Long Term Care

There has been an increasingly large amount of awareness placed on the governments role in prevention and standards for the control of health care and communicable diseases. In this growing effort are provisions applying to long-term health and stipulations for proper treatment and care. Gradually, a shift from local

Our text discusses the importance of funding long term care. In this day and age the average lifespan is expanding which means the demand for long term care facilities may increase. The longer we live, the more likely we are to need long term health care services and supports. Quadagno (2014) notes that here in the United States, long term care facilities and nursing home organizations are funded primarily by Medicaid. While Medicaid and Medicare services are beneficial to the aging population, the funding does not adequately allow residents of nursing homes the best of care.

Current numbers show substantial growth from the eighties, and estimates suggest that the demand for long term care among the elderly will more than double in the next thirty years. (Feder, Komisar, and Niefeld) This growth will exacerbate concerns about balancing institutional and noninstitutional care, assuring quality of care, and most importantly adopting and sustaining financing mechanisms that equitably and adequately protect the elderly who need long-term care.

The challenges and impact of Baby Boomers on long-term care systems are going to modify the manner in which traditional health care, patient access, financial payments and treatment are delivered. Baby Boomers will have an extensive amount of care maintenance needs involving various rehabilitation conditions, acute and chronic illnesses, which will require a significant amount of thoroughly trained gerontologists, skilled nurses, nurse practitioners, social workers, community advocates, and family involvement. This article explores options sought to reduce the costs to society and Baby Boomers as innovative savings, tax credit options, and other alternative long-term care financing choices lessening the impact on the long-term care system.

Johnniece Harris Long Term Care Facility Joint Commission Accreditation Long term care facilities use Joint Commission Accreditation as a benefit to show the quality and commitment to the health care organization. A long term care facility that is Joint Commission accredited will have a more appealing look to reimbursement centers and to the patient and families that they care for. Having this accreditation is also a risk management tool. The likelihood of a bad outcome is reduced if a facility is accredited by the Joint Commission. There is a team put together to come up with accreditation standards and to make sure facilities stay compliant with these standards. Performance is evaluated to ensure standards are followed.

We all will one day face the reality of growing older. There are many aspects of this change that will affect us in a large way. According to the Merck Manual of Health and Aging, 1.5% of Americans are 85 or older. This research states that the number

Benefit provisions vary from one state program to another, but federal guidelines require all states to provide a minimum benefit package, including hospital inpatient and outpatient care, physician care, and many other services. In the area of long-term care, all states are required to pay for nursing home care, and they must also pay for home healthcare for those who are “nursing home eligible” which are those who would need nursing home care if they did not receive home care. And although federal guidelines do not require it, an increasing number of states also pay benefits for home and community-based services. These services may include personal care, home health aide services, rehabilitation, therapies, intermission care, homemaker services, and other services. In addition, a few states pay for long-term care services received in an assisted living residence. Unlike Medicare, with its highly restrictive conditions for payment of nursing home or home care benefits, Medicaid generally meets the need for long-term care (for those who eligible). Medicaid pays benefits for personal and supervisory care even if skilled care is not needed, and the program covers ongoing care needed to cope with a chronic impairment, not just care required for a short time to facilitate recovery from an acute illness or injury. However, there are some important limitations to Medicaid long-term care benefits: (1)

Usually Medicare does not pay for long-term care; it will only pay for medically necessary skilled nursing facilities or home health care. With Medicare certain criteria has to be met for certain conditions for Medicare to pick up the cost. Medicare also does not pay for any kind of long-term care that helps assist with activities of daily living. This kind of care includes dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. Medicare Advantage plans can offer limited skilled nursing facility and home care coverage if the patient’s long-term care is medically necessary. Medicaid offers coverage for both medical and non-medical associated long-term care, but the person will only qualify if they have less than $2000 in assets and income that is inadequate to pay for the cost of their care. If a veteran is at least 70% service connected disabled the Veterans Administration will pay the costs of long-term care for life. Long-term care that is not provided by the government is usually paid out-of –pocket by family members. Most people choose the option of home health care because long-term care is too costly.

Incentive Care Unit and Affordable Care Act The quality of long term care has become a topic for the elderly and their family. Some of the issues are cost, quality, and access of care. The expansion of the elderly population, is expected to affect significantly the provision of long-term care.

Can I Get There From Here? Long-term Care (LTC) in Ontario. Imagine that you are a patient in an hospital in Ontario - you have undergone acute care and are now ready to enter a Long-term care (LTC) facility for additional care. Now imagine that you have entered a complex maze, like the Waterloo County County Corn Maze, only much trickier. Why?

Long-term care healthcare delivery will be a great/popular option for many of these senior citizens. The long-term care healthcare delivery system falls within the continuum of care. The continuum of care is a series of heath care services that are provided to a great number of older adults who are in need of them throughout the course of their life/older life. The care ranges from: personal care, custodial care, restorative care, skill nursing care, and sub acute care (Shi & Singh, 2012). Different providers work together within the continuum to provide the right care to those in need. The continuum of care, as stated in Long Term Care: Managing Across the Continuum, is “comprehensive, integrated, and client-oriented”(Pratt, 2010). All the services offered should be client-based and cater to the client’s needs and suitable care. The client should be able to obtain services when it is needed from the provider, making it comprehensive. All the different long-term care providers should be interconnected between one another, because their goal is all the same, which is to care for the client’s needs. The continuum of care consists of: nursing facilities, sub acute care, assisted living, residential care, elderly housing, and a variety of community-based services (Pratt, 2010). All these different providers work together to care for the individuals within the health care industry, creating the continuum and making it integrated. As the future progresses and a great amount of

Continuum of Care- Long-term Care Long-term care has and is continuing to become an important part of the continuum of care. Years ago Long-term care (LTC) was considered only to be for the elderly, but as time passes it is for anybody and everybody who needs it. Barton (2006) stated, “Regardless

The necessity for long-term care is increasing which will require additional training and education for health care personnel, family members, and patients. Family members can have peace of mind knowing their family member will gain confidence in learning how to become accustomed to his or her new life while maintaining a quality continuum of care during and after treatment for physical, mental, or age associated illnesses.

The continuum of institutional long-term care is for patients whose needs are not adequately met in a more community-based setting. It is for individuals who need more dependency. There are two ends of the continuum of institutional long-term care spectrum. On the one end there are the individuals that may only need basic personal or custodial care (Shi & Singh, 2015, p. 399). An example of personal and custodial care can include help with walking, bladder training, or just helping with bathing. On the other end there are the individuals that may need more round the clock care with nursing or specialized services along with the basic needs (Shi & Singh, 2015, p. 399).

Although there is evidence from many studies that disability rate is declining in the U.S.2, the rapid expansion of the oldest-old age group will continue to pose health care challenges for future generations. Disability prevalence rates are very high in the oldest-old3 and even reached 97% in