Investigation: Washington State Moves Medicaid Nursing Home Patients To Adult Family Homes
The Seattle Times investigates Washington's practice of relocating some Medicaid patients from nursing homes to adult family homes. "Jeri Ringseth had no business being in an adult family home. Her physical and mental disabilities are so significant that she's spent most of her adult life in nursing homes or state hospitals. ... Ringseth is just one of thousands of Medicaid recipients who have been steered by the state from expensive nursing homes into adult family homes, which cost the state one-third as much. These homes are a growing, little-regulated housing option for the state's aged - as well as for the poor and frail, such as Ringseth, who cannot care for themselves alone.
Minister Brady Notes Report On Home Care Services, Ireland
Aine Brady T.D., Minister for Older People and Health Promotion, noted a report 'Analysis of Irish Home Care Market' by the Irish Private Home Care Association (IPHCA) on home care services in Ireland together with the response by the Health Service Executive (HSE). The Minister said "maintaining older people at home with appropriate support has been the thrust of Government policy in recent years and has been significantly developed by the HSE through a number of community based supports such as Home Help, Home Care Packages and Day/Respite care." In 2010, the HSE will invest in the region of 210m euros for Home Help services, and 130m euros in Home Care Packages.
Trial Of Vitamin D Supplementation To Reduce Falls In Nursing Care Facilities
Giving people living in nursing facilities vitamin D can reduce the rate of falls, according to a new Cochrane Review. This finding comes from a study of many different interventions used in different situations. In hospitals, multifactorial interventions and supervised exercise programs also showed benefit. Older people living in nursing facilities or who have been admitted to hospital are much more likely to suffer a fall than those living in the community. In these settings, falls fairly often result in head injuries and fractures, with rates of hip fracture more than ten times higher in nursing facilities than in the community. It is important to try to prevent falls to avoid unnecessary stress for older people and their families, and to reduce pressure on staff and resources.
Children's Learning May Be Influenced By Length Of Time In Institutional Care
The amount of time children spend in institutional care may affect how their brains develop. That's the conclusion of a new study carried out by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Harvard Medical School/Children's Hospital Boston, and the University of Minnesota. The study is published in Child Development in the journal's January/February 2010 issue. To learn how the deprivation and neglect that institutionalized children often experience affect brain development, the researchers looked at 132 8- and 9-year-olds. Some of the children were adopted into U.S. homes after spending at least a year and three-quarters of their lives in institutions in Asia, Latin America, Russia and Eastern Europe, and Africa.
Injured Veterans' Caregivers Face Emotional, Financial Pressures
Caregivers of severely injured veterans and their families face emotional and financial pressures and difficulty accessing military medical care. USA Today reports on the "thousands of unpaid caregivers - parents, spouses, siblings and war buddies - helping veterans injured in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars get through each day. [Barbara Cohoon, deputy director of government relations for the non-profit National Military Family Association] says the caregivers are a vulnerable group, often under-recognized, and in need of help to navigate the military's medical system. Cohoon says not all caregivers receive military benefits, even though many have quit jobs, moved out of their homes and drained their savings to care for their loved ones.
KHN Column: Obama's Respite Care Plan - Part Of The Problem, Not A Solution
In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Howard Gleckman writes: "President Barack Obama wants to increase funding for a government program intended to make it easier for family caregivers to get respite care. These hard-pressed families desperately need the helping hand. But the White House initiative is a symptom of all that is wrong with long-term-care policy in the U.S." (Kaiser Health News). Read entire column. This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.
Positive Lessons From HIV Home-Based Care
Intensive home-based nursing in HIV/AIDS patients significantly improves self-reported knowledge of HIV, awareness of medications, and self-reported adherence to medication programmes, according to a new Cochrane Systematic Review. One home-based care trial included in the review also significantly impacted on HIV stigma, worry, and physical functioning. It did not, however, help improve depressive symptoms, mood, general health, and overall functioning. These conclusions are interesting, but more research is needed to understand the impact of home-based care in developing countries and on important disease outcomes, say the researchers. The study represents the first systematic review of the impact of home care in HIV/AIDS.
8 Out Of 10 People Who Care For A Relative Suffer From Anxiety And Stress, According To A Study
Conducted at the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology from the University of Granada, the research reveals that the negative effects on the caregiver's physical, psychological and social development are highly associated with previous life history between caregiver and care receiver. To carry out this work, researchers applied a questionnaire to a population of 203 subjects whose only requirement was to be the informal caregiver of a dependent elderly person. 8 out of 10 people in charge of caring for a relative suffer from anxiety and stress, regardless of their socio-demographic variables. Families, and particularly daughters, assume the "informal care" of dependent elderly people in most of the cases.
Majority Who Care For A Relative Suffer From Anxiety And Stress, According To Study
Eight out of 1ten people in charge of caring for a relative suffer from anxiety and stress, regardless of their socio-demographic variables. Families, and particularly daughters, assume the "informal care" of dependent elderly people in most of the cases. This follows an investigation carried out by Ruth M В Calero PГ rez and directed by professor JosГ MВ Roa Venegas at the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Granada. The work in the UGR shows that in some cases this care in the family creates inappropriate behaviour in the relationship, and that the negative effects on the physical, psychological and social caregiver are highly related to the previous life history between caregiver and care recipient, social isolation felt by the caregiver, and the feeling of loneliness in the relationship with the care recipient.
Patient-Physician-Caregiver Relationship: New Ethical Guidance From ACP
The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued a position paper to guide ethical relationships among patients, physicians, and caregivers. The Journal of General Internal Medicine has published "Family Caregivers, Patients and Physicians: Ethical Guidance to Optimize Relationships." The text and an online appendix of resources to help physicians manage relationships with patients and caregivers are available at http://www.acponline.org/running_practice/ethics/issues/policy. "The ethical guidance outlined in this paper is intended to heighten physician awareness of the importance and complexity of the patient-physician-caregiver relationship, " said ACP President Joseph Stubbs, MD, FACP.