The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have established new guidelines on how healthcare providers must respond in times of emergency. This impacts nursing homes, hospitals, and assisted living facilities, but it also impacts things that you might not expect, like dialysis centers, physical therapy locations, and similar services. While meant to help the individuals receiving care at a greater level, it is also providing a hindrance in many situations as some places are not sure of how to adequately adapt to new regulations.
The new standards will not go into effect until about one year from now, but already many places are feeling the new stress that this is creating. These new standards were put into place because of the chaos and confusion that was seen in patient care during the courses of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.
What’s unique about these new measures isn’t that they impact services that help senior citizens, but the fact that they impact services that seniors rely heavily on when receiving in-home care. Even home health agencies are not unaffected by the new policies, and it’s very important that the new standards be well understood–both by the agencies that fall under their jurisdiction and the people that they are meant to protect. Besides keeping people safe, the regulations are meant to keep these services open for as long as possible during times of emergency, and if a closing is necessary, the goal is to get things back up and running as quickly as they can. It’s a lofty goal, but one that carries a bit of frustration with it.
In the end, that’s a good thing. Change can be difficult, and this is true even when it is change for the better. The goal isn’t to hinder anyone, but to make sure that people are doing their best to help those that rely on them. It might take some time for things to begin running smoothly for some services, but the end result will be worth it.
There are many reasons to choose in-home care, but one of the less obvious reasons that it might be best for you and your family members is that you already know how to deal with an emergency if it occurs in your area. The familiarity of home is a huge advantage, and even if an emergency situation never occurs (which hopefully it won’t), your loved one will still be able to take away benefits from aging in place that they would never experience in an assisted living facility or a nursing home. While these have much utility in some situations, in others they do not. The trick is to know what your loved one’s wants and needs are as far in advance as possible, and then pick the best type of care for them based upon their unique situation. Talk with them often if there is still not a need for senior care so that you can get a better idea of what their ideal type of assistance looks like. This way, you can make them as happy as possible when helping to decide their care, and let the rest fall into place naturally.
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