Category Archives: Choosing A Nursing Home

NPR reported on what hospitals can and do tell patients looking for information on long term care alternatives.  “For years, many hospitals simply have given patients a list of all the skilled nursing facilities near where they live and told them which ones have room for a new patient. Patients have rarely been told which homes have poor quality ratings from Medicare or a history of public health violations, according to researchers and patient advocates.”

This is how some residents get admitted to bad facilities without the family knowing. Now, new rules will allow and require information to be shared.

Hospitals must provide patients with all nearby options, but the new rule says hospitals “must assist the patients, their families, or the patient’s representative in selecting a post-acute care provider by using and sharing data” about quality that is relevant to a particular patient’s needs for recovery.  The rule was drafted in October 2015.

Kindred Healthcare is exiting the skilled-nursing home business to focus on its better-performing home health, rehabilitation and long-term acute-care hospital units.  Kindred once operated 300 facilities and has been pruning the number over the years.  Kindred, ranks as the tenth largest nursing facility company in terms of skilled bed capacity. As of the end of last year it operated 90 facilities in 18 states, with a total of 11,535 beds.

The decision to leave the skilled nursing sector is the “final step in a process that began years ago,” Benjamin Breier, president and CEO of the Louisville-based long-term care provider said.

“We are taking proactive strategic steps to position Kindred for long-term success against the backdrop of dynamic changes in the healthcare services industry,” Breier said. “Our plan to exit the skilled nursing facility business, together with the significant cost realignment initiative we are undertaking in connection with the exit, are substantial steps forward in our continuing effort to transform Kindred’s strategy and growth profile to enhance shareholder value.”

The company forecasts annual revenues of $7.2 billion for 2016, a number slightly lower than initial estimates due to “significant headwinds facing the skilled nursing facility business,” Breier added.

Kindred Healthcare and Ventas Inc., a healthcare real estate investment trust, have reached a deal that will hasten its exit from the skilled nursing home business. Kindred has agreed to pay Ventas $700 million for 36 nursing homes Ventas owns and leases to Kindred. Kindred contractually needed consent from Ventas to sell or transfer the homes to another operator.

Kindred remains “optimistic” about the potential growth for its home health, hospice, community care, long-term acute care and inpatient rehabilitation facility businesses, he said. When the reorganization is complete, approximately 50% of revenues will come from the home health division, the company announcement said.

The Alternative Daily had a great article on the importance of food for providing our bodies with the energy and building blocks we need to heal and prevent harm. Eating a healthy diet supports healthy organ function, balanced hormones, strong immunity and resistance to illness and disease.  A bad diet can quickly send your health in an exponential downward spiral, opening the door to harmful pathogens, disease, hormonal imbalance, mental instability and general unhappiness.

Unfortunately, most nursing homes around the country provide cheap and bland unhealthy foods. Next time you schedule a visit to see your parent or relative in their nursing home, time it so that you’re around for one of the scheduled daily meals. Sit back and observe — you’ll probably be shocked by what you see.

For starters, you’ll probably notice a lot trans fats, artificial sweetners, and high fructose corn syrup, not to mention chemical preservatives and a myriad of other harmful additives.

“The “butter” being given to your loved ones actually has no resemblance to what it claims to be, and in fact, is composed of unhealthy, heat-treated vegetable oils, which damage the heart and clog arteries. The jam is loaded with (you guessed it) high fructose corn syrup, as well as a range of chemical preservatives, pesticide and herbicide residues from the non-organic source fruits, and almost no nutrients left from the original fruit.”

The only salt you’ll find in a nursing home spread is ultra-refined table salt, which has had all other minerals removed and a range of questionable anti-caking agents added to take their place. We’ve all heard about how we need to cut down on our salt intake, but that’s only when it’s not real sea salt or unrefined mineral salt, which still contain all the essential minerals your body needs to function as it should. The elderly aren’t getting these kinds of salts in their nursing homes, and it’s doing them damage.

A survey of over 100 nursing home residents and staff from 32 facilities across 10 counties in Kentucky found the biggest complaint coming out of these homes was the food.  One regional nursing home facility switched from serving respectable pieces of steak or chicken to only handing out chicken nuggets at mealtime. Another facility places three slices of thin deli meat on residents’ plates for their meals.

Make sure you find them a home that guarantees healthy, nourishing food — not chicken nuggets or deli meat.

If you’re interested in learning more about how real food can nurture the body, prevent disease and slow aging, check this out.