A new report ranks Georgia 42nd in the nation for long-term care services for older people and adults with disabilities.
The report — produced by AARP, the Commonwealth Fund and The Scan Foundation — ranked the states and the District of Columbia in 25 categories, including hospitalization of nursing home residents, percentage of patients getting home and community-based services, and the cost of nursing homes.
The rankings follow several other health care measurements that have put the Peach State in the lower half of states.
The study aims for the first time to measure the availability of accessible, affordable and quality long-term services to the elderly and disabled — as well as support for caregivers — in each state, Kaiser Health News reported.
Georgia’s score lagged because of low rankings on measures such as percent of caregivers who usually or always get needed support (47th); the number of people with disabilities allowed by the state to direct their own services (41st); and the number of home health and personal care aides (45th). full story
A long-sought law creating new rules for assisted living facilities was passed by the Georgia General Assembly this year and is set to take effect July 1.
But when that day comes, nothing will really change.
That’s because the regulations that will make the law work will not be ready by the end of this month. Final approval of those regs may take till November.
Yet the time lag didn’t seem to be the overriding concern of operators of personal care homes, assisted living facilities and nursing homes, and patient advocates, who gathered at a town hall meeting Wednesday, held by a state agency seeking input on Senate Bill 178.
The main message from the attendees? Get the regulations right.
Senate Bill 178 was designed to help residents of assisted living facilities remain in place, and not be forced to enter nursing homes. full story
An Ohio-based nursing home company announced this week it has finalized its acquisition of two nursing homes in Georgia.
The newly acquired nursing homes are Southland Healthcare and Rehab Center in Dublin and Autumn Breeze Healthcare Center in Marietta. AdCare Health Systems said it would close on a third Georgia facility, College Park Healthcare Center in College Park, within a month.
“These latest facilities significantly expand our presence in Georgia,’’ said Chris Brogdon, vice chairman of Adcare, a publicly traded company based in Springfield, Ohio.
AdCare said it would pay $18 million for the three Georgia facilities, which have a combined 335 beds. The nursing homes generate an estimated $16.4 million in annual revenues, AdCare said.
The three nursing homes will bring to 13 the number of nursing homes the company operates in the state. More than one-third of AdCare’s facilities will be in Georgia after the purchases are finalized. The company said Tuesday that it may look to expand further in Georgia.
Senate Bill 39, which would facilitate the creation of mental health courts in Georgia, passed the House on Tuesday. Here’s Georgia Health News’ story Monday on the legislation. Also, the House approved a revamp of the state’s assisted living rules, the culmination of a 16-year effort to change the regulations. Here’s a recent GHN article on the assisted living legislation.
The Georgia legislative session has just three days remaining. But for people like Fred Brown and Mignon Fleishel, it will be an agonizing countdown.
They each have an elderly mother living in a Kennesaw assisted living facility. Both women have dementia and need help with mobility.
Brown and Fleishel want their mothers to remain at DayBreak Village – where they are happy — and not be forced to live in a nursing home.
A bill that would help their parents stay there has passed the state Senate, but is stuck in the House – the apparent victim in a political tug-of-war between the two chambers.
Senate Bill 178 would allow Georgia assisted living facilities to hire certified medication aides to help residents in taking their prescriptions. It would also give the facilities more flexibility in dealing with residents who need help in getting around, like Brown’s and Fleishel’s mothers.
Brown says he’s frustrated by the legislative bottleneck. He doesn’t want the assisted living bill to wait another year before passage. “I don’t know whether my mother will last another year,’’ he says. “She’ll soon be 89.’’
Currently, if an assisted living resident is considered non-ambulatory, the state requires that person to be discharged – often moving to a nursing home – unless the state grants a waiver. And there are restrictions on what medication help is permitted. full story
