KENTUCKIANS FOR NURSING HOME REFORM

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

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DEBBIE DOES IT

You can look for the state to finally start paying more attention to the issues facing people in nursing homes.  Deborah Anderson, the new commissioner of the Department of Aging and Independent Living, is trying to add a “Long-term Living” branch to her department.  Advocates complained when the new department was given its name, saying that it should have been Department of Aging, Independent Living and Long-Term Care.   But some legislators and state officials insisted on the name it has now.   Ms. Anderson says she is hot on the trail of new money to add a long-term “living” branch.  Her boss, Mark Birdwhistell, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, won’t change the department name and insists on the name of the new branch being “long-term living.”  There could be as many as five new staff for the branch.  “At a minimum,” says Ms. Anderson, “we are going to have a long-term care specialist.”   Good chance of this all happening before the start of the new state fiscal year.

WATCH THOSE CANDIDATES

Candidates for governor – Democrat Steve Beshear and Republican Ernie Fletcher – will soon be out on the campaign trail and visit a neighborhood near you.  Politicos expect this to be a hotly contested governor’s race.  It also will be a chance to see where the candidates stand on nursing home reform, something we do not ordinarily hear the candidates speak about because, as we so often say, the people in nursing homes are the ” Forgotten Kentuckians.”  So next time that either Mr. Beshear or Gov. Fletcher comes to your town, ask them how they are going to improve conditions in nursing homes where many people are being treated poorly.  Specifically ask them what they plan to do about the understaffing in nursing homes.  Ask, “Will you support legislation to mandate the very bare minimum staffing ratios for front-line caregivers in the nursing homes in Kentucky?”   For your information, Mr. Beshear already has answered this question with an enthusiastic “yes,” he will support staffing standards.  Gov. Fletcher did not answer the question when we posed it to him, and perhaps you can get him to tell you why.  Maybe it’s because he just doesn’t read his mail.

GLIMMER….

Speaking of the Fletcher administration,  Mark Birdwhistell, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and an appointee of the Fletcher administration, announced in a meeting that he  wants the operation of his department to be “transparent,” and even opened the door just a crack on actually having a discussion with reform advocates on the idea of nursing home staffing ratios. 

LEFT OUT…..

There’s going to be a big rally on Elder Abuse in Frankfort but the people who planned it either accidentally or on purpose left out Kentuckians For Nursing Home Reform as one of the sponsors.   KFNHR probably does more work to combat abuse of the elderly than all the “sponsors” of this event put together.    State officials said the snub won’t happen again.

LETTERS….

 Names of inspectors…..

-- Some notes from recent conversations with nurses I used to work with.  They are worn out!   They are sick and tired of the care given the patients, but they feel hopeless to change anything.

    I think it is pretty interesting that they will not give out any names of inspectors.  I once asked to speak with the inspector after a complaint went without changes being made.  I was told that it was impossible, because they were protecting the safety of the inspector....excuse me....did I hear that right?

    [Who in blazes would harm an inspector?  Why?]

     My complaint was that I was absolutely positive no family member complaining of abuse would harm an inspector for investigating the complaint.  They said they knew that...I said OK, so who would?  I got no reply at all.

    Food inspectors for health dept. complaints...are they afraid of retaliation and are they secret?

    City code enforcement officers are not secret, and they make fines for homeowners across the cities.

    Have you tried the open records act, where names are revealed in paperwork matters in state business?

    Please know that nurses across the state are making many complaints anonymously...and irritated that the state always decides it has to be a complaint from a disgruntled employee.  True disgruntlement...with a system that does not give a flying flip about our precious elderly population.

    Thanks for listening. 

NAME WITHHELD ON REQUEST

Are not-for-profits better?

-- I do not understand how most folks seem to think "not-for-profit" nursing homes provide much better care than Medicaid-funded nursing homes.  I have no experience with homes funded by Medicaid but have a lot with the other and, believe me, the care is not great.  You have heard from me many times.  We have gone to the administrators, state, and board members.  The bottom line is that the elderly residents are the least important in their eyes. We have been told that the standard of care we expect (hope and pray for) "ain't gonna happen."  That is pretty much a direct quote from administration.  No one has time. However, when staffing is good, there is a lot of personal cell phone usage, staff taking breaks together while residents are placed in front of a TV.

Medication errors are numerous and not investigated.  The unit dose system more than quadrupled the cost of medications for the residents but did not eliminate medication errors.  Because billings are never correct, we (family) investigate the billing errors and find pills not given and not signed off.  There is no system to correct these errors.  Or, if there is, it is not effective.  Our family members get good care because we provide it.  We need good people in the administrative and directors positions.  If they are only self-concerned and self-involved nothing will get better for the residents.

