South Dakota Member Brings Together Children, Clients, Chickens and Candidates

September 2, 2010 in advocacy, financing long term care by SarahMashburn | No comments

During the height of campaign season, there’s all sorts of political events taking place. However, I’m not sure I’ve heard of one like the United Retirement Center  (URC) in Bookings, South Dakota hosted last month.

URC hosted seven political candidates, as well as staff member from Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-S.D.) office for a intergenerational event that brought together their nursing home residents and kids from their child development center. This isn’t that unique, but then there’s the 4-H club members and their “kids,” which included chicks, goats and a hen. Everyone got a chance to interact with these special visitors, whose visit was part of the organization’s Alleviating Loneliness in a Vibrant Environment (ALIVE) program for older adults.

But it wasn’t just about fun.  After the activity, URC staff talked with candidates about rising costs in long-term care. Employees shared statistics and gave a snapshot of the typical person URC cares for and the financial challenges this person may face. Staff also took questions from the visitors about the topic and their organization’s other programs and initiatives.

What’s the moral of the URC story? That interacting with policy makers can be fun, and sometimes, it’s that fun that helps them recognize the value providers offer to their older (and sometimes younger) constituents.

Has your organization hosted a unique event with policy makers? Let us know and we’ll feature it on the blog.

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AAHSA Members Approve “LeadingAge” As New Name

September 1, 2010 in AAHSA member, leadership by Craig Collins-Young | No comments

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Nursing Home Staff Get Honest with Grassley

August 31, 2010 in Nursing Homes, advocacy, policy by SarahMashburn | No comments

Grassley addresses a group of residents during his visit.

When a legislator visits, it’s easy to get caught up in the celebration and forget to talk about both the challenges and opportunities that come with helping older adults.

That didn’t happen at the Good Samaritan Society’s nursing home in Manson, Iowa.  Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) visited the organization last week and he got an honest take from staff about their work and that challenges that come with regulations.

When Grassley passed by the nurses’ station, he stopped to talk with nurse Diana Snow.  She was working on  paperwork, and the senator asked  if she thought she  spent too much time on paperwork and not enough with the residents. Diana hesitated, but the organization’s administrator and the senator encouraged her to respond honestly.  Here’s what she had to say: “All of this paperwork is due to some regulation.  and I don’t have enough time to spend with my residents.”  The senator told her he was  afraid she was going that regulatory compliance came  at the expense of spending time with residents.

Grassley also go feedback from a group of residents. He got questions on everything from his wife (they just celebrated their 56th anniversary) to more controversial subjects like Medicare and health reform. Grassley must have enjoyed the conversation, because a 60-minute question and answer session became a 90-minute one.

Whether you are talking to a U.S. senator or a city council member, I think that following Diana’s example is an important element in effective advocacy. Sharing challenges helps personalize the policies that these officials are developing and debating. Who knows, Diana’s comment to Sen. Grassley may make him take a second look at future regulatory legislation.

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A New Push for Electronic Health Records

August 26, 2010 in technology by BarbaraManard | No comments

Several people have recently asked me about messages flying out over health newsletters about new incentive money for adoption of electronic health records.

Sadly, that money (which is substantial) is only available right now for hospitals and doctors. We’re working hard to get this federal program expanded to include post acute/long-term care.

But after years of not much movement, there really is now momentum behind a national move to electronic health records (EHR). Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently wrote about this EHR momentum topic in Kaiser Health News.

The secretary points out that “ambitious investments” were made via the Recovery Act to help reduce many of the obstacles that curtail the implementation of EHRs.

“As part of that investment, we’ve created health IT Regional Extension Centers across the country where providers can go to find out which health record system fits their needs,” writes Sebelius. “We’re training thousands of new health IT professionals who can help providers make the switch from paper to digital records. “

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Journalism Students Chronicle A Graying Nation

August 24, 2010 in aging by Craig Collins-Young | No comments

Over the past couple of months, members of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism traveled across the U.S. compiling a series of reports focused on “a graying nation” for News21, a national initiative to promote innovation in journalism.

For the project, A Brave Old World, some of the students recorded video portraits of older Americans, which are being featured by the New York Times.

One of the videos I enjoyed was a look at a rural Montana couple that live independently and cut down trees together. Check the other out as well.

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Hebrew Home Celebrates a Century of Service

August 23, 2010 in Uncategorized by SarahMashburn | No comments

The original Hebrew Home at 415 M Street NW

If you talk Washingtonians about long-term care in the area, their responses will likely include the “Hebrew Home in Rockville” (also known as the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington). Either they’ve regularly  passed the community’s 30-acre campus in Rockville, know a friend of loved one who’s lived there or read about it in the newspaper. But I bet that most of these people don’t know that this organization began  a 100 years ago with a young Jewish immigrant helping his elder have a place to live.

In 1910, 22-year old Hymen Goldman  arrived to America with 20 cents in his pocket, but the experience of seeing his elder on the street encouraged to ask his father-in-law to help raise enough money for the man to live in a $3 a week boarding house. That boarding house later became the Hebrew Home’s first location. The home housed fifty older people and a matron who helped them. Today, the organization serves nearly 550 people , making it the largest nursing home in the mid-Atlantic region.

While the location and size may have changed, the tradition of service still remains a cornerstone of the organization’s work. ”There was a sense back then . . . that continues to exist today, that we have an obligation to care for vulnerable members of the community and to take care of our own. ” Hebrew Home CEO Warren Slavin said. Slavin’s statement is reinforced by talking to the people the organization. There’s immigrants, Holocaust survivors and war heroes and thanks to Hymen’s compassion, all of them have a place to call home.

