Aging/Older Adults

This publication summarizes and synthesizes some of the most important things that research and demonstration programs have learned about consumer direction. The paper provides leaders and practitioners with a common framework of understanding for our next challenge: To build upon current knowledge and to make “consumer direction” an integral part of the options available for all older persons who may need long-term care. Read the 12 common consumer direction myths and then learn the reality.

This report outlines the efforts of the State’s Department of Disabilities, Aging & Independent Living to create a balanced system of care for elders and adults with disabilities. It discusses the Department’s successes and obstacles in increasing home and community-based services, including respite care and consumer-directed services for care recipients and caregivers, and shifting away from institutionalized care. It also outlines the services of the five Area Agencies on Aging offices.

The manual is a nursing home to community discharge planning manual designed primarily for use in nursing homes and may be of help to others to use in developing manuals for their communities. It is designed to orient the long-term care providers to the nursing home discharge process by defining the roles of the key partners who are involved in returning residents to community living and to document a standard protocol for accessing and maximizing partner resources.

The State of Vermont was seeking proposals from individuals or organizations interested in becoming the Medication Assistance Consultant. The deadline for submission of proposals was June 23, 2006. This RFP serves as a great example when seeking out contract work.

How many hoops does a consumer have to jump through to receive services? The goal of service delivery for ADRC is seamless entry into long term supports for consumers. This document outlines basic indicators of streamlining access by looking at different aspects of the process. The Measures Matrix will utilze the Evaluation Plan Highlights document also attached.

How can you test the satisfaction of customers receiving services? The Forsyth County ADRC has shared a presentation about their process of measuring satisfaction. They have also included the results from their post-test consumer surveys and the findings that their questionnaires provided.

One challenge many ADRCs face is how to provide services over large geographic areas with small numbers of staff. Several states have chosen to use kiosks as part of their outreach and marketing or information and referral components. This issue brief explores kiosks in use by ADRC grantees and other organizations and discusses considerations in designing accessible kiosks.

A growing number of states are turning to managed long-term care in their Medicaid programs for younger adults and elderly people with disabilities, including those with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. This issue brief describes how two states, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, have addressed the special needs of beneficiaries with dementia in the design of their programs and makes policy recommendations for states that are considering implementing or modifying programs.

This groundbreaking two-part report calls for significant improvement in health care and long-term care that relies too much on families without recognizing and assessing family caregivers' own support and health needs. Volume II provides four background papers and two personal accounts. Chronic illness and disability, as these accounts reveal, affects not only the lives of the individual, but also of family members who provide the care and support.

This two-part report calls for significant improvement in health care and long-term care that relies too much on families without recognizing and assessing family caregivers' own support and health needs. Volume I reflects the professional consensus achieved among experts and stakeholders on fundamental principles and practice guidelines that apply to a range of practitioners in a variety of settings. The strategies focus on stimulating caregiver assessment as a basic component of practice.