NAME WITHHELD ON REQUEST

No one cares

-- My mother has been in the nursing home for 2 1/2 years and all we need them to do is keep her finger nails clean and her teeth brushed and we can't get that done.   What makes you think anyone cares about minimum staffing. That’s only one of the many problems. No one in the nursing home business CARES. And the bad thing about it is we are the next people to go!!

ROSEMARY WALL

SHORT STUFF

·        Tom Emberton Jr. has been named deputy secretary in the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.  He has been in the cabinet since the start of the current administration in Frankfort.  His father was a Republican candidate for governor in 1970.  His background includes work in the nursing home industry at Kindred in Louisville and at two nursing homes in Bowling Green.  He is a licensed nursing home administrator.

·        Danelle Groves, secretary to top-man Mark Birdwhistell in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, will be leaving her position in August to have a baby.  Ms. Groves husband, Daniel, is the former chief of staff for Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

·        The Kentucky Enquirer newspaper had a good article Sunday May 20 on what to look for in choosing a nursing home.  The article was prompted by a recent rash of bad problems at nursing homes in Northern Kentucky.  Reporter Scott Wartman, who wrote the article, quoted a representative of the National Association of State Units on Aging as saying, “Most nursing home problems result from low staffing.”

·        Speaking of staffing in nursing homes, the recent seminar in Lexington, “What’s Your Question About Nursing Homes?” was marked by the large number of questions and complaints about understaffing in nursing facilities.  The moderator had to finally turn the staffing questions off so that there would be time for other subjects.

·        Acting state Inspector General Steve D. Davis participated in that Lexington  seminar sponsored by Kentuckians For Nursing Home Reform and reminded the audience that not everything is serious.  He demonstrated by grinning widely and proudly holding up an 8 x 10 photo of his new baby son.

·        An Eastern Kentucky University grad student, Cheryl Carrico, has her own blog on patient/resident lifting and handling policies.  Check it out at http://clc425.wordpress.com/

·        Kentucky Chief Justice Joseph Lambert, in announcing a meeting on children’s welfare, said:  “There is no more important issue in Kentucky or in any place than the well-being of our children.”    Hey, Your Honor, how about our loved ones in nursing homes?  Could they have a little of your time, too?

·        Pine Meadows Health Care, a  Lexington nursing home, has joined with the state and Bluegrass Community & Technical College to announce the first ever Nurses’ Aide Apprenticeship Program in Kentucky.  Successful completion of the course by aides could result in an increase in pay.  For more information call (859) 245-6507.

·        Look for Kentucky nursing homes to start bellyaching again about lack of sufficient funding from state and federal Medicaid reimbursements.  This time they will “poor mouth” about having to pay their housekeepers and kitchen employees the minimum wage which was just raised in the last legislative session.

·        Thanks to the work of the Madison County elder abuse council, the state now has a new automobile license plate promoting the fight against elder abuse.  The shield logo on the special plate, designed by the Madison County council, has under it, “Abuse Hurts at Any Age.”   The plates cost something like $28 and some of that money goes to fund county elder abuse councils in Kentucky.  According to state health and family services official Tom Emberton, Jr., all but three counties in Kentucky now have elder abuse councils.  The plate was unveiled for the first time at the Madison council’s May meeting in Richmond  by Sen. Ed Worley, D-Richmond.

·        Nursing homes surprisingly agree sometimes that there are problems with the care they give but they insist there are only a few bad ones.  Comes along Dr. Robert Butler, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and expert on aging who recently observed about nursing homes:  “Nine out of 10 are inadequately staffed; 54 percent fail to meet minimum standards for which fewer than 1 percent are cited or penalized.”

·        Beware if your nursing home starts talking about national surveys that show what a good job it is doing.  It’s another p.r. sham called “My Innerview” and what the industry has done now is to hire a survey firm that will get poor nursing home residents and their families to say how wonderful the care is.  One of the national industry leaders in this effort apparently is Mary Ousley, a former nursing home owner in Richmond, who in a press release said, “… We will continue to work with this pioneering enterprise to ensure consumers always receive the best possible objective information and care we can offer.”  

NEWS NOTES….

We get tons of information in here about nursing home issues.   We want to share this information with those of you who are interested, but rather than putting it all in our newsletter we will post it regularly on our web site:  http://www.KyNursingHomeReform.org

Go there now and see what we mean.

P.S.

THAT’S IT FOR THIS TIME, BUT DON’T FORGET...
MORE THAN 23,000 PEOPLE IN NURSING HOMES IN KENTUCKY NEED US. THEY ARE KENTUCKY’S “FORGOTTEN PEOPLE.”

BERNIE VONDERHEIDE
KENTUCKIANS FOR NURSING HOME REFORM
E-mail:          KyNursingHomeReform@yahoo.com
Web Site:     http://www.KyNursingHomeReform.org
Telephone:   (859) 312-5617