Assisted living facilities should address people’s medical and mental health needs. Older and frailer people are now living in these facilities. Judith Graham writes for Kaiser Health News on a report earlier this fall in JAMA Network that assisted living facilities are not meeting their residents’ needs.
Today, more than half of assisted living facility residents are over 85. And, more than three in four need help with activities of daily living, particularly bathing. Half need help with toileting.
Most assisted living facility residents have high blood pressure. About one in three have heart disease, arthritis or depression. More than four in ten have dementia or a cognitive impairment. And, more than one in ten suffer from a serious mental illness.
Experts on a panel addressing resident needs in assisted living facilities recommend “a new standard of care,” including a requisite number of health aides and an on-site registered nurse. Staff need to be available to provide assistance in a timely manner when people fall or otherwise need help. At some facilities, there’s just one staffperson for 40 residents.
Moreover, many assisted living facilities do not have adequately trained staff. It is not unusual for staff to lack training in caring for residents with dementia or other cognitive impairments as well as for patients taking multiple medications and controlling infections. During Covid, one in six more residents died than prior to Covid. Of course, all of these recommendations cost money, which each state will need to factor into any regulatory reforms it adopts.
If you’re shopping for an assisted living facility, be sure to check the ratio of staff to residents as well as the training of staff. Well-trained staff are far more likely to provide good quality care. Also, inquire as to whether the facility does formal assessments for dementia, as it is so common among residents and should be properly treated.
In fact, a good assisted living facility should formally assess all patients and develop an individualized plan of care for each resident. Patients’ care goals should be understood and attended to.
If a loved one needs memory care at an assisted living facility, look for a facility with well-trained staff. You will pay a lot for a stay in the memory care unit. And, well-trained staff should be part of the package.
Today, there are nearly 29,000 assisted living facilities serving more than 900,000 residents. Each state has its own set of regulations governing how they operate. They are intended to meet both social and medical needs of residents, but they are all different when it comes to what they offer residents. There are no federal regulations.
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