Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform - NEWSLETTER

KENTUCKIANS FOR NURSING HOME REFORM

"A non-profit organization dedicated to the welfare of the "Forgotten Kentuckians"

May 30, 2006

NEWSLETTER

STATE WILL ALLOW FEEDING ASSISTANTS

You soon may be seeing a new kind of caregiver in Kentucky nursing homes – feeding assistants.

A new regulation has been approved by state officials that establishes standards for feeding assistants.

The regulation says that the new category of caregivers is "to assist residents who only need encouragement or minimal assistance during mealtime."

Feeding assistants may be full-time or part-time workers in a nursing home. They must complete eight hours of training, and the state has also prepared a training manual for them.

Not everyone agrees that feeding assistants is a good idea. Most of it has to do with the amount of training they get.

"This (eight hours of training) literally decimates long accepted minimum training standards for nursing home caregivers," said Richard Mollot of the Long-term Care Community Coalition.

The National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform also opposes feeding assistants because "residents who have eating or swallowing disorders must be fed by people with at least a CNA level of training."

Apparently Kentucky officials, led by Deputy Inspector General Steven D. Davis, were aware of the criticisms nationally, and while Kentucky will rely on eight hours of training, the new regs do mandate that feeding assistants help only those residents who do not have a complicated feeding problem and who will be approved in advance by a charge nurse. And the new regulation says that feeding assistants must be supervised by an RN or LPN.

"I think this could be a wonderful thing, if it is done right," says nursing reform advocate Jan M. Scherrer…. "I have seen the most hideous feeding conditions…. nursing assistants spooning gobs of food in a resident’s mouth as the resident is sliding out of the chair… "

There will be a public hearing on the new feeding assistant regulation in Frankfort on July 21. Let us know if you want to attend.

HIGH MARKS FOR KENTUCKY

We think that Kentucky officials should get high marks for the careful and thoughtful way in which they have set regulations on feeding assistants. We think the Kentucky plan goes beyond criticisms we have seen nationally. It remains to be seen, however, how the nursing home industry implements the plan.

AN ANSWER TO STAFFING PROBLEMS?

Feeding assistants will go a long way toward helping the age-old problem of nutrition in Kentucky nursing homes. But do they help solve the front-line staffing problems that continue to exist in many nursing homes? Nope. And the state backs this up by saying that feeding assistants cannot be counted by nursing homes as direct caregivers to residents. "Feeding assistants are non-medical personnel and not counted," said Steven D. Davis, deputy inspector general. Wanna bet that some nursing homes try to count them anyway…..?

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

Apparently stung by a number of critical pieces written by advocates for nursing home reform in newspapers across the state, the head of one of the industry’s lobbying groups, wrote this to his members: "There is no doubt that given ‘a fair day in court,’ long-term care providers will continue to prevail. However, we will always remain at risk of having legislators and the general public simply ‘worn down’ by our detractors, frustrating them to the point where they feel compelled to ‘do something’ just to make the issue go away." -- Rich Miller, president of the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities.

Ol’ Rich has it right for once. Good causes never go away.

‘COOPERATION’ NOT IN THEIR VOCABULARY

The wealthy nursing home industry lobbying organization published a six-page, slick review of what they did in the 2006 legislative session. Most of it was criticism of the efforts of advocates for nursing home reform. Nowhere in the publication could we find the word "cooperation." Time and again we ask these lobbyists if there is some way we could work with them on nursing home reform. Our objective is to help get residents of nursing homes be safe and comfortable. The industry says, "Okay, but it’s our way or nothing." If you have a loved one in a nursing home, get in touch with the owner and ask him or her what he thinks about "cooperation." And let us know.

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