Monterey, CA President Biden To Focus On Nursing Home & Assisted Living Reform
Nursing Homes Being Hit Hard Again By COVID-19
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is hitting the elderly and nursing homes particularly hard, with the highest number of cases ever documented among staff and a near-record number of residents falling ill with the virus. This, on top of a worker shortage which has hit virtually every industry, has made this particularly difficult to deal with. For the week ending January 9, there were 32,061 new confirmed COVID-19 cases among nursing home residents, nearly triple the number of cases the week before (6,406), according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-cases-surge-at-nursing-homes-11641924320
AARP Gets Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services To Regulate Nursing Homes More Stringently : By Derek Baine
The AARP Foundation and other advocates agreed to amend a lawsuit against CMS after the agency which regulates nursing facilities, agreed to reinstate the ability to levy steep finds to hold nursing homes accountable for the health and safety of residents. Previously, nursing homes could be fined only once per violation. Under the new rules, the CMS can levy fines on a facility for every day they are or were in violation of the rules (Source AARP Bulletin, November 2021 Issue, page 4).
In An Attempt To Calm Down Agitated Nursing Home Residents, Patients Are Often Unnecessarily Sedated : By Derek Baine
I have witnessed first hand nursing home and assisted living facilities giving seniors heavy medication in order to just keep them quiet, sometimes even restraining them. The New York Times recently wrote a story about this practice saying that 1 in 5 nursing homes prescribe Antipsychotics, which are extremely dangerous to give to the elderly, particularly those with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s. The story highlighted David Blakeney, who entered a nursing home with severe dementia. He was restless and agitated and the facility’s physician wanted to prescribe Haldol, a powerful sedative.  “Add Dx schizophrenia for use of Haldol,†read the doctor’s order, which essentially added another diagnosis of schizophrenia despite the fact that there were no signs the patient had that condition. These types of drugs are commonly referred to as chemical straightjackets and, unfortunately, they can nearly double the chance of death from heart problems, infections, falls and other ailments for seniors with dementia. But with nursing homes understaffed, it’s an easy solution to just sedate more patients so they can be handled with less staff. The patient in the Times article died at the early age of 64 just eight months after being put on Haldol, but not before suffering devastating weight loss, pneumonia and the amputation of one of his feet due to severe bedsores. This should not happen in this country. If you have a loved one in a facility, regularly ask for a list of prescriptions that they are on. This is all too common.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/11/health/nursing-homes-schizophrenia-antipsychotics.html
Nursing Homes And Assisted Living Facilities Tepid On Mandating COVID-19 Vaccinations, Biden Takes Action
There is no question that there is a major labor shortage, we are suffering from this ourselves. A recent report said that senior housing facilities are also being hard hit, with employees hard to find and commercial property values sinking as few investors want to be in this type of industry. However, it’s unclear that many are doing everything in their power to please the customers. About 39% of senior housing associations surveyed between July 22 and August 8 said that they definitely or probably would impose vaccine mandates. That’s a surprisingly low number. We have seen an influx of new clients due to adult children moving their parents out of facilities due to their fear of COVID-19. That’s only likely to increase as new variants spread. Thankfully, President Biden has stepped in and said that if nursing homes don’t require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 they will no longer receive Medicare or Medicaid funding. The current nursing home vaccination rate sits at only 61.5%, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This is only a hair above the total population. Some nursing home executives have bristled at the new Biden mandate, stating that staff departures may exceed 20%. Good riddance I say to the anti-vaxers. Keep them away from our seniors.
AARP Fighting Elder Abuse In Assisted Living And Nursing Home Facilities
AARP’s Legal Team is fighting in the courts for the health and safety of residents of nursing homes. We have all heard of the horrific stories of seniors being abused in assisted living facilities and rehab centers, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought this once again to the surface. AARP first started its suit in January, and in April the team won a judgement in California on behalf of Gloria Single, a nursing home resident who was barred from returning after a stay in the hospital. There are now four other lawsuits pending, and I hope they are successful.
