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Archive for December, 2011

Best Job Opportunities in 2012 – 2 of the Top 10 are home care related

Posted on: December 16th, 2011 by accreditednursing No Comments

According to an article posted on MSN, two of the top 10 jobs in 2012 will be Home Health Aides and Registered Nurses.  As the population in the US continues to live longer and the baby boomers come of age, the need for healthcare workers will continue to soar.  One of the fastest growing business industries in America is Home Health Care.

Additionally, home health agencies are already experiencing a shortage of physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists. Typically, these clinical disciplines are working in private practice or in a hospital, where the pay can be better.  In the hospital, however, the demands are much greater than working one to one in a patient’s home environment.

Here is a link to the article posted on MSN http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2854-Job-Info-and-Trends-Best-bets-for-jobs-in-2012/?SiteId=cbmsnhp42854&sc_extcmp=JS_2854_home1

Obama proposes Overtime Initiative for Home Care Workers

Posted on: December 15th, 2011 by accreditednursing No Comments

WASHINGTON – Nearly 2 million home care workers could qualify for federal wage and overtime protections under a rule being proposed today by the Obama administration.
By Carolyn Kaster, AP
The effort — the 18th initiative in Obama’s “We Can’t Wait” campaign against Congress — would overcome legislative inertia and a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that upheld home care workers’ exclusion from wage-and-hour standards.
Once classified as companions for the elderly and people with disabilities, most home care workers today are part of a growing $70 billion industry that has doubled in size during the past decade. The nation’s over-65 population is projected to grow from 40 million to 72 million by 2030; 27 million Americans will need home care by 2050, the government estimates.
At the same time, the duties of home care workers have evolved to include health care services, such as managing medications and monitoring vital signs. Yet they average $17,000 to $20,000 a year — more than the $7.25-per-hour minimum wage, but low enough to put many beneath the poverty line and enable them to qualify for public assistance.
More than 90% of home care workers are women, and nearly 50% are minorities. About four in 10 rely on public benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps.
“The care provided by in-home workers is crucial to the quality of life for many families,” Labor Secretary Hilda Solis says. “The vast majority of these workers are women, many of whom serve as the primary breadwinner for their families.”
About 1.6 million of the 1.8 million workers are employed by agencies that pay more than the minimum wage but not overtime. The National Association for Home Care and Hospice says the change would lead the agencies to hire more workers, rather than pay overtime rates.
“The worker is not getting anything out of it,” says Bill Dombi, the group’s vice president for law. “Instead, the employer ends up with higher costs because they have to hire more people.”
Eventually, he says, an aging society will outpace the industry’s ability to serve it, leading to cost overruns for federal and state government programs serving the elderly and disabled.
Home care costs Medicaid and Medicare about $56 billion annually. The proposed change is projected to cost about $100 million a year, mostly in overtime costs. Twenty-one states already provide minimum-wage protection for more than half the nation’s home care workers, and 15 also provide overtime protection.
The exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage and overtime rules dates to 1974. President Clinton sought to change it shortly before leaving office in 2001, but President George W. Bush reversed that effort.
Enter Obama, who co-sponsored Senate legislation in 2007 that would have ended the exemption for most home care workers. As an Illinois state senator in 2003, he voted to raise the pay of home care workers to $9 an hour.
The effort plays into Obama’s “fair share” campaign theme, outlined in Osawatomie, Kan., last week, which echoes Theodore Roosevelt’s century-old crusade against economic inequality. It’s likely to help him with low-income and minority workers, who traditionally favor Democrats.

20 Things You Didn’t Know About Accredited

Posted on: December 9th, 2011 by accreditednursing No Comments

“20 Things You Didn’t Know About
Accredited!”

 

  1. The Accredited
    Family of Home Care Services is comprised of five corporations: Accredited Home
    Health Services, Accredited Nursing Services, Accredited Nursing Care,
    Accredited Respite Services, Accredited Financial Management Services.

 

  1. The Senior Management
    Team has over 80 years of combined service with Accredited.

 

  1. Medicare statistics
    show Accredited makes the most home health care visits of any private owned company
    in Los Angeles County.

 

  1. Accredited Nursing
    Care was the first Private Duty Agency to receive CAHSAH’s Home Care Aide
    Organization Certification.

