AHCA - State of Florida Pathetically Defending Nursing Home Placements

[Guest guest]

I am unclear how any of this is going to make it better for children that are placed in nursing homes for care? The state needs to take the up to $500 a day they are spending placing these children in nursing homes and appropriately fund those children to be in their family home with the appropriate supports. It may cost $400 a day or $300 a day or maybe even $200 a day, but one thing is for sure, the children will not be neglected or die due to incompetent treatment. How the head of AHCA can make the statement that she visited 6 facilities and state conditions were good. I doubt that she showed up unannounced. They probably knew she was coming and they were prepared for her visits. Regardless, just because the conditions were what she calls " good " doesn't mean they are appropriate. I think AHCA is missing the whole point of this issue. 

These children need to be in the family homes with the proper services. It costs less, so why not do it? Oh, parents may commit fraud on the state. Right, and there is no fraud going on in nursing homes or other medical facilities. They cannot take proper care of their children at home. Oh, but nursing homes can? Sorry, the track record of nursing homes is dismal, at best. 

I have first hand experience in this department, while it wasn't my disabled child, it was my late wife who was in a nursing home after surgery and not only did she fall getting out of bed and break her hip, the staff ignored her being in pain, saying she was overreacting. She laid there for a whole night and the next day in her own urine until I came in and found her that way. When I questioned her being in pain, the charge nurse stated, " there is nothing wrong with her " She is just a complainer. When I asked why she was soaked with urine, nobody answered me. She had to have hip surgery. And this was one of the best in central Florida. The blatant incompetence and complete lack of concern for my wife was beyond criminal. You know what happened, not a damn thing. This is what Ms. Dudek considers acceptable? Have we all lost our minds? This state has the most reprehensible attitude about poor, elderly and disabled care. Hitler had more compassion than the leaders of this state. I am sorry, but this is the straw that broke the camels back. 

Read some of the pathetic comments below and go visit a nursing home in your neighborhood. See the wonderful care that is taking place. I am sure there are some good nursing homes, but the low pay and staff shortages are just one part of a bigger problem. The Governor and legislature want to have managed care take over Medicaid. You won't see them or their families running to get the first bed in one of these nursing homes. See the well paid workers (not) that are spread so thin, they can't even dispense medication or liquids. FYI, that is how the last child died after Ms. Dudek's staff removed her from her loving mother and took her 5 hours away from her home to die 12 hours later, all in the name of " the quality care " that Ms. Dudek states is happening in these palaces of joy. Oh, they are going to add one more layer of bureaucracy by placing a nursing coordinator to assist the family. Who does that now, Attila the Hun? 

State health leaders are going on the offensive to counter a federal report that accuses Florida of warehousing more than 200 severely disabled children in nursing homes. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has threatened to sue the state over this practice of placing medically fragile children in nursing homes. The department alleged the children were not getting appropriate care.

Today Florida Surgeon General Armstrong and other state health leaders announced Florida is taking action to improve care for the children.

The state has launched, what it calls, an enhanced nurse care coordination program. It's designed to pair up a nurse advocate with parents of disabled children to make sure they're getting the best possible medical care.

Liz Dudek, who leads the Agency for Health Care Administration, visited the six nursing facilities in Florida caring for disabled children.

Dudek says contrary to what the Department of Justice documented, she found conditions were good.

 

" I have to wonder what the Department of Justice was looking at when they went through there and would invite any of you to go to any of those facilities because I certainly did not see what they were seeing. "

 

Dudek says the new nurse coordinators will work to help parents bring their children home when it's medically appropriate.

-- Regards,Ven Sequenzia, Jr. 

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.   P

NOTICE: This message is confidential, intended for the named recipient(s) and may contain information that is (i) proprietary to the sender, and/or, (ii) privileged, confidential and/or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable Floirda and federal law, including, but not limited to, privacy standards imposed pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ( " HIPAA " ).  Receipt by anyone other than the named recipient(s) is not a waiver of any applicable privilege.  If you have received this email in error, please delete it immediately.  Thank you in advance for your compliance with this notice.