A word from senator Bob Kerrey.Funded by the American Health Care Association The American Health Care Association (AHCA) is non-profit federation of affiliated state health organizations, together representing more than 10,000 non-profit and for-profit assisted living, nursing facility, developmentally-disabled, and subacute care providers that care for , the American Association American Association refers to one of the following professional baseball leagues:
n the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders. convened in October 2004. It continues to meet, and throughout the year it addresses the most pressing long-term care topics of the day, including finance, technology, and the nursing shortage. Co-chaired by former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, the Commission in 2006 appointed Douglas Pace (interviewed in our cover story) to serve as executive director and, more recently, a number of incumbent legislators to the board of commissioners, including the Hon Hon abbr (= honourable, honorary) → en títulos . Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is the current Republican governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Since then he has been mentioned as a possible 2008 vice presidential candidate. , governor of Mississippi, and the Hon. Phil Bredesen Philip Norman "Phil" Bredesen (born November 21, 1943) is the 48th Governor of Tennessee, having served since 2003. He previously served as the fourth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County from 1991 to 1999. , governor of Tennessee. Kerrey, who is now president of The New School in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , where the commission is housed, chatted with CLTC CLTC Certified in Long-Term Care CLTC Community Long Term Care CLTC Chapter Leadership Training Conference about what's ahead. To read more about the National Commission and its objectives, log on to www.qualitylongtermcarecommission.org/. CLTC: What would you tell a provider who asked you, or Speaker Gingrich, or Mr. Pace what the highest priorities are on your Capitol Hill agenda for 2007?. Kerrey: I would flip that [question] around, actually, and put it to the provider. There aren't many providers in it only for the money-they care about the mission of [senior] housing, meaning nursing homes, assisted living as·sist·ed living n. A living arrangement in which people with special needs, especially older people with disabilities, reside in a facility that provides help with everyday tasks such as bathing, dressing, and taking medication. , and other kinds of long-term care. What we're doing on the commission is determining what's possible and what's desirable, based on [other things] happening in Congress. For example, there's a minimum wage bill, and putting with that some small business tax credit might make possible something in the bill that would help providers improve the quality of nursing. We're looking to change tax treatment of education, and there may be, inside of that, ways to improve the work force. We're looking to governors to help us answer the questions of what's possible, and things that could appear to be quite small can actually be very big. CLTC: What's the best way for providers to have their voices heard and ideas and grievances aired through the Commission? Kerrey: I don't do "I Don't Do" was the debut single by glamour model Michelle Marsh, released on 6 November 2006. The single reached 27 in the UK in its first week, selling only 9,000 copies and over 16,000 copies as of January 2007. The single spend a total of four weeks in the Top 75. grievances. CMS (1) See content management system and color management system. (2) (Conversational Monitor System) Software that provides interactive communications for IBM's VM operating system. is the state entity for grievances. If there's an idea for change, especially a legislative change, they should deliver it straight through our Web site. CLTC: Providers in long-term care hear so much differing advice on the arrival of electronic health records and other information technology (if) developments. What do they really need to know about IT in long-term care? Kerrey: Well, I'm not an expert in this field, but I can give an answer from the perspective of operating a $200 million university in New York City, where IT is increasingly being used to administer the university and have students do their educational work. I don't think IT is optional--it has to be integral to the strategy of anybody who wants to survive. If you're waiting five years, I think you're rolling the dice with the future of your operation. CLTC: One of the commission's action points is to assess stakeholders' commitments to improvement. How will this be measured? Kerrey: I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. yet how we're going to measure that. My hope is that the [Nursing Homo] Quality Initiative of CMS becomes a vehicle to do the measuring. CLTC: The commission also hopes to provide a forum for dialogue among professionals in all sides of the industry--get all corners to communicate. Where lies the biggest communication breakdown, in your opinion? Kerrey: My hope is to help providers understand how the process works, so I emphasize the Congressional calendar and the importance of members of Congress being on this commission and trying to help them--converting that understanding into legislative action. CLTC: What questions would the commission like to see CMS answer in the new year and beyond?. Kerrey: How do you resolve the conflicts between the need to get budgetary relief--that is, slow the growth of Medicare and Medicaid--and the need to improve quality? Second, what can we do to encourage more activity that places standards above what ... standards are already? What you find in the continuous quality move merit is we're not trying to hit the standard of CMS. We're trying to hit a standard way beyond CMS, but the regulatory structure puts friction on that no matter what your standards are. We would never abandon survey and certification, we're just trying to make sure ... work is being done ...--Chad Berndtson |
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