Carmel, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available : Certified Nursing Assistant CNA or HHA Designation A Plus
Carmel, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available : Certified Nursing Assistant CNA or HHA Designation A Plus (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Corral-de-Tierra, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Prunedale, Salinas, Seaside, Soledad and Watsonville
We have developed a reputation for having the best caregivers (Home Care Aides or Senior Companions) in Monterey County.  We are currently looking for qualified caregivers.
Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey is seeking compassionate, mature and dependable caregivers who want to improve the lives of our elderly Clients by providing in-home, non-medical care. Our services include:
Caring companionship
Meal preparation
Incidental transportation
Running errands
Light housekeeping
Medication reminders
Monitoring of safety while bathing
Information and referral services
Other services that improve the safety, security and quality of life of seniors.
If you believe you would make an exceptional Home Care Aide, we would love to hear from you! We prefer those with experience helping the elderly, disabled and others with mobility problems. Having cared for those with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s is a plus. To work for us, you must have excellent references, a clear criminal record, a good driving record, and an insured reliable vehicle. To apply, please visit our website www.fhcofm.com, click on home care aides, then careers where you can fill out an application online. We have immediate openings all over Monterey County.
Salinas, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available Certified Nursing Assistant CNA Designation A Plus
Salinas, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available Certified Nursing Assistant CNA Designation A Plus (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Corral-de-Tierra, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Prunedale, Seaside and Soledad
We have developed a reputation for having the best caregivers (Home Care Aides or Senior Companions) in Monterey County.  We are currently looking for qualified caregivers.
Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey is seeking compassionate, mature and dependable caregivers who want to improve the lives of our elderly Clients by providing in-home, non-medical care. Our services include:
Caring companionship
Meal preparation
Incidental transportation
Running errands
Light housekeeping
Medication reminders
Monitoring of safety while bathing
Information and referral services
Other services that improve the safety, security and quality of life of seniors.
If you believe you would make an exceptional Home Care Aide, we would love to hear from you! We prefer those with experience helping the elderly, disabled and others with mobility problems. Having cared for those with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s is a plus. To work for us, you must have excellent references, a clear criminal record, a good driving record, and an insured reliable vehicle. To apply, please visit our website www.fhcofm.com, click on home care aides, then careers where you can fill out an application online. We have immediate openings all over Monterey County.
More Nursing Home Residents Moving Back Home Due To COVID-19
We have seen a noticeable uptick in people asking for 24-7 service due to the fact that children are increasingly moving their parents out of nursing homes and assisted living facilities and back home. Although the COVID-19 numbers have continued to taper off and nursing home resident have been vaccinated, a shockingly high number of workers refuse to be vaccinated. This increases the risk to seniors that they are working for, particularly as new strains of the virus work their way across the globe. The New York Times recently noted the problem, citing statistics from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care which showed that the occupancy rate in nursing homes had fallen from 86% in the first quarter of 2020 to 75% in the fourth quarter of 2020.By 2034, 34% of households will be headed by someone over 65, up from 26% in 2018, according to the Harvard center. The share of households age 80 and over will grow even more rapidly. It’s clear that we must address the issue of allowing people to age at home because there’s no doubt that coronavirus will be around for a long time and no one knows what other deadly virus is lurking around the corner.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/business/nursing-homes-covid-retirement.html
Carmel, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available
Carmel, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Corral-de-Tierra, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Prunedale, Salinas, Seaside and Soledad
We have developed a reputation for having the best caregivers (Home Care Aides or Senior Companions) in Monterey County.  We are currently looking for qualified caregivers.
Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey is seeking compassionate, mature and dependable caregivers who want to improve the lives of our elderly Clients by providing in-home, non-medical care. Our services include:
Caring companionship
Meal preparation
Incidental transportation
Running errands
Light housekeeping
Medication reminders
Monitoring of safety while bathing
Information and referral services
Other services that improve the safety, security and quality of life of seniors.
If you believe you would make an exceptional Home Care Aide, we would love to hear from you! We prefer those with experience helping the elderly, disabled and others with mobility problems. Having cared for those with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s is a plus. To work for us, you must have excellent references, a clear criminal record, a good driving record, and an insured reliable vehicle. To apply, please visit our website www.fhcofm.com, click on home care aides, then careers where you can fill out an application online. We have immediate openings all over Monterey County.