Caregiving

NPR Story: Time to “Abolish” the Nursing Home

Published on: August 2, 2013 | by Ettinger Law Firm

It is no secret that the country is aging. More Americans are retiring and drifting into their golden years now then ever before. What’s more is that there is not a similarly-sized generation, meaning the percentage of elderly individuals is rising sharply.

All of this is leading many to evaluate the current state of elder care. As the population ages we will undoubtedly need more and more resources to provide the care that often comes with old age. For many, this is the first time that they have seriously considered the senior caregiving system in the United States–and many do not like what they see.

In fact, calls to create alternatives to the traditional nursing home system are louder now than they have ever been. For those who have sharp criticisms of the care provided to residents in these skilled nursing facilities, the idea of tens of millions more elderly loved ones being pushed into these facilities is frightening. As elder law attorneys often explain, the nursing home is usually the “last resort” for good reason.

Be Careful With “Pop Up” Senior Centers in New York

Published on: June 21, 2013 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Long-term care is big business. For many years now, companies that work in these fields have grown in size, scope, and influence, emerging as powerful entities making significant profits. There is nothing inherently good or bad about the changing nature of the industry so long quality, affordable options exist for seniors and their families.

Yet, in recent years observers have noticed that the increase in need for senior care services creates a natural business opportunity which are leading to some questionable practices. Take, for example, the growth of “pop up” senior centers in New York. The Brooklyn Eagle recently reported on these facilities and the scrutiny that is being directed their way.

City Council Questioning

Beefing Up New York Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs

Published on: June 17, 2013 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Over the last few years elder care advocates have issued a steady drumbeat of concern: mistreatment of seniors is on the rise. The rates of neglect and abuse are not necessarily rising, but the total number of seniors affected are–a product of the changing demographics. The problem is only expected to get worse in the coming years.

It is important to keep in mind that research consistently shows that even “minor” forms of neglect can prove deadly. The U.S. Department of Human Services’ Administration for Community Living points out the stark difference in morbidity rates for abused versus non-abused seniors. Even when split only between those who received adequate care and those who received “modest forms of abuse” there is a 300% increase in the death rate for the mistreated seniors.

In other words, even small difference between the quality of long-term care facilities–both nursing homes and less-intensive assisted living facilities–can have life or death consequences. All of this makes the process of choosing a proper facility a critical task for seniors and their families.

National Nursing Home Week 2013: Team Care

Published on: May 17, 2013 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) is leading the effort this year as part of the official “National Nursing Home Week” which was designated as May 12th through the 18th. More information on the event can be found here.

The purpose of the Week is to raise awareness of various needs of the long-term care community. In addition, it is used by many local facilities to better connect senior residents with their neighbors. Unfortunately, there remains somewhat of a barrier between nursing home residents and others–the seniors in these facilities are often viewed as “others.” Instead, many elder care advocates urge a more holistic outlook, where the skills of seniors are valued and they are viewed as an integral part of any neighborhood.

The official theme of these year’s National Nursing Home Week is “Team Care.” According to the AHCA this theme, “recognizes residents and patients in long term and post-acute care settings, the dedicated staff who care for them, and the value of care planning where everyone ‘pitches in’ for optimal outcomes.”

New Study: Dementia Costs Expected to Double In A Few Decades

Published on: April 4, 2013 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The New York Times reported this week on troubling new information which suggests we should expect a wave of dementia and similar cognitive conditions in the coming years. Considering the prevalence of these debilitating brain injuries already, it is critical not to underestimate the effect this change will have on so many families and communities. The most recent examination was financed by the federal government and led by the RAND Corporation. The project focused on calculating the financial impact of dementia. The results are alarming.

Shocking Dementia Cost

Most understand that many medical issues comes with tremendous costs. The financial impact of cancer, heart disease, and similar conditions have been well documented. This latest effort is the most thorough look at dementia. The authors found that in 2010 the direct health care expenses for dementia were about $109 billion. That includes payments for things like nursing home care, which account for about 75% of the total. Consider that this is significantly more per year than spent on all cases of heart disease or even cancer.

National Council on Aging: Online Tools to Help Seniors Find Benefits

Published on: March 2, 2012 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Sadly, there remain many seniors in our area living in incredibly poor conditions, without access to the care they need to maximize their quality of life in their golden years. What makes these circumstances particularly distressing is that resources exist to help many of these elders–often they just don’t know where to go to find them. Ensuring that seniors and their loved ones take advantage of the legal tools and programs available specifically to help them is part of the work done by each New York elder law attorney at our firm.

In addition to having the aid of legal professionals with these matters, seniors and their families can discover some of the potential benefits available on their own. From transportation and housekeeping to complimentary medical check-ups, there are many federal programs available to seniors that go unused. One helpful starting point is an article published this week in the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Find Benefits for Seniors.” The article points the way to a helpful tool from the National Council on Aging that seeks to connect seniors and their families with the government resources set aside to help meet basis needs for things like getting proper health care, paying utilities, and even buying food.