 

  1. We are obsessive
    number junkies when it comes to our agency’s Medicare Scores.  Check out
    our Quality Outcomes on www.medicare.gov.

 

  1. In recognition of
    our 25th anniversary, United States Congressman Brad Sherman
    presented Accredited with a United States Flag that flew over the Capitol.

 

  1. Accredited’s
    proudest accomplishment:  In a time of deep recession, we provide
    employment to 2,500 people weekly and 6,800 annually.

 

  1. As a 50th
    birthday gift from staff, Accredited founder Barry Berger was presented with an
    original Olympic Torch from the 2002 Salt Lake Games.

 

  1. Several of our
    caregivers have 20+ year tenures with Accredited.

 

  1. Past Accredited ventures included; nanny services,
    hospital staffing, and physician house calls.

 

  1. The most common name of our employees is Maria – We have
    over 300 Marias on staff.

 

  1. More than 80% of our department managers have been
    promoted from within the company.

 

  1. At our 30th Anniversary Gala in April 2010, there wasn’t
    a dry eye in the house after hearing one of our patient’s amazing life story.

 

  1. Accredited makes over 500 referrals to our competitors
    annually.  We’re all in this together!

 

  1. Accredited has provided care to 4 generations of Neil’s
    family – his daughter, himself, his parent, and his grandparent.

 

  1. Our ‘Celebrity’ List of Patients is enormous and ever
    growing… I’m dying to publish the list. Alas, HIPAA prevents me!

 

  1. Receiving a patient’s handwritten note of gratitude is
    our favorite type of mail.

 

  1. CEO Computers and Lazar & Co. Accounting have been
    our vendors for over 25 years.  We’re loyal customers!

 

  1. Accredited’s Leadership Team participated in more than 40
    meetings with State & Federal Legislators last year.

 

  1. We really, really love when you respond to our E-mail
    updates and like us on Facebook!

 

Accredited hold Sock Drive to Benefit Los Angeles’ Homeless Youth

Posted on: December 7th, 2011 by accreditednursing No Comments

Please donate to our Sock Drive to support LAYN – Los Angeles’ Homeless Youth (www.layn.org). Donate new Medium-Large Mens and Womens Socks before December 12th. Contact Janelle Lacson at jlacsonataccreditednursingdotcom for more information. Happy Holidays!

Grandma is moving to Assisted Living

Posted on: December 6th, 2011 by accreditednursing No Comments

Three weeks ago, my wife’s grandma fell and fractured 3 vertebrae.  She was hospitalized, had a procedure to cement the vertebrae, transitioned to a Rehab Facility for a couple of weeks, and the family is moving her into Assisted Living facility today.  Thankfully, Grandma is wanting to live in Assisted Living as she fears being alone and falling again. Even though we had Lifeline for her, it wasn’t enough for her to feel safe.

To help ease her transition to assisted living housing, I’ve arranged for home health care using Registered Nurses. Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists to help manage her incision healing, work on endurance/strength, and provide training for ADLs in her new environment.  In addition, I have a caregiver on stand-by in case she needs more 1:1 support throughout the day.

As I was thinking about her transition to senior assisted living, I wondered what families do when they don’t have the same educational background (gerontology and social work) as I have or they don’t work in healthcare.  So, I found a great article  on the National Center for Assisted Living’s website to share.  Here is what they say -

Based upon their personal experiences, many residents suggest you see the actual apartment or unit that you will move into and take measurements. Ask the administrator or director what furniture, if any, the residence will provide. Some residences may provide minimal furniture, such as a bed or chair upon request; other residences encourage you to bring whatever furnishings will make you feel comfortable in your new home. Experience indicates that making choices about personal possessions is difficult at the time; however, one resident said, “It’s not as bad as you think . . . Try to remain positive and have family and friends help you.”

Residents suggest that you might want to leave large pieces of furniture at home, since your apartment will probably be smaller than your current home. They also suggest that you bring smaller prized possessions to create that “at-home” feeling in your new assisted living apartment. And, for those possessions that you can’t part with but aren’t sure that you want to bring with you, consider putting those items in a storage unit or asking family to temporarily store the items for you. This way you will have time to determine which items are important to have with you at your new home.

You should start packing well in advance of the actual move. Sort through your clothes and decide what you will need and how much your new closets will hold. Residents advise to be sure to look at available closet and storage space to avoid bringing more than the closets can hold. Avoid bringing too many of one thing such as coats.