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The Rapping CNA

August 20, 2010 in Nursing Homes, storytelling, wisdom, workforce by SarahMashburn | No comments

Most people have talents that they aren’t using on the job (think about the actor who moonlights as an actor), but some people are able to connect  their personal and professional passions in a mutually beneficial way.

Enter Omar Cain. He’s a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at a Philadelphia nursing home. He’s also a rapper who draws inspiration from both his co-workers and the people he serves. He asked them to share their experiences in the nursing home and used it as the basis of a rap called “Be Proud.”  He’s been entertaining residents and clients ever since.

He also got chance to share his talent outside the organization’s wall. On a trip to the state capitol, Cain shared a recording of “Be Proud” with a state legislator who later asked him to perform for a group of fellow legislators and staff members. He also performed a rap at the recent Pioneer Network conference that was written especially for the event.

You can hear Cain’s talent for yourself in this video. I know his words and wisdom got me thinking about how my interests could help improve the lives of seniors. What can you offer?

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New Report Provides History and Perspectives on CLASS Act

August 18, 2010 in financing long term care, health care, making a difference, policy, politics by Larry Minnix | No comments

The new issue of the journal Public Policy & Aging Report is focused on the Community Living Assistance Services and Support(CLASS) Act. The edition’s title is, “Bringing CLASS to Long-Term Care Through the Affordable Care Act,” and it includes articles from our own Barbara Manard, vice president of long-term health strategies, and from AAHSA board member Kathryn Roberts, CEO of Ecumen.

The project was underwritten by the SCAN Foundation, a relatively new foundation that is doing great work bringing long-term services and supports to the forefront of policy discussions.

Barbara’s article, entitled, “Dueling Talking Points: Technical Issues in Constructing and Passing the CLASS Act,” recounts the history of the legislation and AAHSA’s role in shaping it. She does an artful job of explaining different objections to CLASS that were published and how the Congressional Budget Office scoring influenced the debate around CLASS.

Kathryn, in her article, discusses how the CLASS Act provides “a new paradigm for aging in America.” She urges employers, insurance companies and state governments to join the education campaign about CLASS and emphasizes how CLASS can help expand at-home services, technology adoption, intentional villages and disease management.

These two articles and the others in the journal combine to document the history of the CLASS Act and offer perspectives on what the future might hold when CLASS is implemented. It is a must-read for all of us who care about making it affordable to care.

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Congressman Celebrates Social Security Anniversary at AAHSA Member

August 18, 2010 in advocacy, congress, residents, retirement by SarahMashburn | No comments

Last week marked the 75th anniversary of the Social Security program, and Congressman Bill Foster (D-Ill.) celebrated with people the program’s helping today: residents at  Provena Fox Knoll, an AAHSA member in Aurora, Ill.

Representatives from AARP, the Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging, the Northwestern Illinois Area Agency on Aging and the local Social Security Administration office joined Foster at this event along with dozens of Fox Knoll residents.  The guests enjoyed cake as well as conversation with the congressman about issues affecting older adults in the district. Topics ranged from prescription drug prices to Social Security benefit changes.

Ethel Kiefer, a 103-year old resident, shared her memories of the program’s passage. “We didn’t think it would last!” she exclaimed.  Let’ s hope that Ethel’s prediction never becomes a reality.

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Who Decides? – A Road Trip toward the New Consumer

August 17, 2010 in AAHSA conferences, Annual meeting, aging, community, consumers, retirement, seniors, technology by Mary Kemper | 1 comment

RoadSummertime is a time for travel, and if you’ve taken any road trips with friends or family, you know that personal preferences quickly come into play. Determining what music you will listen to, how high to blast the AC, where you will stop to eat and – actually – whether you stop at all, are  just a few of the issues that you confront.

Who gets to decide? The driver or the passengers? Seniority or majority?

When I was a kid, we listened to my dad’s music, and if he was driving, we simply did not stop until we reached our destination or needed gas. Period. These were not issues that we debated, if you know what I mean.

Today, we live in a world much more tailored to individual preferences. With the emergence of MP3 players and food court-laden rest stops, everyone can listen to the music of their choice and eat the food of their choice. We have lots of options.

More and more, consumers expect their specific needs and wishes to be met. They also want to take charge and be in the driver’s seat. This will be the case with their aging experience as well.

The Who Decides? Consumer Report issued by the AAHSA Cabinet on Future Needs of Consumers bares that out.

“Future consumers will not trust providers to make decisions for them,” it states. “…. Already accustomed to having abundant choices in many aspects of their lives, they will demand the same range of choices.”

Research shows that the next generation of older people will be ethnically, economically, physically and educationally diverse. This creates greater challenges and opportunities as we consider how best to plan for the aging services of tomorrow.

As aging services providers look to the future, they must carefully consider how to prepare for this empowered consumer and adopt different approaches to doing business. This new landscape will alter the roles of everyone involved from consumers and their families to direct care workers, CEOs and board members.

Still, there are other considerations. Who pays for what? How do you differentiate between a need and a want? What happens when one person’s wishes disrupt a broader community or put himself/herself or others at risk?

The AAHSA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Los Angeles this fall promises a rich debate of these issues and others. Its thought-provoking general sessions will challenge attendees to think about key questions: What is the right thing to do? Why do differences matter? Who are the decision makers? Who defines age?

Before the summer ends, though, I’m excited to go on one final vacation that includes my parents, kids, siblings and their families. I anticipate lots of dialogue as we try to decide whether to go to the beach or the pool, to fish or to hike, to sleep in or get up early and who is making what for dinner. Wish me luck.

I plan to drive, and – in case you are wondering – I plan to make frequent stops along the way. But that’s just me.

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