Senior Care in New York State
How we care for our senior population
is a concern for everyone, we will all grow old one day. Government
legislation governs various national and local senior care agencies in
the administration of elderly health care. This means there are policies
that all nursing and care facilities in New York state are required to
have in place to cover the rights of their residents.
| The demographic of New York’s
senior population reflects much of what has shaped our nation’s population,
such as foreign immigration and expanding ethnic populations. However,
New York has indicatively been shaped by its own unique demographic forces,
and these play a major role in designing services to meet the needs of
New York’s elderly population.
The New York State Office
for the Aging (NYSOFA) is the designated State Unit on Aging in relation
to the Older Americans Act of 1965. The New York State Office for
the Aging helps New Yorkers to remain as independent as possible working
in partnership with public and private senior-care organizations.
The NYSOFA was set up by Executive Order by the Governor of New York in
1961, and was one of the first State Units on Aging in the United States. |
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The Department for Health for
New York (www.health.state.ny.us) provides a comprehensive guide to nursing
care in the state. The consumer guide on their web site will help
you to understand the processes and legislation governing seniors’ admission
to a nursing home, paying for nursing care and how to select the appropriate
type of senior care.
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Full-time nursing care in
a skilled nursing facility may be the type of senior care you are seeking,
but there are many alternatives worth exploring that can enhance the quality
of life of an elderly person without requiring institutional care.
If a nursing home placement
is required, you should enter into an admissions agreement (otherwise known
as a financial agreement, admission contract, or entrance contract), which
sets out the legal arrangement between the nursing home and the resident.
Nursing homes charge a set daily rate for their services, although these
vary from home to home. Nursing home costs can range from $3,000
to $10,000+ per month and almost 90% of New York nursing home residents
rely upon some state or federal subsidies to supplement their care costs.
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The Health Care Proxy Law of
the New York Public Health Law, enables adults to protect their health
care wishes by appointing a health care agent to act on their behalf should
they become unable to do so. A proxy form and guidance about the
law is available from the Department of Health.
As a New Yorker you have
a right to equal access to quality care, and state regulations prohibit
any discrimination in admissions. Specifically a nursing home should
not discriminate against an individual entitled to Medicaid. Medical
need plays a significant part in the admission process.
| A medical assessment must
be conducted in order that you can gain admission to a nursing home.
The assessment has been designed by the State Health Department to assess
your actual need for nursing home care. A registered nurse, who is certified
to perform the assessment, must undertake the assessment. The Department
of Health in New York requires that this assessment form be completed for
anyone who applies for residence at a nursing home. The form remains
valid for 30 days for anyone currently in a hospital setting, or for 90
days for those still in their own home, or any other care setting.
A hospitalized patient on Medicaid no longer requiring inpatient care must
be placed in the first available nursing home bed within 50 miles of the
patient’s home. |
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You can download the booklet
“Your Rights as a Nursing Home Resident in New York State and Nursing Home
Responsibilities - June 2010” from the Department of Health New York.
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Assisted Living Residences
(ALR) in New York basically fall into three categories – basic, enhanced
and special needs, and costs vary depending on the levels of care and services
provided. As with a nursing home, an assessment must be completed
by a qualified medical practioner, prior to admission. The assessment
is based upon medical, functional and mental capacities. This assessment
is used to help formulate an Individualized Service Plan (ISP) that an
ALR must have in place for every resident. This ISP should be reviewed
and adjusted as appropriate, but must also be revised every six months.
You can download the booklet
“Consumer Information Guide: Assisted Living Residence” from the Department
of Health New York.
Senior care facilities in
New York are licensed and inspected every 12 to 18 months by the New York
State Department of Health. |
The New York State Health Department
does publish a ‘Nursing Home Profile’ that enables you to compare quality
measures between licensed nursing homes within New York. The quality
measure data is gathered from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
and are considered qualitative data sets. However, the complexity
of an individual’s care needs and the context of their locale for care,
do need to be carefully considered alongside this data.
Homepage
| Skilled Nursing
Facilities | Assisted
Living | Care Homes
| Retirement Communities
| Paying for Care
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