Moving Day Helpers

When moving day arrives and you are ready to set up your new home, ask family and friends to help arrange and organize your apartment. Many assisted living residences have staff members who can help move your furniture and other heavy pieces into your new apartment. You will want to find out what assistance the residence offers before you arrive on moving day. Although staff, family members, and friends are there to help you, it is important that you decide how your apartment is arranged. Remember, arranging your apartment to suit your preferences will make your adjustment easier.

Making the Emotional Transition

Moving is hard. It can make anyone feel overwhelmed and stressed. However, these feelings are generally temporary and disappear after you establish your own routine. “Give it time and you will adjust,” said one resident. In talking with other residents, you will find many of them felt the same way. Some residents found comfort in talking with clergy. Others found comfort in talking to a neighbor or close friend.

Residents say the best strategy is to stay busy, introduce yourself to other residents, and participate in the activities. It is normal to have a tendency to stay in your apartment at first. Yet, getting out and meeting other residents as well as participating in activities were repeatedly identified as the quickest ways to become comfortable with your new surroundings.

Everyone is different. Some people embrace the move with open arms, while for others it may not be as easy. Whatever your feelings, current residents say these feelings are normal. Give yourself time to adjust. If you feel you are taking longer to adjust than what you consider normal, then you might benefit from discussing your concerns and feelings with the administrator or director of the residence.

More Advice For New Residents
• Read all the materials about the assisted living residence before you move in.
•Try and meet the administrator or director and staff before moving day.
•Review the paperwork and contract before you move in so that your questions can be answered in advance.
•Pack wisely. Don’t bring everything.
•Obtain a list from the residence of suggested items to bring.
•Obtain a list of residence policies and familiarize yourself with them.
•Label your clothing if the residence is helping you with laundry.
•Read the activity schedule and choose two or three programs to attend early on to meet your neighbors and other residents.

Advice for Friends and Family Members

Current residents advise friends and family members to be involved before, during, and after the move. Your loved one does not want to be seen or treated differently now that they live in an assisted living residence. Remember, your family member or friend hasn’t changed; it’s only their home address that has changed.

Be aware. Family members and close friends often experience the same emotions as a new resident. These emotions are natural and to be expected.

Suggested Do’s For Friends and Relatives
• If requested, help with the sorting, packing, and moving.
•Listen as your loved one talks about what they left behind.
•Be helpful even if you do not agree with the decision to move.
•Recognize that moving to a new home represents a major change.
•Call and visit often during the first few weeks.
•Be positive. A smile, support, patience, and understanding are required.

Suggested Don’ts for Friends and Relatives
•Make all the decisions or take over the sorting, packing, and moving process.
•Focus only on yourselves. This is about the resident moving, not you!
•Criticize the decision to move into assisted living.
•Make light of the transition.
•Immediately talk about selling the resident’s house.
•Make promises that you cannot keep.
•Be negative.

For more information, visit www.longtermcareliving.com

 

 

GPS Products for Alzheimer’s Patients

Posted on: December 6th, 2011 by accreditednursing No Comments

I’ve seen quite a few GPS Products introduced in the marketplace. The goal of these products is to ensure patient safety if wandering is a problem.  With GPS, the Alzheimer’s patient can be located in seconds.   We’ve heard way too many stories that patients have been lost for hours or days at a time, and the effects of this can be terrible. With simple products like GPS Watches or GPS shoes, the Alzheimer’s Community has some cost-effective solutions for wanderers.

For more information about GPS Shoes, click on this article from USA Today – http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/10/gps-shoes-for-alzheimers-patients-coming-to-market/1

Medication Management Programs for Seniors – See what’s Availabile in California

Posted on: December 6th, 2011 by accreditednursing No Comments

Evidence-based prevention programs are interventions that are based on evidence that is generated by scientific studies published in peer-reviewed journals. One source of such evidence includes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sponsored research. As a result of several studies, there is now evidence documenting the effectiveness of risk factor interventions related to medication management.

There is evidence that community based programs to limit medication errors for elders yield positive results. Inappropriate medication usage by community dwelling elderly persons has been documented between 12% and 40%. Errors in medications are ranked as the fourth leading cause of death for people over the age of 65.

