Maine’s Rural Nursing Homes Are Facing An Uncertain Future
By Jackie Farwell, Bangor Daily News, Maine | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
For
"We weren't able to go down and see her as often as we wanted to," Barnes said. "It was hard on her as well with us not being around and the people she was accustomed to taking care of her."
Baker understood she was moving but not the reason why, Barnes said.
"She said, 'Why are you taking me away from my home?' ... I can't explain it, unless you actually go through it, how hard it is on the elderly, especially at that age, to make that type of a transition," Barnes said.
Some families needed to travel even further, finding placements at nursing homes in
Baker received excellent care in
Barnes, who will soon leave
"It's a little too late for us here in
Despite the challenges,
"
Funding crunch threatens quality of care
MaineCare, the state's
"In many ways,
In
Two
Nursing homes shuttering voluntarily must notify the federal government within 60 days of a closure. Facilities also must notify the state and submit a plan for relocating residents.
According to the
Volmer is an assisted-living facility, not a nursing home, and it is not one of the two facilities Erb referenced, he said.
The new legislation promises to give
"If we want to see sufficient staffing, we need to make sure that reimbursement is there," Gallant said.
She remembers when
Advocates fought for and won higher staffing ratios, which directly correlate to the overall quality of nursing home care, she said.
The latest round of nursing home inspections, conducted by the state on behalf of the federal
Deficiencies and fines are two closely watched measures of nursing home quality, but many other factors affect residents' experience, from use of antipsychotic medications to whether routine vaccines are administered.
About 20 percent of
While
Already, the MaineCare funding crunch is affecting some families in ways they may not realize, he said. Nursing homes underfunded by the state often shift the cost burden to patients with private insurance, Erb said. The daily rate for private insurance averages
"People who are paying their own way or have long-term care insurance are paying more than they should have to because they're subsidizing the state's
Shifting the burden
The new legislation also requires the state to reset reimbursement rates every two years to levels that better reflect the actual cost of nursing homes. Nursing homes where more than 70 percent of residents are covered by MaineCare will receive modest supplemental payments on a sliding scale.
Still, the original funding for the bill was reduced due to the state's financial constraints, Erb said. Until the
"The supplemental payment won't be a panacea, but it does ensure that at least some of the funding goes to facilities with a disproportionate MaineCare share," Erb said.
When
"We're down under 70 percent occupancy at our nursing facility, for having just lost a quarter of the beds in the county two years ago," he said.
Many local patients who need treatment for serious illnesses or injuries at larger hospitals in
Nursing home residents in more urban areas enjoy convenient access to a wider array of specialized medical care. All three of
Financially speaking, Oceanview, an independent facility owned by Brown's mother, is performing "horribly," he said.
Some facilities stay afloat by shifting the burden to residents with more generous private long-term care insurance or
But nursing homes located in poorer regions many miles from hospitals that refer
"It's a good thing for our industry," he said. "Places that don't need a bit of help at all are going to end up getting a lot of money out of this. Places that need more help than anyone else will be given more to continue functioning."
While the MaineCare funding crisis has left some facilities in dire straits, according to Erb, Gallant points out that nursing homes aren't the only ones tending to
"We have funding challenges across the continuum of long-term care," she said, including services that help seniors live at home as they age.
Still, nursing home residents "are among our most vulnerable citizens," she said.
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