The tool is known as “Benefits Check Up”–you can take a look at the site here. It is a database that incorporates information about more than 2,000 state and federal programs. Residents can put in their location, explain their specific financial situation, and then get information on which of those programs are intended to provide support for them. The online site has been around for ten years, but it has undergone a range of improvements in that time. Recently, it was revamped to include information about property-tax relief programs and potential help for those who are at risk of foreclosure. This is important, because our New York elder law attorneys appreciate that the housing crisis hit many seniors hard, particular those on fixed incomes.

New York Elder Care Advocates Claim Senior Financial Exploitation at Crisis Levels

Published on: December 29, 2011 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Elder financial abuse is fast becoming a national crisis. That is the message that a New York geriatrician and social scientist is spreading after conducting extensive scientific investigations into the extent of fraud and financial exploitation among local seniors. The doctor is encouraging friends, family members, caregivers, New York elder law attorneys, and others to keep a close eye out for the signs that this abuse might be occurring among seniors that they know.

As reported in the Centre Daily Times, the doctor’s latest work suggests that literally millions of seniors are victimized financially each and every year. Yet only a fraction of the instances of abuse ever come to the attention of authorities–only one in forty four, according to the report. In even fewer cases are the wrongdoers held accountable for their conduct. Previous work by this same team of researchers also found that those seniors who had been abused financially saw similar damaging effects on their physical well-being. The groundbreaking work revealed that mortality rates of elderly victims of financial abuse were significantly higher than for those who had not been abused. Suffice to say, this mistreatment has profound effects on the lives of victims and all efforts to limit the problem must be taken.

Yet, there is a long way to go before the mistreatment is stamped out. According to the latest research at least 2.5 million seniors are victims of financial abuse each and every year. Even then, that number may be a significant understatement. For one thing, it was reached mostly via self-reporting. Many seniors might hide their situation out of fear or embarrassment. Additionally, the research team noted that seniors who were suffering from a severe rate of mental decline were not polled in the survey. Yet it is that very group which is at the highest risk of being victimized by unscrupulous individuals willing to take advantage of them for personal financial gain.

New York Medicaid Recipients Sent to Hospitals More Frequently Than Privately Insured

Published on: October 6, 2011 | by Ettinger Law Firm

When local residents conduct New York long-term care planning they usually want to ensure that they will have the resources to pay for the needed care and that it will be of the highest quality possible. It is one thing to have access to caregivers to provide day-to-day assistance when age takes its toll. It is another to have the peace of mind of knowing that the care will allow them to maximize their quality of life. When discussing these issues one advocate has echoed a common songwriter’s refrain, “there is a difference between living and living well.”

Proper preparation often makes all the difference and allows community members to ensure that their well-being will be prioritized in their golden years. Our New York elder law attorneys have worked for decades on these issues. For example, it is appropriate for some residents to obtain long-term care insurance (LTCI). LTCI serves two purposes: It protects assets from the costs of elder care and it provides resources for that care. For a variety of reasons, LTCI may be out of reach for some community members. In those cases it is usually beneficial to create a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust to shelter assets while still qualifying for Medicaid benefits.

Long-term care insurance often allows residents to maximize their quality of life, because it provides resources to pay for things like at-home care. At-home care has consistently been shown to be the preferable method of aging for those given a choice. However, even with LTCI, at some point a senior may need to move into a nursing home to have access to emergency services to survive each day. Yet, when at a nursing home those with private insurance may be treated differently than those on Medicaid according to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center. The latest study, summarized this week in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, revealed that those in nursing homes on Medicaid are sent to the hospital 27% more than those receiving private insurance.

Web-Based Applications May Help Seniors Stay in Their Own Home Longer

Published on: August 11, 2011 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Over the years the core purpose of our New York elder law estate planning attorneys has remained unchanged–helping residents pass on assets at death, avoid probate, save on estate taxes, and plan for disability. Yet, technology changes have influenced some ancillary aspects of the preparation and senior care process. For example, on the estate planning side, new web applications now claim to offer non-legal services to digitally store important passwords to be released upon death or to help a family set-up an online auction to distribute family heirlooms. Even New York elder care has been affected by online and web-based tools that seek to expand living options for area seniors.

Much of this new technology has centered on keeping seniors out of a nursing home. This is not surprising as an average stay in an area nursing home is around $120,000 a year, and the vast majority of residents would much prefer to live in their own home for as long as they can anyway. One of the main reasons why many seniors are forced to move into one of these facilities is the need for around the clock observation in case something happens while they are alone. For the last twenty-five years this at-home observation need was essentially filled by a single product–the Life Alert Emergency Response System. The company still dominates the market by providing seniors with a permanent connection to emergency help that they can access via a button on a lanyard worn around their wrist or neck.

Reuters recently discussed how the emergence of web-based systems on phones and tablets have dramatically increased the options available to provide extra security to at-home seniors beyond Life Alert. For example, some seniors are using the “Life360” phone application to immediately send a message and GPS coordinates to family members at the touch of a button on their phone. A more comprehensive service–Sonamba–utilizes a tablet (like an iPad) equipped with a webcam and motion sensors. The device sends signals to family members when a senior’s schedule seems irregular, gives medicine reminders, and allows the quick submission of messages.