The Medication Management Program is a federally funded program under Title IIID of the Older Americans Act. Funds are distributed to local Area Agencies on Aging who use the funds to provide a wide variety of services and information at multipurpose senior centers, at congregate meal sites, through home delivered meal programs and at other appropriate sites.

The purpose of the Medication Management Program is to improve the quality of life for older adults and prevent premature institutionalization by working with them to manage their use of over the counter and prescription medications, vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements.

The following are examples of activities that are provided:
Pharmacists or Pharmacy students give presentations on how seniors can manage their medications, drug-nutrient interactions, and supplements. The presentation may include a personalized medication review to identify expired medication, answer client questions, and counsel seniors to assure they understand, are following directions, and taking medications properly. The Pharmacists also encourage seniors to communicate with their doctors so they will be better informed of what medicines are being prescribed, why, and what results and/or side effects to expect.
Partnerships with community based organizations to provide “Rx Check Up” clinics.
Distribution of passport size books for seniors to keep records of health and medications. Seniors can take the books with them to share with their doctors and pharmacist.
Distribution of brochures related to medication management.
Distribution of pill minders in various languages to help seniors manage their prescriptions.
Information provided at Senior Health Fairs, through an Info Van, and through the Information and Assistance Program.
Automated medication dispensers for frail/blind clients in the home.

The target population for this program are individuals who are aged 60 years and over; who are aged 60 years and over who live in an area of greatest economic need; who are aged 60 years and over living in a medically underserved area of the region; who are aged 60 and over with chronic medical conditions that can improve with education and non-medical intervention.

Contact your local Area Agency on Aging to determine what services are available in your community

Medicare Home Health Co-Pays Avoided

Posted on: December 1st, 2011 by accreditednursing No Comments

The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the Super Committee, charged with coming up with a plan to cut the national deficit by $1.8 trillion over the next decade failed to do so by their November 23rd deadline.

Although the group could not come to a compromise, the lack of a deal is a temporary win for home care because of what was on the table. Copayments on Medicare home health services were proposed and considered from several angles, including President Obama and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).

Now, because the six Democrats and six Republicans on the committee could not come to a compromise, a sequestration process begins where automatic and across-the-board spending cuts will be triggered and are planned to begin in January 2013. The debate on the subject, especially in Congress and for the upcoming election, will certainly not stop until that time and some course of action prior to the commencement of automatic cuts is likely to alter current plans.

See an official statement from the National Association for Home Care & Hospice on the Super Committee and avoiding a copay for Medicare home health services.

Senator John Kerry, a member of the 12-person committee, has proven once again to be a champion for home care issues. The Alliance has been in contact with his staff throughout the process who relayed HCA’s advocacy to the Senator. Such advocacy will need to continue until it is revealed how any cuts from the sequestration process will be doled out.

HCA will provide updates as the deficit reduction debate continues.

Low Pollen Triggers Kids’ Asthma

Posted on: December 1st, 2011 by accreditednursing No Comments

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Kids with asthma and pollen allergies were more likely to wheeze, cough and have shortness of breath and other asthma symptoms — even when pollen levels were considered “low” — in a new study that suggests parents need to be careful in all seasons.

Yale and Brown University researchers tracked more than 400 children with asthma, as well as the daily pollen levels near each child’s home, over the course of five years. They found that despite daily maintenance medications, kids with pollen sensitivities were up to 37 percent more likely to have respiratory symptoms and to need rescue medication when pollen in the air was as low as six to nine grains per cubic meter — a level the National Allergy Bureau calls low.

“In some respects, it’s common sense that if a child is asthmatic and allergic to pollen, when they’re exposed to pollen, they would bear some risk of asthmatic symptoms,” said lead author Curt DellaValle, of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

“The biggest thing, though, is seeing these effects even with the lowest levels of pollen,” he told Reuters Health. “It leads us to believe that parents of these asthmatic children should be aware that even when pollen levels are low, their children will experience asthmatic symptoms.”

The researchers were surprised to find, though, that pollen-sensitive kids had fewer symptoms when ragweed pollen was at high levels. DellaValle said it may mean that the children’s parents reacted to high pollen reports and took extra precautions.

“It suggested that they modified their children’s behavior by keeping them inside, in air conditioning or by using air filters,” DellaValle said.

