ELF News Archives
March 2008
- Hopefuls tend to understate the threat to Social Security -
Social Security matters a lot to people in this state, the site of a Democratic presidential primary on April 22. Some 15.2 percent of the state's population was older than 65 in 2006, compared with 12.4 percent of the entire country.
Nashville City Paper 03/31
- Medicare And Social Security Funds Drying Up -
Results of a new report find that the future of Medicare and Social Security in the United States is a gloomy one full of uncertainty...
by the year of 2019 the Medicare Insurance Trust Fund will be dry, meaning that patients who need subsidized medical care will not be able to receive it. According to the report, the fund is depleting due to the fact that the program is spending more money than it is making from taxes.
Dog Flu 03/31
- New TMA Survey Shows Medicare Forcing Physicians Out -
If the planned 10.5-percent Medicare cut to physician payments occurs on July 1, physicians will be forced to limit the number of Medicare patients they treat, the Texas Medical Association (TMA) announced Thursday in Houston.
Medical News Today 03/31
- State nursing homes trying to limit liability -
With their profits threatened by what they claim as a bevy of money-hungry, out-of-state trial lawyers, the nursing home industry is trying to impose limits on damages a court could award their patients for pain and suffering.
Nashville City Paper 03/31
- Nursing homes in strife -
As the Rudd Government considers aged care budget cuts, a new report shows 40 per cent of providers are losing money.
Prepared for the Government, the report by respected auditing firm Grant Thornton reveals that profits in the industry have fallen by almost 30 per cent in recent years while debt levels grow.
And the industry may be facing a further blow, with the Government refusing to guarantee $100 million in top-up payments to homes in the coming Budget.
News AU 03/31
- Nursing home residents sue for at-home care -
Since a stroke four years ago, 66-year-old Bud Lee can't lift himself out of bed, or take himself to the bathroom. He'd like to regain a bit of his old independence.
Tampa Bay 03/31
- $300m boost for nursing homes -
On the heels of a Senate report appealing for an upgraded age pension, nursing homes are demanding more money after an official survey found 40 per cent were in the red.
SMH 03/21
- Caring for the Caregiver -
Overnight things could change and the care for an elder could become your responsibility.
Wicked Local 03/21
- Almost half of N.S. nursing-home residents show behavioural problems -
Canadian Institute of Health Information, also showed that many of the behaviours were linked to a handful of health conditions, including dementia, delirium and depression among the elderly.
Canadian Press 03/21
- Lawyers, nursing homes at odds -
Lawyers and the nursing home business, two of the state's most powerful interests in terms of lobbying and political contributions, are sharply at odds over legislation that faces its first hearing this week.
KnoxNews 03/18
- Nursing Homes Face Budget Cuts -
Nursing home operators in the Northland say they could soon face serious challenges if Gov. Tim Pawlenty has his way. Pawlenty has proposed cutting $31.8 million in state aid as a way to solve the state's budget deficit.
WDIO 03/18
- Alberta elderly left to die -
Most of these assisted living facilities are unlicensed, unregulated and unmonitored. It means the elderly are left essentially on their own. It's simply unacceptable that in this day and age in a country as rich, in a province as rich as Alberta, we can't do more for them...
WDIO 03/18
- House GOP, others part ways with Pawlenty over nursing homes -
House Republicans want to take some of the surplus in a fund collected for the MinnesotaCare health plan for the working poor, and send about $30 million to nursing homes. Their plan would give nursing homes a 2 1/4 percent increase in aid - with the cost more than covered by the Health Care Access Fund's surplus.
JamestownSun 03/17
- Researcher: Finland's Elder Care Falls Short -
Care of the elderly in Finland clearly falls short when compared to other Nordic countries...
YLE 03/17
- Crisis coming in elder care, AARP warns -
The number of people age 65 and older in Hawaii is expected to grow by 86 percent between now and 2030. So says a survey by AARP Hawaii, which urges prompt action to avoid a crisis in long-term care for seniors.
YLE 03/14
- Baby boomers caring for aging parents get variety of support from employers -
Stewart, 47, is among a growing number of baby boomers who are juggling professional and family responsibilities as they take on the role of caregivers for their senior citizen parents.
KnowNews 03/14
- Elder Care expo mentors caregivers -
Caregiving not only affects individuals and their families, but also the organizations for which the caregivers work. United States businesses lose up to $33.6 billion per year in productivity from caregivers who take time from work responsibilities, according to the 2007 “MetLife Caregiving Costs Study.” This translates to an average cost of $2,110 per year per employee who is caring for a loved one.
