This article features an interesting report on end of life care in the US. This is particularly relevant to the LTC community at all levels of care. While many equate palliative care with hospice, the report draws a distinction. Palliative care is an interdisciplinary process that applies symptom control modalities to anyone with chronic ailments, while hospice is a particular benefit geared towards people with terminal disease.

by Dan Osterweil, MD, CMD

Researchers from the Centre for Research in Geriatric Medicine, Australia, studied patients 75 years or older in emergency departments around the world to paint a picture of the unique problems they face — and how ERs can change to better serve them. According to the lead author, older people come to have other conditions such as immobility, confusion, and Incontinence. The findings also indicated that for many, functional and cognitive issues increased afterward. Before coming to the ER, 54 percent were independent and didn’t require help for daily activities. Afterwards, only 33 percent were still listed as "completely independent."

Win a Free Registration to CALTCM 2014 Annual Meeting

by Tim Gieseke, MD, CMD, Chair, Education Committee

As the new Chairperson for CALTCM’s Education Committee, I would like express my gratitude to Dr. Mira Cantrell and all of our committee members for the substantial time and effort invested in making our annual meetings truly interdisciplinary, practical, and targeted for improving the quality of LTC in our state.

This work never truly stops.  We are in the midst of planning for our May 2-3, 2014 annual meeting which will again be at the Omni Hotel in LA.  We anticipate having clear guidance by 2014 from CMS on Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) expectations and are therefore building this into each of our half-day workshops.  We also expect more experience with Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and the Dual Eligible programs that will have an impact on Post-Acute Care.  We are embedding QAPI into our half-day workshops to help you prepare for these changes.  

We have developed a survey monkey to insure our plans for this meeting address the needs of our members.

by Tim Gieseke MD, CMD, Chair, Education Committee

In 2012, CDPH sponsored a collaborative partnership with multiple stakeholder organizations to improve dementia care and reduce unnecessary use of antipsychotics in SNFs.  CALTCM has been a part of this partnership and sponsored a half-day workshop on Dementia Care as a pre-conference addition to our April 2013 annual meeting.

All participants in this partnership realize there is still much work to be done.  California Culture Change Coalition (CCCC) has become the lead organization in this effort and has obtained some funding to help facilities implement the necessary changes.  Members of our BOD will be participating this summer in further meetings to assist stakeholders in specific next implementation steps.

In the interim, I have created a summary presentation identifying the elements of a comprehensive dementia care program.  This presentation is now posted on our web site.