing some home developers taking large houses and simply splitting them up by putting in a separate entrance for the “primary” generation and the older parents, but he doesn’t think it’s the best method.

“This feels a little forced, just splitting off a little piece of a home instead of having something specifically built for what it was intended to be,” says Greg Irwin, partner at Orange County, Ca.-based Irwin Partners Architects. 

But he’s also seeing a rise in developers asking about how to incorporate senior accommodations, as multigenerational households increase and put more pressure on the need for intergenerational communities.

Being intentional about designing a home for multiple generations could mean dual master bedroom suites, says Melman, or “in-law” apartments with their own separate functionalities that may increasingly be used to house Grandma. The two master bedrooms could be used for the “primary” homeowner and for a returning college graduate or maybe an aging parent. Alternately, the primary homeowner could choose to have a caregiver (family or professional) move into the second bedroom.

Top trends for 2012

Irwin’s findings are consistent with the National Association of Home Builders’s (NAHB) list of the hottest design trends it expects new home designs will feature in 2012. Released each April, this year’s list pegs multigenerational living as a top trend, along with expanded amenities, reworked spaces, and more cost-effective, impactful designs (homes shaped like rectangles rather than multiple roof lines, etc.).

“Many families are all living under one roof due to increasing cultural diversity and the state of the economy during the past few years,” says NAHB. “New single-family home designs reflect this with “shadow” units that are built alongside a home, or separate living units that access the main floorplan through a door, or homes with at least two master suites—often with one located on the ground floor to be more accessible for elderly occupants.”

Where is the demand?

During a 2007 NAHB survey, a panel was asked if they thought demand for two master bedrooms would increase; 62% said yes. By December 2010, when NAHB again asked that question, expected demand had fallen pretty far down the list, “because at that point it was pretty hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel for the recession,” Melman says. 

“The trend might have been thwarted by the recession, but the demand is still there,” says Melman. What’s happening is that people are having a hard time qualifying for mortgages in general—let alone a larger home meant to house multiple generations. 

NAHB pegs the current 55+ housing market as the largest growing group of buyers the industry has ever seen for this age category, but Melman points to  another age range—a somewhat younger one—as the target audience.

“It’s the trade-up buyers—people who have a first home and are now trading up to a larger home,” he says. “They may be the ones who have elderly parents who might move in, instead of moving them into assisted living, which would be terribly expensive. Having them move in might be a better solution.”

The 55+ buyers, he says, are going to be empty-nesters and many will be looking for a smaller footprint. Young families, on the other hand, generally can’t afford to buy large first homes. Trade-up buyers, in their mid-30s and 40s, he says, “could use that larger home for a variety of reasons, whether its for their growing family, or aging parents.” 

Overall, the market for new construction is slowly, steadily improving—especially for older demographics.

“Consumers are starting to see the resale market show some improvement, which allows them to start thinking about moving into 55+ housing,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. 

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Especially at continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs)—most of which charge entrance fees—incoming residents could save a bundle, like a Pennsylvania woman who was able to shave 35% off her upfront costs of moving into one such community.

Dickering can pay off. “Active adult” developments often charge steep monthly fees for amenities, and CCRCs generally require a hefty deposit, along with monthly fees for care ranging from independent living to round-the-clock nursing.

The average entrance fee for a CCRC unit is $259,000, according to the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing and Care Industry, a research and data group in Annapolis, Md.

But the real-estate downturn, which made it tougher for older adults to unload their houses, in turn wiped out waiting lists at many popular retirement communities, giving retirees who are ready to move in more leverage, experts say.

Such communities need to stay full to fund their general operations, build reserves and help finance refunds. The community where Mrs. Nerenberg plans to move, for example, refunds 90% of the entry deposit after the resident dies. And monthly fees paid by residents in independent-living units generally help support the higher costs of those who have moved to assisted-living or skilled-nursing arrangements.

Haggling prices for retirement homes is a trend that’s still “in its early stages,” but some financial planners are helping their clients evaluate their retirement living options and costs. 

Read the full Wall Street Journal article. 

Written by Alyssa Gerace 

The Covington, Ky.-based company’s settlement with the Department of Justice is the second-largest civil settlement in history of the Controlled Substances Act, and follows a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation of “alleged errors and deficiencies” in how certain Omnicare pharmacies distributed controlled substances.

“While DEA regulations specifically address retail and hospital pharmacy operations, long-term pharmacies have historically operated in a less defined middle ground, dispensing controlled substances on instructions from long-term care facility staff after the staff’s consultation with the ordering authorized prescriber,” said Omnicare in a statement about the settlement. “This civil settlement makes it clear that DEA interprets its regulations to require the ordering authorized prescriber to either sign an order containing all of the elements of a valid prescription prior to dispensing, or in limited emergency circumstances for Schedule II controlled substances to speak directly with the pharmacy prior to dispensing.”

