Terry Branstad says nursing home inspectors have 'gotcha attitude'

[frontrange]

Source: Des Moines Register

Republican candidate for governor Terry Branstad says he wants Iowa's nursing home inspectors to collaborate and cooperate with the industry officials they regulate.
.......
Lawmakers take cash, advocate for homes
In recent years, care facility owners have hosted campaign fundraisers for state lawmakers in their homes and in their facilities. They have told their elderly residents that state bureaucrats are trying to force them out of their homes and dictate where they can live.

Key state legislators have been flown to Washington, D.C., at the industry's expense. While there, those state lawmakers have accompanied industry lobbyists to meetings with members of Congress where together they have called for a more collaborative approach to federal nursing home regulation.

Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20101020/NEWS10/10200359/Branstad-Nursing-home-inspectors-have-gotcha-attitude-

---

Once again a politician puts business profits over safety and health of nursing home inmates.

Most nursing homes in Iowa and elsewhere are hell-holes that over-medicate, neglect and abuse their patients. The staff are underpaid, overworked, and don't give a damn about your loved one.

[TygrBright]

1. I LOVE safety and health inspectors with a "gotcha" attitude! Go inspectors!

Dammit, if an elderly relative or someone else I love is dependent on the management of a long-term care facility for their safety and well-being, I BLOODY WELL WANT THAT FACILITY INSPECTED BY PEOPLE WITH A "GOTCHA" ATTITUDE! If there's anything about the facility or its management that has even a slight chance of a negative impact on my loved one's safety or well-being, I want it GOT! NOW!

adamantly,
Bright

[Hestia]

2. Or even better, hire a caregiver to stay with the patient so they won't have to go to LTC

facility. Generally, patients die within 18 months after going to a LTC facility. In their own homes, they do so much better, are happier and live longer. We just received a grant to train caregivers for the home environment. Every state should be doing this. This way, the patient doesn't have to spend down every dime they have, sell their home and turn their assets over to the state for their "care". The family is happier too, since they don't have to visit grandma in a facility.

But yes, I agree, inspectors should have a "gotcha" attitude when inspecting these facilities.

[TygrBright]

7. That would be ideal, of course.

But in the case of elderly relatives who have no potential caregivers living close, a LTC facility that is vigilant and conscientious about care is critical.

A dear friend of mine is facing this issue right now. Her elderly, early-stage Alzheimer's father was booted out of his home by his 3rd wife's greedy kids who managed to ram through a divorce and divest him of all potential shared marital assets a week or so before the 3rd wife died intestate. My friend doesn't have the kind of money to lawyer up to the point of really fighting hard, just managed to slide her Dad out of the situation with his SS and VA benefits intact.

Unfortunately, she lives in CA. He lived here in NM. He can't establish residency in CA in under 6 mo. and all of the VA facilities that will accept people with Alzheimers' anywhere in her area are full with long waiting lists, anyway. The only place she can get him into a VA facility is back in Iowa where he lived for 30 years or so when he was younger. No family left there, now. My friend barely scrapes by on a small self-employment income, hanging on teeth and toenails.

All she can do is hope and pray that the Iowa VA facility is a decent one. It's breaking her heart that she can't be near him, but her self-employment work doesn't travel well--she can't relocate. If she skips meals and airfares don't go up too much she might be able to visit him for a few days once a year.

We are so devolving back to barbarity, social Darwinism red in tooth and claw. I'm glad I don't have kids who will have to deal with the pain of my not having any money and getting old and sick. I figure when the time comes I'll just wait for the temperatures to go below zero, and head out with a bottle of good scotch for a long, long, long nap in the snow.

pessimistically,
Bright

[savalez]

3. Frontrange, I agree with your "inmate" reference.

If anything there should be MORE inspections!

[KamaAina]

4. Trying to force them out of their homes?

:rofl:

As of Oct. 1, federal regulations require nursing home ioperators to ask their inmates residents whether they would like to live in the community. Plus, if the answer is Yes (bear in mind that 25% of the inmates residents are people under age 65 who have significant disabilities), they are required to make a referral to a community placement agency such as an independent living center.

Normally I'm all for rail service, but the nursing home gravy train needs to be derailed. FREE OUR PEOPLE!

http://www.adapt.org

[Rambis]

5. 6,000 $ a month

that is what we will have to pay to keep my mother in the rehab center/nursing home she is in now. We cant afford that so the search is on for a hell hole that we can "afford" once her rehab stint is over. My parents will be out of money in months regardless. GOTCHA!

[KamaAina]

6. Your local Center for Independent Living may be able to help

http://www.ilru.org/html/publications/directory/iowa.html

alas, much of rural Iowa is without a local CIL. But if you have one, they may be able to help get your mom set up with the supports she needs in her own home.

[Marnie]

8. Hey Sarah,

there's your death panel.
Come on grizzly breath come to these old folks defense.

[Iterate]

9. 1995: Branstad Muzzled the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

When Branstad was governor before (1983-1999), he had a history of raising funds from nursing home owners and rewarding them with lax oversight.

"Branstad Muzzled the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. The Des Moines Register reported in February 1995 that "The state ombudsman for the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs will be relieved of his high-profile advocacy duties - action that comes days after he issued a report critical of the state's oversight of nursing homes. Carl McPherson, the state long-term-care ombudsman for the past 15 years, authored the 1994 report that was first publicized Jan. 23.'They've given me new duties. Muzzle duties,' McPherson said during an interview Wednesday. 'I will not be able to speak publicly to the issues, when you look at my reassignment plan. This move will assure that a report like this does not come out next year. I have been mouthy.' <...> Betty Grandquist, executive director of the McPherson Department of Elder Affairs, denied any connection between McPherson's release of critical reports and his reassignment." ."

"Branstad's Muzzling of the Ombudman Was Linked to Campaign Contributions. The Des Moines Register reported in February 1995 that "Branstad, a Republican, has enjoyed strong financial support from nursing home operators over the years <...>operators of several Iowa nursing homes were fined for violating campaign finance laws in connection with mailed solicitations for contributions to the Branstad campaign." "

"Today, Branstad Denies the Ombudsman Scandal Ever Happened. Radio Iowa reported in May 2010 that " Albrecht was asked about the claim that Branstad tried to muzzle the ombudsman when he was governor, and replied that it never happened." "

http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=209218

It's hard to tell who has the more impaired memory, Terry Branstad or the Iowans who might vote for him.

[Hubert Flottz]

10. Republicans are always looking to fuck over those least able

to defend themselves. ALWAYS!

[Iowa]

11. Branstad is just pure evil...

It's hard to believe that anyone would be dumb enough to vote for him. He's a psychopath, IMO. No conscience whatsoever.