“Leaving Hospital, Older Patients Resist Home Help At Their Peril” – California Healthline
by Judith Graham
“The 84-year-old man who had suffered a mini-stroke was insistent as he spoke to a social worker about being discharged from the hospital: He didn’t want anyone coming into his home, and he didn’t think he needed any help.
“So the social worker canceled an order for home health care services. And the patient went back to his apartment without plans for follow-up care in place.
“When his daughter, Lisa Winstel, found out what had happened she was furious. She’d spent a lot of time trying to convince her father that a few weeks of help at home was a good idea. And she’d asked the social worker to be in touch if there were any problems.
“Similar scenarios occur surprisingly often: As many as 28 percent of patients offered home health care when they’re being discharged from a hospital — mostly older adults — say “no” to those services, according to a new report.”
Read this California Healthline article in its entirety here.
Aging … new thoughts and updated data
“New measures of population aging are useful because tomorrow’s older people will not be like today’s. They may well have longer life expectancies, better cognition, better education, and fewer severe disabilities . In most OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, the labor force participation of people 65+ years old is increasing as are the ages at which people can receive a normal national pension . Since changes in the characteristics of people are ignored in the conventional measures of aging,
In an article at Futurity.org, a study suggests “Aging should be based on the number of years people are likely to live in a given country in the 21st century, say researchers. By that logic, 70 may be the new 60.”
Click here to read the article: “Are you ‘old’ yet? The cut-off has shifted.”
In a news release from the United States Census Bureau, “The Nation’s Older Population Is Still Growing, Census Bureau Reports” that “The nation’s population has a distinctly older age profile than it did 16 years ago, according to new U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released today.
“New detailed estimates show the nation’s median age — the age where half of the population is younger and the other half older — rose from 35.3 years on April 1, 2000, to 37.9 years on July 1, 2016.
“‘The baby-boom generation is largely responsible for this trend,’ said Peter Borsella, a demographer in the Population Division. ‘Baby boomers began turning 65 in 2011 and will continue to do so for many years to come.’
“Residents age 65 and over grew from 35.0 million in 2000, to 49.2 million in 2016, accounting for 12.4 percent and 15.2 percent of the total population, respectively.”
Click here to continue reading this United States Census Bureau news release.
Here’s your introduction to the “Pennsylvania Network of Care for Service Members, Veterans & Their Families”
The launch of the Pennsylvania Network of Care for Service Members, Veterans & Their Families continues to gain praise and support. This creative use of the Internet to reach out to veterans and their families has been extremely well-received in communities throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Network of Care’s one-stop “virtual community” brings together all relevant information on services, programs, support, crisis intervention, and news throughout the country and combines it with highly customized information on all local resources, county by county. This process makes it far easier for veterans to find everything available to them and, thus, connects them with the right resource at the right time.
Here are examples of the local coverage and promotion of the Pennsylvania Network of Care for Vets:
- “New website provides one-stop shop for veteran services, programs”
- “Network of Care aims to help veterans across Pennsylvania”
- “New website helps local veterans”
- “Network of Care for Veterans”
The Network of Care debuted in California and Maryland and now is easily replicated to any state or local jurisdiction in the nation.
Here is a short YouTube demo on the Network of Care for Service Members, Veterans & Their Families.
SOURCE: news release The Network of Care for Veterans, Service Members & Their Families
“Emily’s 18th Birthday”
by Melissa Ortiz, Commissioner, Administration on Disabilities
“Eighteen years ago today, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in the case Olmstead v. L.C. The court ruled that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities cannot be unnecessarily segregated and must receive services in the most integrated setting possible.
“In other words, if someone is able to live in the community with appropriate services and supports, they should have the choice to do so.
“The ruling acknowledged the existence of resource limitations, but it also said states should take “reasonable steps” to provide community-based alternatives to institutions. That has increased the availability and quality of services in the community for people with disabilities.
“It also has changed government spending. In 1999, Medicaid spent nearly three times more on long-term services and supports provided in institutions like nursing homes than it did on services in the community. By 2013, a majority of that funding was going toward services and supports in the community.
“To illustrate what that has meant for people with disabilities, let’s imagine a baby born with cerebral palsy on the day of the ruling, June 22, 1999.”
Continue reading this article at the Administration for Community Living Website.
“Why an Inclusive Workplace Is Good For Business” – OZY.com
“For individuals with disabilities, job hunting can be particularly arduous. Never mind that few offices accommodate their needs — even though the Americans with Disabilities Act is meant to ensure that they do — landing a job is more difficult too.