Erstarnews 03/18
- New nursing home standards introduced -
A set of minimum standards will apply to all residential settings where older people are cared for and that require registration...They include requirements such as ensuring that a minimum of 50 per cent of care staff have acquired further education or training; that care plans are in place for all residents; and allowing each resident to choose meals and meal times...The 32 standards are aimed at keeping residents safe from physical, financial, material, psychological or sexual abuse and neglect.
Ireland 03/11
- 'Elderly care standards will raise costs' -
New quality and safety standards for the care of older people in private and public residential settings were published today by the Health Information and Quality Authority...Nursing home owners, however, have warned that it is inevitable that the new standards will drive up the cost of care, and that this issue needs to be addressed.
IrishHealth 03/11
- Ecumen taking senior-housing consulting business national -
Ecumen is expanding its senior-housing consulting services to help balance its portfolio and grow business as the elder-care industry gains more attention.
Biz Journal 03/11
- You and Your Aging Parent -
Many adult children prefer that their parents live near them in anticipation of the time when one or both need help. Over and over again, the story is told of a son or daughter, whose parents have moved away from them to a warmer climate, having to commute long distances to help out when the parent becomes ill or disabled. Yet in this mobile society, it is often the children who must move, and who subsequently urge the parent to move near them.
Blog. OUP 03/11
- Keep Promise To Nursing Home Patients -
When it passed nursing home reforms in 2001, the Florida Legislature promised to protect the care and dignity of the infirm. The state should keep its promise. Times are not so tough that those who live in nursing homes should bear the brunt of state budget cuts.
WWW2 TBO 03/11
- Nursing home bill ignores quality of care -
In essence the nursing home industry is putting itself in a position to avoid being sued for neglect and abuse of our loved ones.When the very emphasis should be on quality of care. Nowhere in either of these bills is quality of care even addressed.
Mid South News 03/07
- Bredesen unveils plan to expand nursing home alternatives -
Gov. Phil Bredesen rolled out his long-term care reforms Thursday, saying he wants to simplify a fragmented system, expand choices and make it easier for elderly and disabled Tennesseans to avoid nursing homes and remain at home.
Times Free Press 03/07
- New probe launched into elder care home -
A South Okanagan seniors' care home where employees are alleged to have force-fed residents and snapped photos of naked residents continues to make news for all the wrong reasons.
Victoria Times Colonist 03/07
- Democratic Hopefuls’ Elder Care Plans -
With two candidates still vying for the Democratic nomination, the focus on health care has increased. Caregiving, elder care and long-term care have yet to be the center of the discussion, however. We distill what caregiving specifics the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns have provided in the plans they have released.
Care Station 03/04
- Web-Based Quality Assurance System Assists Nursing Homes in Improving Resident Care and Quality of Life -
Nursing Home Quality, the national leader in Quality Indicator Survey (QIS) based quality assurance solutions for long-term care providers, announced the release of the latest version of abaqisTM, a web-based quality assurance system designed for use by nursing home providers to identify quality concerns and focus quality improvement efforts.
Earth Times 03/04
- Low Risk, Heavy Drugs -
Connecticut's nursing homes dole out antipsychotic drugs to residents who do not have psychotic disorders at one of the highest rates in the country, raising questions about whether the medications are being used to subdue agitated patients because of a lack of staffing and attention to alternate treatments.
Courant 03/04
- Homeward bound -
A movement is gaining momentum to help seniors retain their independence by remaining in their homes as they get older.
La Times 03/03
- The elderly abandoned in nursing homes -
Many of the nation's elderly, placed in the care of nursing homes, are living very lonely lives. In many cases their relatives have completely passed on the burden of care to others. The monthly fees are paid, but there are no visits, letters, cards or phone calls. In fact, the less money the home costs, the less the care and interest shown by relatives.
Jamaica Gleaner 03/03
- Nursing Homes and Chemical Restraints -
Chemical restraints are medications used by the nursing home to "control" active residents. They are psychotropic medications which affect brain activities associated with mental processes and behavior (also called "psychoactive" or "psychotherapeutic")...In short, it is easier and cheaper to medicate the resident than to hire sufficiently trained staff to take proper care of the resident.
Roanoke Injuryboard 03/03
- Elderly suffer long wait for home-care help -
BOTTLENECKS and under-resourcing of specialist teams that assess the needs of elderly people mean they are missing out on thousands of federal dollars of help designed to encourage them to stay in their homes.
SMH. Com 03/03