Omnicare’s CEO, John Figueroa, said the pharmaceutical company “understands and accepts” the DEA’s efforts to make sure appropriate procedures are followed when distributing drugs. “While requiring authorized prescribers to communicate directly with the pharmacy can potentially cause delay, we have committed ourselves to shortening the time in which nursing home residents receive required medication,” he said. 

As part of the settlement, Omnicare has agreed to make the payment within the next few days in exchange for being able to continue dispensing medication.

The company has developed an electronic prescribing application for controlled substances for the institutional market which is expected to improve patients’ quality of care while adhering to DEA regulatory interpretations; it also transmits electronic prescription orders for other non-controlled drugs.

Written by Alyssa Gerace 

From the Sun Sentinel (Florida)—Assisted Living Evictions Have Few Rules in Florida

“Assisted living facilities often market themselves as “just like home,” cozy places where people will live just like they did in their houses or condos. But many don’t realize their new lifestyle has the equivalent of a month-to-month lease,” reports the Sun Sentinel. “Under Florida regulations, assisted living operators need give residents little more than a 45-day written notice in order to evict them. The discharge rules are among the least restrictive in the nation, according to the National Senior Citizens Law Center.” Read more…

From Enterprise News (Massachusetts)—Battle Looming at Statehouse Over Nursing Home ‘Bed  Holds’

“Senior advocates are calling on state lawmakers to preserve a program that allows nursing home residents to keep their rooms after brief absences, such as hospitalizations,” reports Enterprise News. “Bed holds were the center of a funding battle last year, when Patrick vetoed $6 million for the program from a supplemental budget. Defying the governor, lawmakers put the money back into a final version of the budget and Patrick ultimately signed it in the fall. Without the bed hold program, the [nursing] home receives nothing, giving some little choice but to fill a bed with another patient in order to keep funding operations, said [W. Scott Plumb, senior vice president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association].” Read more…

From the Health Care Council of Illinois—Nursing Home Supporters Rally in Chicago to Fight Medicaid Cuts

Pending cuts to Illinois’ Medicaid system would costs thousands of jobs and threaten care at nursing homes across the state, according to nursing home administrators, health care leaders and elected officials who rallied at the Thompson Center in Chicago on Monday in an event organized by the Health Care Council of Illinois (HCCI), which represents more than 500 nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities across the state of Illinois. “Legislators are considering Governor Quinn’s proposal to slash Medicaid spending by $2.7 billion. The proposed cuts to nursing homes could drastically jeopardize the quality of care for the more than 50,000 people residing in Illinois nursing homes who pay with Medicaid,” says HCCI. “These cuts put nursing homes at risk for closing, especially some Chicago nursing homes where Medicaid recipients make up more than 90 percent of the resident population.” Find out more…

From Mainline Media News—Pa. Gets First Look at Voter IDs for Nursing Home Residents

“Pennsylvania Secretary of State Carole Aichele came to Rosemont Presbyterian Village Friday to tout the state’s efforts to get approved identification for residents of retirement and nursing centers for voting in November. Aichele appeared with Radnor State Rep. William Adolph to answer questions about the new law. At the meeting Aichele unveiled a new identification paper, provided by the care facility, which is acceptable for voting,” reports Mainline Media News. “Aichele said that the identifications would be provided by the health-care facilities. The ID will include the name of the facility, the picture, the person’s name and an expiration date. The nursing home then needs to send the Department of State a copy of names on the IDs.” Read more…

Assisted Living Today Ranks Top 20 Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities

The list of senior care facilities—which was compiled by the research staff at Assisted Living Today—features 20 of Massachusetts’ finest assisted living facilities that were evaluated on a range of factors, including operational excellence, quality of the residences, range of amenities and access to 24-hour care, among others. View the list.

From News and Sentinel—Ohio Program Helps Seniors Age at Home

“While nursing and rehabilitation facilities may be the right option for some people, programs like the Housing Assistance Grant Program through the Area Agency on Aging 8 aim to help seniors “age in place,” since remaining in one’s home can be beneficial to seniors—and the state’s coffers,” reports the News and Sentinel. “A year in an Ohio nursing home costs an average of $60,000 for someone covered by state Medicaid funds, according to figures from the Area Agency on Aging 8. Even people who start out spending their own money could wind up being supported by public dollars once their assets are depleted. Meanwhile, the annual care plan for [one Ohio resident] who is covered by the Medicaid-funded PASSPORT program, costs $8,497.” Read more…

From the Missourian—Veterans’ Nursing Home Funding Bill Sent to Missouri Governor

“Missouri lawmakers have sent the governor a measure providing a dedicated funding source to veterans’ nursing homes,” reports the Missourian. “The bill given final approval Thursday by the House would earmark most of the state’s fees from casinos to a trust fund for the Missouri Veterans Commission. The intent is to provide a permanent, predictable funding stream for the state’s seven nursing homes that serve more than 1,300 military veterans.” Read more…