“The Bureau (of Labor and Statistics) also found that when a disabled and nondisabled individual with the same level of education were both up for the same position, the candidate without a disability was far more likely to receive the offer. Part of the problem is that many employers have a misconception over what hiring someone with a disability entails, says Chetan Bakhru, the senior accessibility specialist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. He notes that some employers worry about the effect hiring someone with a disability will have on the office culture, or on their budgets. The issue, he says, is a lack of understanding.”
“Pennsylvania’s ‘Super-Utilizers’ of hospital care” – A Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council report
The Pennsylvania Health Care Containment Council (PHC4) Research Brief indicates that the “number of super-utilizers has dropped between 2012 and 2016.” The graphic above is from the Research Brief which is downloadable here.
“‘Super-utilizer’ has been used to describe patients who have repeated inpatient hospital stays or who make frequent trips to hospital emergency rooms – often across different hospitals or health systems. The result is a high health care costs that might have been prevented through early intervention and collaborative care.”
“A nurse conducts a foot exam on a diabetic patient in Oak Hill, W.Va.” – SOURCE: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation article: “Treating Super Utilizers in Rural Pennsylvania.”
Major Senior, Health Advocates Endorse Governor Wolf’s Unified Department of Health and Human Services
Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf announced today that a broad coalition of advocates for seniors, recovery, people with disabilities, and other health and human services populations is speaking out in support of the unification of the departments of Health, Human Services, Aging, and Drug and Alcohol Programs into one Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“Having the support of this broad coalition of senior and human services advocates strengthens my administration’s efforts to break down silos, increase government efficiency, and listen across party lines and ideologies to develop a practical solution of integrating these vital human services agencies into one unified Department of Health and Human Services,” Governor Wolf said. “I applaud these organizations for sharing their ideas as we move through this process and for their support as we make the new department a reality for the people of Pennsylvania.”
These groups include: Rehabilitation & Community Providers Association (RCPA), The Arc of Pennsylvania, The Alliance of PA Councils, PA Health Access Network (PHAN), Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging (P4A), Pennsylvania Homecare Association, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP), Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania, Equality Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association – Greater PA Chapter, Alzheimer’s Association – Delaware Valley Chapter, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, and Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disability (PAR).
Governor Wolf has worked closely with the four departments and myriad advocates to identify and break down silos and reimagine how the state delivers such critical services. A website — https://www.governor.pa.gov/health-and-human-services/ — was launched … Continue reading this news release in its entirety; click here.
Threshold Rehabilitation Services, Lebanon Fairweather Lodge provider, is seeking a qualified candidate for the position of Fairweather Lodge Coordinator.
MENTAL HEALTH MANAGER
Threshold, a leader in supporting individuals with mental health challenges, is seeking a manager for a residential program for adult male individuals in Lebanon County under the Fairweather Lodge program.
The qualified candidate will possess:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a related field
- 5 years experience in the mental health field
- Demonstrated supervisory experience
- PA driver’s license and a vehicle
- Ability to travel as needed
- Bilingual a plus
Threshold offers a comprehensive benefit package, which includes a 401(k) plan. Please send your resume with salary requirements or apply in person:
Rehabilitation Services, Inc.
1000 Lancaster Avenue, Reading, PA 19607
or email hr@trsinc.org
or by fax to (610) 777-1295
EOE M/F/D/V
New Innovations in Nutrition Programs and Services Grant Opportunity to Promote the Quality and Effectiveness of Nutrition Service Programs
The Administration on Aging (AoA), part of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), announces a new grant opportunity to increase the evidenced based knowledge base of nutrition providers, drive improved health outcomes for program recipients by promoting higher service quality, and increase program efficiency through innovative nutrition service delivery models.
This funding opportunity is to support innovative and promising practices that move the aging network towards evidenced based practices that enhance the quality, effectiveness of nutrition services programs or outcomes within the aging services network. Innovation can include service products that appeal to caregivers (such as web-based ordering systems and carryout food products), increased involvement of volunteers (such as retired chefs), consideration of eating habits and choice (such as variable meal times, salad bars, or more fresh fruits and vegetables), new service models (testing variations and hybrid strategies) and other innovations to better serve a generation of consumers whose needs and preferences are different.
Please visit the link here for more details about the grant opportunity and application process. This grant opportunity closes on August 7, 2017.
“NO EXCUSES: HEALTHCARE” | The Skimm cracks “open the Skimm’tionary to give you some key healthcare terms to know.”
If you’re perplexed, ferhoodled, scratching your head or just plain confused by the verbiage of health care words and phrases, then the Skimm’tionary will be a terrific resource for you.
It’s produced by The Skimm, a terrific website that “that gives you everything you need to know to start your day. We break down what’s going on in the world with fresh editorial content. We’ll meet you in your inbox M-F, bright and early. The Daily Skimm leaves our hands–keyboard at 6am ET.”
