AAA8

 

Feb. 2013

Rick Hindman
Thoughts from  
AAA8 Director: 
Rick Hindman
 

Care Transitions Program Continues Efforts to Keep People at Home

 

According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Medicare beneficiaries who are discharged from hospitals are increasingly being readmitted for avoidable conditions within 30 to 90 days.  

 

Much of this is due to a fragmented health care system which does not adequately support patients during the vulnerable time when they are transitioning from the hospital to other settings, such as nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities and their own homes. The cost to Medicare for hospital re-admissions is estimated at $15 billion a year, $12 billion of which is for cases considered preventable.


Several of Ohio's Area Agencies on Aging have  reached agreements with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on  initiatives for Community Care Transitions.    

 

The program provides coaching to hospitalized patients on how to get home, stay healthy, and avoid return visits to the hospital.

 

The Area Agency on Aging is helping older adults transition smoothly among different care settings. To do so, we have worked to form partnerships with two additional AAAs and five of the region's hospitals as well as many nursing homes and home health agencies.

 

Based on the evidence-based Care Transitions Intervention

developed by Dr. Eric Coleman of the University of Colorado, the local Care Transitions program uses coaching, health information technology, help with medications, and chronic disease self- management to help hospitalized seniors get home and stay home.  

  

We look forward to the continued collaborations the Community Care Transitions Program is building across our network to better serve individuals and their families.
  To learn more, visit the Services and Programs section of www.areaagency8.org and click on Care Transitions or click here for a program overview.


State Releases Results of Latest Nursing Home Family Survey 
The Ohio Department of Aging released the results of the 2012 Nursing Home Family Satisfaction Survey. The survey, which was revised this year to increase participation and deliver better data, measures how satisfied family members of Ohioans who live in nursing homes are with the care and services their loved ones receive, and it is a valuable tool for individuals to help select a nursing home that best meets their needs. The statewide average satisfaction score for facilities was 85.6 (out of a possible 100); 25 facilities scored 93.76 or better.
 

The satisfaction ratings are available on the Ohio Long-term Care Consumer Guide at www.ltcohio.org. The Consumer Guide includes other information about nursing homes and residential care facilities, including inspection results, a list of available services, staffing levels, results of resident surveys and more.

  

The AAA8 region had one nursing home in the top 25, 10 of the 23 above state average of 85 and four above 90%.  

 

O4AProtect & Advocate for aging Ohioans through the o4a Associate Membership
  
For years, the Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) have been leaders in the aging net-work. The Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging has played a critical role in supporting the Area Agencies by providing them with the information, analysis, and resources necessary to be at the forefront of aging related policy and budget decisions.

Associates receive the same critical and timely information and services that Area Agencies on Aging receive. Learn more at http://www.ohioaging.org/Pages/Associates 
 

Computer

Southeast Ohio ADRN Network of Care Site Boasts Nearly Half Million Sessions  

 

Since its launch, The Southeast Ohio Aging & Disability Resource Network of Care web resource has had nearly a half million sessions.  

 

The web resource offers a database of thousands of "local" southeastern Ohio resources for seniors, and people with disabilities. The directory allows searches by keyword, topic and more. Find help for housing, in-home caregiving, transportation, long-term care and other health and wellness services.   

 

Local Service Resource Directory 

The SE Ohio Network of Care provides a comprehensive database that enables consumers to quickly locate local programs and services and make

informed choices about what they need. Be sure to review the directory and update your organization's information or inform others who are not in the service directory to join!

 

If you do not already have a link to the SE Ohio ADRN Network of Care web site in your web site, please add one! The more we work together to promote this invaluable resource, the more seniors, people with disabilities and family caregivers we can support! 

 

Calendar Clipart Community Calendar  

Many organizations are adding events to the Community Calendar. Add your educational or fundraising event there today!

 
More Key Features
  • The Learning Center is designed to edu�cate, inform, and provide access to the most relevant information available for a particular subject area.
  • The Library provides more than 30,000 high-quality articles, fact sheets and inter�active tools in English - and more than 10,000 in Spanish.
  • An advanced Social Networking platform is designed to promote collaboration and coordination across diverse groups in each community.
  • The Nationwide News section posts the top aging and disability articles every morning from more than 3,000 periodi�cals around the world.  

To learn more about SE Ohio ADRN programs and services, call 1-800-331-2644 or visit The Network of Care.The ADRN serves Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry and Washington Counties.

Person Centered Nursing Home Care Efforts Continue
The Area Agency on Aging 8 (AAA8) Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program continues to support person-centered care  - an approach to providing care to residents of nursing homes that focuses on respecting the choices and preferences of residents.   

 

AAA8 has led the "Culture Change" efforts with a variety of new resources through its Lending Library program, by convening discussion and best-practices sharing opportunities with the region's nursing home leaders and through patient and family education.

