Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 12-16-1997 - 10a R 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Item No /0-0 ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: December 16, 1997 SUBJECT: Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee Annual Report -------------------------------- ------------------------------- DEPARTMENT Aging PUBLIC HEARING YES NO X_ BUDGET AMENDMENT YES NO X -------------------------------- ------------------------------- ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT Randy Brantley, Committee Chair Annual Report Jerry M. Passmore, Director TELEPHONE NUMBER Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Mebane 227-2031 Durham 688-7331 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: To receive the Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee' s annual report for calendar year 1996. BACKGROUND: The Commissioner-appointed Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee (formerly known as the Domiciliary Home Committee) is required by state statute to prepare and distribute an annual report of its activities to the County Commissioners, the County Department of Social Services, the Regional Ombudsman and the State Division of Aging. Committee Chair Randy Brantley will make a brief statement and be available for questions. The Triangle J Regional Ombudsman will also be available for questions. RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board receive the Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee annual report as information. FN: AB71216.DOC 2 ANNUAL MPORT ?OR DOMICILIARY AND NURSING BOHZ CCHHUNITY ADVISORY CCHHITTYES County CcTW Reporting Year 1996 Officers : - Qmir Q>Eme PcAen-d -Vim a-ir Members : c Lcri Prrn S mpixn Polly Jdnsm SUMMMY Members : Current Number 5 Vacancies : 3 Number LTC Mandated Ticilitios Types # of Bads Visits 4 DDA HOMES 9d_ Annual �— Family Care Home _ 99 _1 Annual Home for the Aged Un Quarterly Nursing Facillity Quarterly 3 Annual Report for 1996 1. Were all the homes in the County served by the committee? The members made 25 official visits and 3 friendly visits to the adult care homes in 1996. The members provided 1300 hours of service and traveled over 1400 miles. The members were not able to make official visits to all of the developmentally disabled homes due to not having full membership. 2. Describe educational efforts by the committee. The Committee members met with our local state senators to discuss concerns and issues'garding long term care. The meeting was held to enlighten our policy makers concerning the!needs of a long term care population as well as to let them know the Committee could be utilized as a resource of information during the 1997 General Assembly Session. 3. Describe community involvement by the committee. Some of the members were able to help educate leaders and policy makers on a regional and state level. Members Florence Soltys was initially involved in setting up a state advisory committee that is reviewing restraint use policies in NC. Member Polly Johnson has worked close with state agencies in reviewing and developing training for staff in adult care homes. 4. Describe problems encountered by the committee. The committee has served for quite some time without full membership. While there is a superb quality and dedication from the members as volunteers,the members services can only be stretched to a certain limit. The members first priority was to make visits to the adult care homes. The members would like to have been involved in some additional outreach programs in our community but not having full membership curtailed some of those possibilities. In 1995,the Division of Facily Services threatened to close a family care home after a series of state rules and laws were violated including the residents being left alone for several hours. The home was given a provisional license and almost five months to make improvements but eventually decided to"close" in April, 1996. The members felt this home was an example of the state not enforcing current laws and rules and giving too much time for a facility to stay on a provisional license. The members main concern was the welfare of the resident during this time of "improvement." 5. Was the committee involved in a grievance resolution during the year? If so,please identify what type of facility was involved and the nature of the problem. yes. In May 1996,an official visit was made to a family care home and the visiting team found the residents were left alone. The visiting team was at the facility for nearly two hours without a sign of the administrator or the supervisor in charge. The Department of Social Services was called and the Adult Home Specialist (Gwen Phillips) quickly arrived at the home.(Subsequently,the administrator arrived approximately 5 minutes before Ms.Phillips.) The visiting team expressed its alarm,concern and disappointment with the administrator. The administrator responded that she had hired a supervisor to be in charge while she was away and the sic should have never left the facility. 4 4 The visiting team met with DSS to discuss its observations during the visit as well as relay statements that were made by residents at this home. The DSS plan of action was to inform the Division of Facility Services about the home, to increase monitoring of the home and work with the home in finding a new SIC. A concern of the Committee was that this may have not been the first time residents were left alone at this facility(based on comments by the residents). Without additional concrete testimony,or a forthcoming witness, the members accepted the increase in monitoring of the home,a plan of action for a new SIC and the impression the incident had on the administrator as a satisfactory resolution. 6. Summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the facilities in the county. The county continues to have a majority of facilities that have caring administrators and staff. There are many caretakers that are committed in try'ing to melet the needs of the residents. The committee continues to hear complaints about food from residents at some of the facilities. The Committee continues to see problems at some homes due to high turnover in staff. At the same time,there needs to be more community support for the work of the caretakers. Both administrators and residents have made request for additional volunteers to come to the homes. 7. Other comments. The members are concerned that recent changes in rules and reimbursement procedures has put an additional burden on some of the administrators. The administrators and staff have expressed their concerns about increased paper work that often takes time away from their ability to give services to the residents. The rules and reimbursement changes were a factor in some of our homes voluntarily closing. The members have an overall concern that some of the smaller homes may not be able to survive some of the recent and proposed changes. If Orange County follows the state trend(smaller homes closing), it will limit consumer(resident)choice in what type of services they may receive.