Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights State Health Weekend News Coverage
The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report highlights weekend coverage of health issues in Arizona, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Arizona: Nursing Homes
According to the Arizona Republic, state nursing homes provide "vastly different levels" of care to seniors. Although some seniors receive care from "newer homes mostly in the suburbs" with "private baths, computer rooms and nurse's aides, many reside in "older, mostly inner-city" nursing homes where "service is bare-bones and the amenities fewer." The "difference is money," the Republic reports. Many "better-off" nursing homes charge patients $190 per day and can select who they will admit, while other facilities "have to make due" with the $100 a day that the state provides and "can't turn anyone away." As a result, many urban nursing homes "increasingly" have patients with drug or alcohol addictions, disabilities or behavioral problems. Many patients in urban facilities also have histories of alcohol or substance abuse, chronic homelessness, gang affiliation and personality disorders. "This is really about the haves and have-nots. Inner-city nursing homes have residents who reflect inner-city problems," Dr. David Rabinowitz, an Arizona nursing home physician, said (West, Arizona Republic, 8/13).
Ohio: Hospital Closing
In Columbus, Ohio, the
Columbus Dispatch reports that the closing of the 156-bed Columbus Community Hospital in May has "left a gap in health care" for South Side residents, especially for the uninsured who used the emergency room. The Columbus City Health Department recommended in a report issued last Wednesday that the South Side Health Association, which owns the hospital, open a "scaled-down emergency room" in the facility. In addition, the report suggested recruiting more doctors, establishing diagnostic and laboratory services and encouraging the use of nurse practitioners on the South Side. South Side Health Association officials supported the recommendations and added that they hope to "go back to a full-service hospital" in the future (Woods, Columbus Dispatch, 8/13).
Pennsylvania: In-Home Care
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Lori Smith, the mother of a disabled child, has sued the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare for failing to provide her child with "medically necessary" in-home care that the state must offer under Medicaid. According to Inquirer, a "shortage" of home health care employees in Pennsylvania has left many families "struggling to provide the care their loved ones need."
Keystone Mercy Health Plan, the Medicaid HMO that contracted with the state to provide the services, declined to comment on the lawsuit. State officials said that "there is not a widespread problem of agencies' being unable to provide care to consumers." However, patient advocates said that the problem "seems to be worsening" (Wiggins, Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/11).
