From the data available, one thing seems clear: Current litigation is unlikely to end the policy debate over
nursing home placement for mentally ill persons--but it may go a long way toward clarifying the legal responsibilities of state health officials to provide appropriately targeted care for the mentally ill and to generate needed tax-supported resources.
Looking ahead, the challenge is whether and how much the VA will pay for long-term care in each of the three
nursing home settings.
Thomas Moore, the MetBank lending officer who helped structure the Manhattan and New Rochelle transactions explained that MetBank's reputation as a knowledgeable lender in the industry is driving the growth of its overall
nursing home portfolio.
McClellan noted that the department's popular
Nursing Home Compare Web site (www.medicare.gov/NHCompare) will have several improvements made this winter and spring, including following up on previous studies and implementing back-end edits to subject information for confirmation and correction.
Best Co., said nearly all the companies that used to write
nursing home liability are getting out of that business.
Other enhancements requiring Congressional action include reauthorizing the
Nursing Home Ombudsman Program and enlarging the scope of practice of some
nursing home staff to allow them to give nutrition and hydration therapy.
On New Year's Day, hundreds of disabled people in Wisconsin suddenly confronted the prospect of entering
nursing homes. The state budget, passed last fall, placed a cap on funding for community-based services, including personal-attendant care.
The taxpayer and the dependent are treated as occupying the household for the entire year notwithstanding temporary absence due to special circumstances, e.g., indefinite confinement in a
nursing home for constant medical care.(10) A dependent who dies before the end of the taxpayer's tax year meets the occupancy requirement, provided the dependent lived in the taxpayer's household during the entire part of the year before death.(11)
Institution write: "
Nursing homes whose patients are mostly private generally provide higher-quality care than facilities dependent on Medicaid patients." Patricia Nemore of the National Senior Citizens Law Center charges
nursing homes "discriminate against Medicaid recipients" with private pay requirements, special wings, evictions and inferior food and services.
But everyone agrees, the trend toward EHRs is clear, and
nursing home executives should begin learning now how to participate in their regions' RHIOs to make sure the trends work to the benefit of their residents and of their organizations as the future unfolds.
House of Representatives Select Committee on Aging concludes 7 in 10 elderly individuals who go into
nursing homes find their income depleted to the poverty level after only 13 weeks.
In an attempt to connect
nursing home residents with the outdoors, facilities are upgrading sites with amenities such as easily accessible outdoor terraces and walking paths.