I am so angry about the poor memory care laws for care units in North Carolina. I presently have a member of my family paying $7,600 dollars a MONTH to stay at this place that is considered the leading provider of memory care, the Alzheimer/dementia memory care is only considered assisted living. the patients are all in wheel chairs and can only use the bathroom with assistance. This is abuse, these people are at the mercy of 2 aides each shift... most of the time we can't find anyone to help our loved one to get out of his chair to use the bathroom, there are 'NO' buzzers for them to get help. I was there three hours one day not one aide ever came to check on him... never saw one person... this is cruel and it is abuse! These patients sitting in their urine and feces for hours at a time. They will not allow bed rails claiming law considers it a restraint and against the patients rights. Are you kidding me? ...you have people that cannot think for themselves trying to get up and can't walk and constantly falling! My family member has fallen 7 times since Sept. 2018, has only been there 6 1/2 months... and those are the ones we know about? Four of those falls required an ambulance to take him to the hospital. They do not even check to see if the patience are drinking fluids, lack of fluids will cause Urinary Track Infection that will ultimately cause hospital admittance due to dehydration. The hospital give the patient IV's to build their fluids up only to send them back to the poor care they are getting at the memory care. Their excuse is they cannot force fluids on patients... likely story. We are with him everyday... I fill a cup with water stick the straw up to his mouth throughout the day for him to get swallows of water so he won't dehydrate. It is simple care to keep one hydrated. We should not be having to do anything for our loved one, it is so sad to think about those that have no family to help them. If I am seeing this daily when we are there, what goes on when we go home.... I can't imagine? The neglect is horrible and this place is suppose to be one of the better care facilities. They do not even have any drinks or a refrigerator in the kitchen, but do have a frig. in the employee break room that is not accessible for patients or their families. They use a cooler filled with ice at meal time to dip in for ice! There are 17 bedrooms on each floor (2 floors in this building) all rooms are usually occupied, they should divide the 17 rooms and have one aid constantly floating through each of her assigned 8 plus rooms checking on the residence constantly giving water or drink to them and log it... it never happens... never. I am trying to figure out what $7,600 is exactly getting our neglected loved ones... I have heard this from more patients families in this facility and all the others! This does not lift the stress off family members!
So how much of a tax increase are you willing to pay to enable your city, or county or state to provide supplemental funding to existing health care programs? An additional $25 in property taxes or additional $2500 in property taxes?
This isnt a fantasy ?, that I’m asking btw.
Right now in my city (New Orleans), proposed city budget has 2 mills (millage not millions) increase to property taxes specifically to go to the Area on Aging for various programs they do throughout New Orleans/ Orleans Parish. AoA currently underwrites portions of PACE centers and aides for community based programs that are part of outreach at AL, NH & MC that accept MediCARE in addition to ombudsman services, and other elder programs. AoA FY ‘18 budget was 5M. The 2 millage increase would generate 6.6M to current AoA budget.
Current property taxes are 151.08 mills on East Bank and 151.36 mills on West Bank of New Orleans. A 2 mills increase on a 200K home with filed & verified homestead exemption (75k) would be a $25 increase to the existing $1,985.00 annual property taxes; for commercial, it would be $28 per every $100K in property value. We have a current 7.71 millage for fire & police. & getting that voted through happened only cause fire & cops put voters on notice there would be a strike or walkouts.... there are still voters & business who remember the Mardi Gras police strike andwhat that cost & what the shut down of fire houses after Katrina did for fire rating and insurance costs (there were sections of Orleans with fire rating of 10 for a long while which means you really couldnt get a mortgage). Voters could see a direct benefit for the fire & police millage / tax increase. Voters weren’t & aren’t happy paying 7.71 millage whether it’s by increasesd prop taxes or higher rent, but you have to have cops & firefighters.
Millage increases have to be voted on.
I doubt voters want to ever pay any tax increase much less one that they see no direct benefit to them.
The living conditions of elderly don’t matter until you as family are actually dealing with it. That’s the harsh reality of aging in America.
And its only going to get worse when the tsunami of baby boomers start hitting needing care. It is not going to be pretty.
Personally I’d suggest you have a needs assessment done on your elder to see if they can be placed into a SNF NH rather than MC. Have him spend down totally & legitimately to become impoverished & at need for LTC Medicaid in a NH. NH will have to have higher staffing ratios. If he can also be eligible for hospice, that too will bring in additional hands on help perhaps 2 or 3 days a week for 3-4 hrs per session. Hospice work with existing facility staff within NH all the time.
Remember Who you vote for counts.