Assisted Living Facilities Need Oversight
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Assisted Living News (not good)
There a re a lot of companies that make a lot of money referring products. Think of them as “corporate influencers”. They often use television and print ads instead of TikTok. AARP is one of them. They make most of their money steering members to insurance products that make money for AARP but are not necessarily in the members’ best interest.
Now another such scam has come to light in a Washington Post article yesterday. There is an assisted living referral service called :A Place for Mom”. It really sounds so warm and comforting. The details are neither.
More than a third of its most highly recommended facilities in 28 states were cited for neglect or substandard care in the past two years, many of them repeatedly according to the Post’s inspection of the reports.
A Place for Mom awarded these facilities its “Best of Senior Living” award for providing “exemplary care and support to aging loved ones” — based, it said, on user reviews, which are often anonymous. Current and former staff of some large chains told The Post that these reviews are often manipulated by the care providers; some claimed they were encouraged to obtain fake reviews from their own friends and relatives.
There are no federal regulations, no mandated inspections and no nationwide report card to help people figure out which facilities are safe, comfortable and committed to providing excellent care. Care costs are up to $6000 per month per person.
For example, Inspired Living at Bonita Springs in Florida won a “best of” designation from A Place for Mom based on 2023 consumer reviews. Yet in 2022, state inspectors said it failed to protect a resident who died after spending more than an hour unattended on a patio on a midsummer afternoon — when the heat index was 100.4 degrees. The facility’s operator did not respond to requests for comment.
California-based Pacifica Senior Living was cited by inspectors for violations at 23 of its 41 properties on A Place for Mom’s 2023 and 2024 “Best of Senior Living” lists, according to The Post review. They included medication errors, bedsores, falls, staff misconduct and exposure to hazards such as infestations by scabies and rats. Pacifica did not respond to requests for comment.
It is clear that leaving inspection to the states is not working - JUST LIKE SO MANY THINGS LEFT TO THE STATES (think reproductive healthcare)
We need to demand that action be taken at the federal level. None of us want our parents or grandparents to be subject to this kind of abusive and neglectful treatment.
ACTION
Let’s share this investigation with the President, our Senators and Members of Congress and ask them to get smart on this and take action. Their contact info is here. The Washington Post article is here, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/16/place-for-mom-assisted-living-referral/.
Our use RESISTBOT by texting SIGN PPWGFR to 50409 to send this email.
“I am your constituent and I want you to know that there are no federal regulations and inspections of assisted living care facilities. The Washington Post just released an investigation into “A Place for Mom”, an assisted care referral service and found that many of their highly rated locations were substandard and neglected residents and that needless deaths were the result.
Here is the article, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/16/place-for-mom-assisted-living-referral/.
I want you to consider establishing minimum requirements for care for these assisted living facilities. Thank you.”
Weight Loss News
A groundbreaking article describes a promising new therapy for obesity that leads to greater weight loss in mice than existing medications. The approach smuggles molecules into the brain's appetite center and affects the brain's neuroplasticity.
A new use of the weight loss hormone GLP-1 is involved. GLP-1 was used as a 'Trojan Horse' to smuggle a specific molecule into the brain of mice, where it successfully affects the plasticity of the brain and results in weight loss. Mice lost twice as much with this technique as opposed to GLP-1 only. The molecule attached to GLP-1 affects the so-called glutamatergic neurotransmitter system, and in fact, other studies with human participants suggest that this family of compounds has significant weight loss potential.
The molecules block a receptor protein called the NMDA receptor, which play a key role in long-term changes in brain connections and have received scientific attention within fields of learning and memory. Drugs targeting these receptors will strengthen and/or weaken specific nerve connections. Modifications here can have a permanent effect on the brain.
I only wish they had one for playing the piano.
Blood Pressure Meds & Nursing Homes
Records from nearly 30,000 nursing home residents indicate that blood pressure medications more than double the risk of life-threatening bone fractures, according to Rutgers Health research.
The authors of the study, which appears in JAMA Internal Medicine, said the increased risk stems from the medications' tendency to impair balance, particularly when patients first stand up and temporarily experience low blood pressure that deprives the brain of oxygen. Interactions with other drugs and low baseline balance in many nursing home patients compound the problem.
The 30-day fracture risk for residents who began blood pressure medication was 5.4 per 100 people per year and 2.2 per 100 people per year for patients who took no blood pressure medication.
More observation of patients taking such medicines in nursing homes is clearly warranted.
Resources
Find My Elected Officials
Contact State and Federal Representatives - phone and email
Healthcare Advocacy (Us) Website
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare - Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Program
One Payer States
Healthcare Now
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
Appeal a Healthcare Decision
Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill
Disinformation Management
Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency
Save Democracy
Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens
RESISTBOT
Link to the RESISTBOT site to learn more
Link to Chop Wood, Carry Water RESISTBOT write up
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Hi Alan,
Your story highlights a for-profit referral service that is corrupt because it is … that’s right … for profit! So buyer beware.
In my recent career (now retired) as a psychologist treating many elders, I had to know about local agencies and services to avoid just the kinds of problems you report.
Assisted living and other care facilities do get oversight. In WA State, there is lots of public information and guidance offered by the Department of Social and Health Services. See this site, for instance:
https://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/residential-care-services/long-term-care-residential-options
In addition, you can look up your immediate area. A quick search found the Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities in Southwest Washington. Digging into that directory or contacting them would find relevant information and resources.
https://www.helpingelders.org/
I believe every state has laws about elder abuse and neglect. Certainly ours does, and enforcement is taken seriously. I was a mandated reporter and as such had to report to adult protective services if there was suspected abuse or neglect, including financial abuse.
In one of the comments below, Irene writes that frequent visits are necessary to ensure quality care. I agree. Janet and I had difficulties with assisted living facilities for her parents in California that we only discovered during such visits. With low-paid staff in for-profit facilities, you need to keep an eye on them, and the response may not be adequate. We wonder what our fate will be if either or both of us needs residential care, since we don’t have local family to provide such oversight.
I tried to open the Washington Post article on Assisted Living but I ended up subscribing to read it. I used A Place for Mom when looking for my uncle. I read their customer reviews. I reviewed the State complaint reports for any facility considered. I looked at the Washington regs that you sent to me. I found the Washington State Residential Compliant Investigator to be pro-active. Still, my experience is frequent visits are absolutely necessary. Thanks for drawing attention to this problem