by George Lauer
For a couple decades now, advocates for seniors and aging Californians have warned that long-term care problems will get larger and more numerous if government and health industry officials don’t make some policy changes.
Three new reports are turning up the pressure on policymakers:
- A report titled, “A Shattered System: Reforming Long-Term Care in California,” from the state Senate Select Committee on Aging and Long Term Care said California’s fragmented system for caring for aging residents needs to be overhauled soon. The critical assessment makes several policy recommendations, including consolidating programs and improving workforce and training efforts.
- A new study from UC-San Francisco predicts the long-term care industry will experience substantial growth in coming years but notes that more people are leaving long-term care jobs than entering them.
- A study published this month in the Annals of Internal Medicinesuggests the country’s health care system is getting worse rather than better at dealing with patients in the last year of life. The number of U.S. residents who experienced pain in the last year of life increased by nearly 12% and reports of depression and periodic confusion during that period increased by about 26% between 1998 and 2010, according to the study.
Not a New Situation…
Continue reading here: http://www.californiahealthline.org/insight/2015/new-reports-shine-light-on-longterm-care-problems
