|
|
 |
News - The latest news from Extended Care Products
|
| Federal Report Reveals Greater Consumer Education About Assisted Living Is Needed. |
For Immediate Release
June 15, 2004
Federal Report Reveals Greater Consumer Education About Assisted Living Is Needed
Baby boomers are at it again. They’ve impacted education, consumer markets, politics and culture. Now the nation’s largest generation is impacting a different aspect of American life: long-term care.
More active and healthier than previous generations, aging baby boomers are turning to assisted living facilities for help with some of the activities of daily life. In 2002, more than 36,000 assisted living facilities were home to nearly 1 million residents. While assisted living communities have operated under minimal federal oversight, the growing number of residents prompted Congress to request a U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) review of assisted living practices.
Recognizing challenges faced by consumers seeking assisted living services, the GAO studied best practices in individual states. In an April 2004 report, Assisted Living: Examples of State Efforts to Improve Consumer Protections, the GAO report finds facilities nationwide need to improve their communication and education of residents and their families.
The report identifies certain weaknesses in the way some facilities disclose information about their services. Raising “questions about the adequacy of information available to prospective consumers to help them choose a facility that meets their needs,” the GAO notes information given to consumers about facility services is “often vague, incomplete, or misleading.”
Chip Kessler, development manager for Extended Care Products Inc., believes communication could be improved between providers and the public. Families sometimes place their loved ones in assisted living facilities with misperceptions about the scope of assisted living services. When their unrealistic expectations aren’t met, consumers are disappointed and angry.
“Assisted living has been the subject of some negative scrutiny,” Kessler says. “While the failure of specific facilities is troubling, concerned families need to know that assisted living professionals are making sincere efforts to provide quality care. More facilities are beginning to approach the admissions process as an opportunity to educate families.
“More than ever, providers need to show families what they can reasonably and realistically expect from assisted living facilities,” Kessler says. “This is a new concept in care-giving called realistic expectations management. It opens clear lines of communication.
“Realistic expectations management helps educate consumers. When everyone understands their role and the assisted living environment, misunderstandings are less likely to occur.”
The GAO report states, “When consumers do not get complete and accurate information on the assisted living alternatives available to them, in a form that they can understand, they run the risk of choosing a facility that cannot adequately meet their personal care requirements.”
John Berkely, associate vice president of Lutheran Social Services of the South, Austin, Texas, agrees.
“One surprising but welcome benefit of the realistic expectations concept is it helps families make an educated choice about the proper level of care a loved one requires,” Berkely says. “We have seen families come away from orientation with the realization that Mom or Dad actually needs care in a nursing facility rather than through assisted living.
“Families have responded positively to a realistic expectations approach because it clearly defines the parameters of what assisted living can and cannot do for a loved one.”
Extended Care Products, Inc., headquartered in Johnson City, Tenn., produces educational materials for assisted living facilities and nursing homes. ECP products help families set reasonable expectations about long-term care.
For more information, contact
Chip Kessler, Extended Care Products development manager,
1-800-807-4553
|
|
|
 |
|
