Written by: patrick on January 4, 2011 @ 5:08 pm
Well, once again we start a new year, and so I thought I would say hello and comment on some of the changes we are seeing in the Assisted Living industry in California and specifically, Orange County. As we have discussed in depth, our industry is heavily regulated but, unfortunately, poorly supervised. This is partially due to assisted living in California being designated “non-medical” and therefore less critical than some industries, but it is mostly due to insufficient resources at state and county levels. In other words, the state would police the industry better, if only they had the resources. Now, as time goes on, this will become more and more problematic, because the trend we are seeing, interestingly enough, is the state allowing assisted living facilities to take on more and more services that have been, traditionally, delegated as “medical procedures only”.
So, what we are seeing evolve is almost a “quasi-medical” type of facility, or perhaps more aptly, non medical facilities that are approved for medical procedures. Indeed, this is more accurate because, at this point at least, the facilities themselves are still not providing the service. What is happening is they are being allowed to admit residents that have had these previously forbidden conditions, or keep residents who, as time passes, develop these conditions. In most cases, however, the condition is still being treated by a medical professional, brought in from an outside source by heath insurance. But, I believe we are beginning to see the state of California vacillate on what the facility employees can do as well.
Let’s look at an example. The state of California has, historically, been adamantly opposed to assisted living facilities admitting or retaining a resident with a feeding tube. Now certainly, this is a serious, invasive procedure, but there is no reason that, with training, the staff of a competent assisted living could not care for this resident. Regardless, this is one of the conditions for which there were virtually no exceptions. Recently, however, we are finding licensing representatives allowing existing residents to stay in assisted living, even after a feeding tube is inserted. This is wonderful because in most cases this assisted living will have become “home” to the resident and forcing them to move during such a difficult time seems almost criminal.
Another example also utilizes the feeding tube procedure. We are now seeing some assisted living communities and homes being allowed to admit new residents with feeding tubes if there is a plan in place to wean the resident off the feeding tube. Now, of course, it is always the hope that the feeding tube is temporary and that patient will resume oral nutrition, but sometimes that just doesn’t happen. What we are seeing is that if that plan is in place, assisted livings can receive waivers to have the patient admitted immediately. So I beg the question, what if that plan is never realized? Say that the hope was to have the resident weaned in six months; at the end of that time will the state force the resident to leave? I am betting that then we can extend that exception by claiming existing resident status. This is good news for senior and family members of seniors who have difficulty eating.
Unfortunately, we are seeing a negative trend in the industry as well. While the assisted living facilities themselves continue to provide excellent services and are even being allowed to take on more responsibly, the referral services that purport to help families locate these are becoming more and more numerous, greedy and underhanded. Of course, as a referral service myself, I take great offense to this trend and will do my best to target these nefarious agencies.
Any internet search for assisted living will return endless results of companies that promise the sun and the moon in aiding in the search of assisted living. Just plug in your info or give us some basic data over the phone and we will connect you with the best assisted living in your area, they say. And yet, how many of them are actually doing a physical inspection of the property? None, save Assisted Living Placements. Do they advertise that they inspect; yes. Do they; no. These companies, many times made up of just one or two people, are playing a numbers game; providing lists of every facility in the area in hopes of getting a referral fee. They are providing a disservice to the seniors.
Well, now I have gotten my blood up again, so I see that I will need to re-visit this topic in more detail. I will go and cool off now, and soon be back with more info on this disturbing subject. Until then, Kindest Regards
Tags: Assisted Living, assisted living education, assisted living evaluation, assisted living placement, assisted living referrals, assisted living services, needs assesment, orange county assisted living, senior care, Senior Citizens
Catogories: Assisted Living Facility News, Assisted Living Information, From the President, assisted living education
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