 

Person-centered care is not about more forms, more lists, more reporting, or more work. It is about finding a decent and kind way to serve older adults that makes their lives and the lives of their caregivers more meaningful, a common-sense approach to bringing care back into caregiving at the nursing home and enriching the lives of those that live and work there.   

 

The core values of person-centered care are: choice, dignity, respect, self-determination and purposeful living. For more information, call 1-800-331-2644 or  visit the AAA8 web site (services and programs section).

Brief on Medicaid's Role in Meeting the Long-Term
Care Needs of America's Seniors Released by
Kaiser Family Foundation

 

The Kaiser Family Foundation has recently released a new brief, Medicaid's Role in Meeting the Long-Term Care Needs of America's Seniors, which analyzes the role of Medicaid in providing long-term care coverage for millions of elderly individuals. The brief highlights the particularly high use of long-term care among elderly persons aged 85 and above, a population that is set to increase by roughly 70% between now and 2032. It provides analyses of each state's elderly population and Medicaid expenditures and emphasizes the detrimental effect Medicaid funding reductions would have on consumer access of LTSS. To read this Kaiser Family Foundation brief, click here.

 


Criminal Records Checks
Home- and community-health workers in Ohio are now subject to more
"frequent, detailed and uniform" criminal background checks due to new regulations that went into effect on January 1st of this year.  These rules require such employees to be rechecked every five years utilizing a more expansive set of databases. 

There are 93,000 home-care workers in Ohio, and estimated costs to the industry are $2.3 million in the first year and $470,000 in the next year.  
 
ODA has posted Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the criminal records checks rules. Click here.
Some information in this article provided by o4a. 
Automated Provider Application
Black-Out Period
(through March 15)


The Ohio Dept. of Aging (ODA) is working with the Department of Developmental Disabilities to tailor their existing automated provider application system for use by applicants seeking ODA certification. This on-line application system is anticipated to gain efficiencies for all parties involved.

 

As part of implementing this new system, ODA is planning to employ a 'black-out' period to process and clear applications in the queue, test the new system, and then make a clean switch to the new system.


The target date for the black-out period is January 14, 2013 through March 15, 2013.

 

During the black-out period, new applications will not be accepted or processed. If an application is received during this period, the applicant will receive an email from ODA informing them that it cannot be accepted and that they will have to re-apply after the black-out period. Also, note that pending applications will still be processed under the old system.  

Want to Know a Secret?  

 

Medicare covers screening for diabetes and pre-diabetes.

Help us get the word out about diabetes screening.   

This is one secret we don't want to keep.

There are 35 million Americans who are 65 years or older. As many as 17 million of them have undiagnosed diabetes or pre-diabetes.

 

That's why government, professional and private sector organizations, co-chaired by the American Diabetes Association, Healthcare Leadership Council, and Novo Nordisk Inc., are joining forces to create awareness of the screening benefits for diabetes and pre-diabetes available under Medicare.

 

Millions of seniors are not getting the treatment they need to prevent heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease and amputations. And millions more may be missing a chance to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.

For more information, visit www.screenfordiabetes.org

MMH Offers Risk Management Update March 14 
(CEUs Offered)

Offered by MMH on March 14 from 1-4:30 p.m. at the Comfort Inn (700 Pike St. Marietta) $50 for non-MMH employees. CEUs offered (Nursing, LSW, Nursing Home Administrators, Athletic Trainers, Occupational & Physical Therapists, and Chemical Dependency Counselors

See the brochure for CEU and registration details. This program is designed to achieve an improvement of risk management behaviors.
Objectives:  
�        Discuss healthcare reporting obligations  
�        Discuss release of information  
�        Discuss legal obligations of the healthcare team  
�        Review behaviors that prevent malpractice litigation  
�        Discuss malpractice and negligence suits

Presenters:  
- Paul Westbrock, Esq. - Corporate Compliance Officer for the Memorial Health System
- Jason Ferrante, Esq. - Attorney, Sutter O'Connell
- Gayle Galan, MD  Emergency Medicine Physician

Questions: contact Claire Mendenhall at (740) 374-1752 or
[email protected].
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A Publication of Buckeye Hills Area Agency on Aging Serving Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry & Washington Counties
AAA8 Staff Resources:
Executive Director: Misty Casto [740-376-1034]
Asst. Exec. Dir. & AAA8 Director: Rick Hindman [740-376-1029]
Home Care Director: Jane Skeen, LSW [740-376-1041]
Programs Manager: Cathy Ash, LSW [740-376-7622]
Communications Director: Gwynn Stewart [740-376-1030]
Ombudsman Director: Kim Flanigan [740-376-7650]
PO Box 370 Reno, OH  45773  1-800-331-2644 www.areaagency8.org