Asthma affects more than 22 million Americans, nearly six million of them children, and the condition most often begins in childhood.

Symptoms can be exacerbated by irritants in the air, both outdoors and indoors, including air pollution, dust, dander and smoke. People with chronic or frequent symptoms may use so-called maintenance medications, taken daily or every other day, as preventives. Severe asthma attacks are usually treated with “rescue” medications, such as inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids in injected or pill form.

Previous research has yielded mixed answers about how much of an effect outdoor allergens have in provoking asthma symptoms, DellaValle’s team writes in the journal Epidemiology. One problem, they say, is a lack of good data about local pollen levels over time.

DellaValle’s team recruited 430 children with asthma between the ages of four and 12 in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts between 2000 and 2003. Each kid’s mother kept a calendar tracking her child’s asthma symptoms and use of asthma medications. The researchers also tested the children’s blood for sensitivity to pollens from trees, grass and weeds.

To get a better picture of realistic pollen exposures, every year during the Northeast’s pollen season — generally from late March to early October — the researchers used a model to analyze the amount of pollen within 1.2 miles (two kilometers) of each child’s home. They also tracked daily and seasonal weather, foliage, when pollen seasons began and ended and peak pollen periods.

Among kids with sensitivities to particular types of pollen, even small amounts in the air could trigger asthma symptoms.

Children not on maintenance medication who were sensitive to grass pollen, for example, wheezed, coughed and had trouble breathing and other nighttime symptoms when they were exposed to more than two grains per cubic meter of grass pollen.

Kids on daily maintenance therapy and sensitive to weed pollen could have similar symptoms and a need for rescue medication at pollen levels above six to nine grains per cubic meter.

Among the kids sensitive to weed pollen, low-level exposures raised their risk of symptoms by 37 percent. That compared to a 23 percent rise in risk during the highest weed-pollen periods — hinting that kids may have stayed indoors when pollen levels were known to be high, the researchers note.

Pollen levels were not tied to an increase in asthma symptoms in kids without allergies to specific pollens.

While the study expands understanding of how pollen can affect each individual, DellaValle says, more research is needed. Meanwhile, he advises parents to take necessary precautions to protect their asthmatic children who also are allergic to pollen.

“Be aware of the types of activities they are doing outside,” he said. “Keep them inside when you know they are at increased risk.”

http://news.yahoo.com/even-low-pollen-levels-trigger-kids-asthma-201924520.html

New Options for Veterans Seeking Healthcare

Posted on: December 1st, 2011 by accreditednursing No Comments

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Combat veterans often return to the Valley in need of physical and mental healthcare. Many of them don’t seek help.

A veteran’s clinic in Oakhurst is one of three in the Central Valley serving vets who don’t live near Fresno’s VA hospital.

It’s convenient for Kurtis Foster, a wounded Marine Corps veteran living a few miles away.

His three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq brought a pile of injuries he simply endured.

The last came in July of 2007, when his Humvee was blown up with him in it.

“So they ended up medi-vacing me. They wouldn’t let me back in my unit, they wouldn’t let me back in my platoon. They figured I’d been hurt too much,” Foster said.

He would be sent home for several surgeries, rehab, and finally a medical discharge.

He’s grateful to be able to come to the Oakhurst clinic and skip the long drive to Fresno.

It saves him gas and the energy he needs for his body and mind to continue to healing from TBI -Traumatic Brain Injury.

“I wanted to get better I wanted to get back to the old me. And the VA has really helped me with that,” he said.

The VA’s three Valley clinics like this one have direct access to doctors and psychologists through the tele-health system.

“It’s giving them increased access to healthcare. So we’re able to interact with them over the video, to get a better a sense of their medical concerns using higher technology to serve their needs,” Fresno VA physician Dr. Michael Tom said.

The wounds of war may have ended this marine’s plans to make soldiering a career, but he’s still determined to encourage other young vet’s to sign up with the VA, to heal whatever ails them.

Those who suffered physical and/or psychological wounds on the battle fields of Iraq and Afghanistan may find these clinics closer to them and a place to find help and healing.

Kurtis’ last piece of advice? Sign up with the VA As soon as you can.

“Don’t worry about the PTSD, don’t worry about the TBI, and when you’re ready for the treatment it’s available,” he said.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/health/health_watch&id=8445427

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