A coalition of experts launched a new initiative on Wednesday, 43 Medical and Mental Health Recommendations in Welfare Practice.
The “Be Well in AL” coalition was the focus of an in-depth virtual discussion led by Dr. Cheryl Zimmerman, co-director of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Program on Aging, Disability, and Long-Term Care. This program was sponsored by the University, the AMDA-Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association and Center for Assisted Living (CEAL).
Zimmerman said Assisted Living is the nation’s largest provider of residential long-term care, with 40% of its assisted residents living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. However, since the sector is regulated at the state level, welfare has 350 different policy approaches.
Rethinking future caregiving life
According to Zimmermann, the coalition’s goals are to: rethinking life support Future-proof by changing practices and policies based on evidence and best practices.
To achieve this, the group will convene two action-oriented roundtables on operational and policy changes in the near future to develop an information brief and toolkit using previously published recommendations. increase. The coalition plans to invite additional stakeholders into the process, including policymakers. owners/operators; professionals, providers, healthcare and advocacy groups; Residents and Families; and Researchers.
“Stakeholders agree and vehemently agree that today’s assisted living was not intended in the past and must be rethought for the future,” Zimmerman said, published in the journal. Pointed out research results on the topic. JAMA network open.
Recommendations fall into five categories: staffing and staff training, nursing and related services, resident assessment and care planning, policy and practice, and medical and mental health clinicians and care.
And while all of these areas require attention, Zimmerman says the coalition is starting with residents and moving forward with person-centered care in assisted living. She notes that assisted residents have moved in with higher needs, and the setting is the largest provider of care and services for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
However, assisted living across the board is limited in the presence of medical and nursing care providers. Only 46% of communities employ registered or licensed nurses and few communities have onsite primary care. And because each state has different regulations governing the setup, fewer than 40% of states have specific minimum staffing ratio requirements, and only 25% require staff to train at least her 11 hours. is.
These variability have led to concerns about infection prevention, medication use, and lack of communication with staff when a resident’s condition changes.
“The field is evolving. Nursing is becoming more present and some integrative medicine is being done,” Zimmerman said. “The question is not the data that drives innovation, but what that evolution should look like.”
Zimmerman, who works on medical and mental health research in dementia, caregiving, found that 77% of its recommendations were already being implemented by at least three-quarters of communities involved in the new study. .
“The bottom line is that these recommendations are actionable and realistic, not ambitious,” Zimmerman said. “This gives you a great base to start with.”
Changes to life support model
Lindsay Schwartz, PhD, Chairman of CEAL and Founder and Principal of Workforce & Quality Innovations LLC, said the assisted living model focuses on individual-centered care and quality of life in a homely environment. , said that much health care is being provided.
“We have to acknowledge that health care is within the assisted living,” Schwartz said. “The term social versus medical model is gone. Assisted living provides holistic care, including physical and mental health, and may become a model for other long-term care settings.
