The Veteran’s Administration (the VA) makes long-term care support available for qualifying veterans in several ways. VA Community Living Centers (CLCs) CLCs are VA owned and operated. Veterans can receive nursing level care, including assistance with activities of daily living. Veterans are encouraged to make their rooms feel home-like by decorating their rooms and they […]
Blog
Long-Term Care Partnership Policies One example of good planning is purchasing long-term care insurance. The greatest risk to non-taxable estates (those under $12.9 million) is the cost of long-term care. With long-term care insurance, you can shift that risk to an insurance company. A partnership policy is a special long-term care insurance policy that protects […]
On April 1, 2024, the Washington Post published an article titled “Algorithms guide senior home staffing. Managers say care is suffering.” The article indicates that a system, called Service Alignment, was developed more than two decades ago when assisted living facility (ALF) executives began timing caregivers performing tasks. That data was fed into a computer […]
In February 2024, Justice in Aging released a new report based on California’s “performance measure” data from the state’s Medicaid assisted living program. Aging in Justice concluded that the quality of care measures provide no meaningful information. A perfect score tells you nothing about the quality of care residents receive. The report concludes that the […]
For many years, Genworth has produced a Cost of Care Survey tracking the cost of long-term care in America. According to the survey, the projected national monthly median costs will be as follows: Homemaker Services: $5,417 Home Health Aide: $5,625 Adult Day Health Care: $1,847 Assisted Living Facility: $4,917 Nursing Home Semi-Private Room: $8,641 Nursing […]
In Jones v. Life Care Centers of America (Tenn .Ct. Appeals 2023), a cognitively impaired resident was assisted in the shower by staff. While doing so, the employee took a call from her incarcerated boyfriend which showed the resident’s nude body. The assisted living facility moved for summary judgment after alleging the resident showed no […]
Ideally, health care providers do the right thing. Good Care is provided. There is no negligence. But what if they don’t do the right thing? What if they are negligent? Should you have the right to consider your options regarding how to hold them accountable? Over the past two decades, many long-term care providers, especially […]
There are many types of “Plaintiff’s cases.” This article focuses on injury cases. Injury cases can be as simple as a car wreck or as complex as a medical malpractice case. Regardless, they generally require four essential elements: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages. See Calhoun First Nat’l Bank v. Dickens, 264 Ga. 285 […]
Like all insurance, long-term care insurance policies are designed to cover risk. With these policies, the risk is that you will need custodial care such as in-home care, assisted living care or nursing home care. The best thing about these policies is that they create a pool of someone else’s money you can use to […]
We regularly scour the internet looking for information relating to elder care, special needs and elder law. Although we review a number of sources collecting information, many of the articles listed here were found using Google Scholar Alerts. If a link you need has gone missing, try pasting the link into the Wayback Machine (Internet […]
We regularly post links to news articles and other resources related to Elder Law and Special Needs Law. We focus on general news, health and healthcare news, special needs news, events, government sources, financial and retirement news and legal news. Some cited resources are for professionals, but most are news or other helpful articles we […]
February 18th is National Caregiver’s Day! General News Sources: Will Social Security run out of money? Here’s what could happen to your benefits if Congress doesn’t act Georgia AG Carr Warns Georgians to Beware of Romance Scams | FBI Warning North Macedonia President Walks Girl With Down’s Syndrome To School After She Was Bullied What […]
On February 10, 2022, the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care posted a podcast titled Nursing Home Neglect: Preventing it and Getting Help. Click here to listen to the podcast. Other podcasts by the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care are available here. For other information regarding nursing home resident rights, click here. […]
General News Sources: Getting the Most from Social Security (NYT – subscription required) The average retiree spends 30% of their Social Security income on health care Governor Mills of Maine) Releases Historic Elder Justice Roadmap Alzheimer’s Foundation of America offers free virtual memory screenings How car sensors monitor Alzheimer’s disease A document checklist for family […]
NOTE: If you have a Georgia corporation or limited liability company, your annual return is due by April 1, 2022. General News Sources: Dog Aging Project is looking for more participants National Black (African American) History Month: February 2022 (Census) Tricare coverage and Medicare explained Growing elder populations require more services, awareness NAIC Comments on […]
Residents in long-term care facilities have the right to choose their treating physician. This right is supported in federal and state law. See 42 C.F.R. § 483.10(d); O.C.G.A. § 31-8-108(b)(1). As a practical matter, however, most physicians, don’t make house calls to the facility. This mean, by default, most residents are treated by the facility’s […]
What you know about paying for long-term care?
The “August” 2021 issue of Alzheimer’s Today (Vol. 16, Number 1), includes an article titled “A guide to Creating a Dementia-Friendly Home.” The article states that most homes are built for young, active, individuals, .. not for the changing needs of older adults. “Dementia-friendly design is about creating a living space that improves the well-being […]
The Georgia Council on Aging (Co-Age) recently announced its legislative priorities going into the 2022 legislative session. They are: Restore funding to home and community based services which was cut when Governor Kemp ordered that every department reduce spending. Appropriate $300,000 to $500,000 to increase funding for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program. Allow Medicaid to […]
The following links can be used to research health care providers and, if necessary, to file a complaint with State licensing boards and boards of certification: Complaint and Discipline Process for Nurses (Powerpoint by Georgia Board of Nursing) Contact Information For Filing a Complaint with the State Survey Agency (CMS.gov) Do your research about your doctor or […]
O.C.G.A. § 31-8-80. Short title This article shall be known as the “Long-term Care Facility Resident Abuse Reporting Act.” O.C.G.A. § 31-8-81. Definitions As used in this article, the term: (1) “Abuse” means any intentional or grossly negligent act or series of acts or intentional or grossly negligent omission to act which causes injury to […]
On April 12, 2021, John Oliver explained the industry behind nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and why long-term care needs fixing. Long-Term Care: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) – April 12, 2021
Resident fell at an assisted living facility; the fall caused a wrist fracture and broken ribs. She was transferred to a nursing home where she needed assistance for almost all personal care needs including using the toilet. Shortly after admission to the nursing home she was left unattended on the toilet even though a nurses […]
Lillian Guernsey’s conservator brought suit alleging that Lillian was sexually assaulted by another resident at a personal care home. The case was tried to the court. The defendant conceded liability; after one defendant admitted negligence, Plaintiff moved for a directed verdict which was not opposed. The court found that compensatory damages were $300,000 and punitive […]
Plaintiff brought wrongful death action against assisted living facility. During the admission process, resident’s daughter signed admission papers without a power of attorney and without discussing it with the resident. After suit was filed, the facility filed a motion to compel arbitration. The matter was referred to the magistrate. The court found no evidence that […]
At admission to assisted living facility, daughter who was completing documents indicated she wanted to have residency agreement reviewed by an attorney. The facility employee said that would be “pointless” because the facility would not accept any changes and resident would not be allowed to move in without a signed agreement. The agreement provided for […]
Plaintiffs filed their expert report on August 29, 2005. The 120th day after filing the complaint was July 4th. Defendant assisted living facility moved to dismiss the complaint and the trial court denied the motion. On appeal, Plaintiffs argued that an abatement order extended the time for filing the report. The court held that the […]
