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Health News
AARP ranks Kentucky last in the nation for long-term care and support for aging, disabled and family caregivers
Kentucky ranks last in the nation in its long-term care services and support for seniors, people with disabilities and family caregivers according to a report compiled by AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons. The state ranked 46th in the last study, in 2011.
Long-term services and support, which includes home-care services, family-caregiver supports and residential services such as nursing homes, were evaluated in five different areas with a total of 26 indicators.
Kentucky ranked 51st in affordability and access, 50th in choice of setting and providers, 50th in quality of life and quality of care, 46th in support for family caregivers and 42nd in effective nursing-home transitions.
?The vast majority of older Kentuckians want to live independently, at home, as they age ? most with the help of unpaid family caregivers,? Jim Kimbrough, state president of AARP Kentucky, said in the group's online newsletter. ?Even facing tight budgets following the Great Recession, most states made clear progress to help older residents achieve that goal. It?s time for Kentucky to step up to the plate, and this Scorecard shows what we have to do.?
The highest ranked states ? Minnesota, Washington, Oregon and Colorado ? have implemented laws and policies that build stronger Medicaid programs and support family caregivers, AARP said. These states show a decreased use of nursing homes and a minimized disruption in the transition between health care settings.
The report said Kentucky spends 81 percent of its funds aging and physical disability on institutional care, and only 19 percent on community-based care. In addition, waiting list for many programs at the Department of Aging and Independent Living are as long as five years.
AARP reports that more than 730,000 Kentuckians are considered unpaid family caregivers often because the cost of long-term care remains unaffordable for most middle-income families.
Since 2011, 24 states increased the percentage of Medicaid funds that support home- and community-based services. Kentucky did not, and ranks 50th among the states and the District of Columbia.
"Marsha Hockensmith, executive director of Kentucky Protection and Advocacy, a state agency that advocates for Kentuckians with disabilities, said many people who end up in a long-term-care facility can often be cared for adequately at home if they had access to the services they need," Mike Wynn of The Courier-Journal reports.
Long-term services and support, which includes home-care services, family-caregiver supports and residential services such as nursing homes, were evaluated in five different areas with a total of 26 indicators.
Kentucky ranked 51st in affordability and access, 50th in choice of setting and providers, 50th in quality of life and quality of care, 46th in support for family caregivers and 42nd in effective nursing-home transitions.
?The vast majority of older Kentuckians want to live independently, at home, as they age ? most with the help of unpaid family caregivers,? Jim Kimbrough, state president of AARP Kentucky, said in the group's online newsletter. ?Even facing tight budgets following the Great Recession, most states made clear progress to help older residents achieve that goal. It?s time for Kentucky to step up to the plate, and this Scorecard shows what we have to do.?
The highest ranked states ? Minnesota, Washington, Oregon and Colorado ? have implemented laws and policies that build stronger Medicaid programs and support family caregivers, AARP said. These states show a decreased use of nursing homes and a minimized disruption in the transition between health care settings.
The report said Kentucky spends 81 percent of its funds aging and physical disability on institutional care, and only 19 percent on community-based care. In addition, waiting list for many programs at the Department of Aging and Independent Living are as long as five years.
AARP reports that more than 730,000 Kentuckians are considered unpaid family caregivers often because the cost of long-term care remains unaffordable for most middle-income families.
Since 2011, 24 states increased the percentage of Medicaid funds that support home- and community-based services. Kentucky did not, and ranks 50th among the states and the District of Columbia.
"Marsha Hockensmith, executive director of Kentucky Protection and Advocacy, a state agency that advocates for Kentuckians with disabilities, said many people who end up in a long-term-care facility can often be cared for adequately at home if they had access to the services they need," Mike Wynn of The Courier-Journal reports.
- Mentally Ill In Personal-care Homes, Or At Risk Of Going There, Will Have Increased Access To Behavioral Health Care In Kentucky
The state Cabinet for Health and Family Services is extending an agreement that provides housing assistance and services to people with serious mental illness has been extended through Septemnber 2018, and is expanding it to provide increased...
- Forum Hears Ideas For Improving Long-term Care In Kentucky
People gathered at the Lexington Senior Citizens Center May 16 to discuss problems with long-term care and potential ways to improve it, at an event organized by the Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency of the Bluegrass. Gov. Steve Beshear requested...
- Nursing Home Ombudsman Program At Risk Because Of 'callous And Apparenly Clueless' Move By Feds, Advocate Writes
The Kentucky long-term care ombudsman program is at risk in Kentucky due to a change in federal policy. The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services is "quietly telling some state aging leaders that by Jan. 1 they will no longer be allowed to use civil...
- The Affordable Care Act & Nursing Home Abuse
A Look at Nursing Home Abuse Elder abuse in nursing homes is largely due to the inadequate staff levels. According to a 2001 Health and Human Services (HHS) study, 90 percent of nursing homes are understaffed. Lack of adequate staffing is known...
- Lifebridge Health Recognizes The Importance Of Family Caregivers
When we were young, our parents read us our favorite stories, bandaged our scraped knees and cheered us on at soccer games. As we got older, they were there again for us when we needed a few extra bucks or the keys to the car. The story, however, doesn?t...