California Caregiver Training Required by California Assembly Bill Number 1217

Molly Schlanker, 10/20/2015

New California Caregiver Training and Licensing Requirements California caregivers will now join a few other states which provide an official state registry for the home care aide caregivers to be a member of, verifying their background check information. Called the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act, and sometimes referred to as "bill 1217", this new law will be in effect in January of next year for all California senior caregivers and senior home care agencies. California Assembly Bi...

Online Caregiver Training Options for Senior Caregivers

Molly Schlanker, 2/28/2014

Senior caregiving services have continued to grow as America's seniors are living longer while needing care for at least a few of their later years.  Senior caregiving has expanded to now offer professionally managed care in the home, adult day care centers and assisted living communities.  As the industry has grown, caregiver training standards are being implemented.   Proper caregiver training insures both the senior and the caregiver will enjoy care services in a safe env...

California Bill 1217 Creates Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act

Molly Schlanker, 10/20/2015

California senior caregiver licensing and training regulations were passed into law and signed by Governor Jerry Brown on October 13, 2013.  This new legislative action seeks to better regulate senior care companies and home care aides who work as senior caregivers. Called bill 1217 by many in the senior care industry, the final requirements include licensing fees for senior home care companies, a home care aide registry and specific guidelines for caregiver training. The training requireme...

Senior Caregiver Job Applications on Caregiverlist

Molly Schlanker, 7/24/2014


May Caregiverlist Nursing Home Costs and Ratings

Molly Schlanker, 7/24/2014


Exemption to Overtime Regulations of Caregivers Proposed

Molly Schlanker, 11/7/2012

Senior caregivers provide hourly and daily care for seniors in their homes and in senior living communities.  The daily "live-in" senior care has been exempt from over-time pay under the companionship exemption within the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  A new proposal by the Obama administration would change this.  The live-in caregivers who care for the senior during the day and sleep at night would qualify for over-time pay.  These caregivers have been classified ...

Washington Becomes First State To Regulate Elder Care Placement Referrals

Julie Northcutt, 12/19/2011

Eldercare placement referral companies have begun to populate the internet, and it turns out some are good and some are not so good.  Now the state of Washington has stepped in to help regulate the industry and define quality controls and systems that should be in place in order to protect seniors.  More and more states may be passing laws to regulate eldercare referral agencies as the industry matures. What will now be required?  The new law provides these requirements for elder...

Does Your Caregiver Have 75 Hours of Training, Analysis of Washington State Initiative 1163

Molly Schlanker, 12/27/2011

Washington voters passed Initiative 1163 this month, requiring 75-hours of training and FBI background-checks for all professional caregivers.  These new measures for senior caregivers seem like good ideas, but the governor of the state and many senior care professionals were advocating against this measure. Caregiverlist researched this issue to find out why. One union, SEIU (Service Employees International Union), spent more than $1 million dollars to promote passage of this ne...

Geriatric Care Manager Services for Seniors

Charlotte Bishop, 1/17/2012

Senior care services often must begin quickly, after a senior has suffered a sudden medical condition such as a stroke or developed an age-related illness such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease.  As senior care impacts an entire family, both financially and emotionally, it can sometimes be beneficial to consult with and hire a Geriatric Care Manager (GCM).  Caregiverlist's guest columnist, Charlotte Bishop, explains the services and value provided by a professional Geriatric Care M...

Hiring Senior Caregivers: Avoid Tax and Legal Risks

Julie Northcutt, 6/22/2011

Senior caregiving is very different from child care, as sandwich generation parents and caregivers well know.  Children know they are expected to follow the instructions of their nanny or baby-sitter and it is also expected they will misbehave sometimes as they are growing children.  The parents are there at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day to hold everyone accountable. Senior care is completely different.  First, it is not at all baby-sitting and specific knowl...

NPR's Morning Edition Tackles Sandwich Generation Caregiving

Molly Schlanker, 5/1/2012

Caregiving for aging parents, while raising children, creates unique challenges for families.  Soon there will be a higher percentage of senior citizens than any other age group in America.  Beginning today, April 17, 2012, National Public Radio's Morning Edition program will begin broadcasting "Family Matters".  This series explores the new reality for many Americans as their parents are living longer.  In addition, families began having their first child often in their 30's...

Find Banks Still Offering Reverse Mortgages: Top Lenders Out

Leigh Ann Otte, 9/12/2011

High-profile exits shouldn’t make reverse mortgages harder to get, experts say. Other lenders are filling the void. Seniors seeking to age-in-place in their current homes sometimes seek a reverse mortgage as a way to safely tap into their home equity to help pay for senior care.  The recent banking crisis has changed the landscape for reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgages are loans for certain people age 62 and older, based in part on what their home is worth. The heavily regulated pr...

Washington State November Ballot: Voting to Increase Caregiver Training to 75 Hours

Molly Schlanker, 3/1/2012

Washington State Initiative 1163 Increases Caregiver Paid Training to 75 Hours Senior caregiving quality begins with the caregiver.  With this in mind, the state of Washington, in 2008, passed an initiative to require senior care companies to provide 75 hours of training to caregivers and to conduct a multi-state background check, along with a few other requirements.  However, the state of Washington delayed implementing the new law because they did not have the money to pay for the m...

Illinois Senior Care Costs: Nursing Homes and Illinois State Supported Senior Care

10/11/2011

Illinois Senior Care Costs:  Nursing Homes and Illinois State Supported Senior Care   In-Home Senior Care Assisted Living CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) Nursing Home Veteran’s Care:  Home Companion and Nursing Aide Care or Veteran’s Retirement Home   Low-Income Illinois Seniors May Qualify for: Medicare Cost-Sharing Medicaid (pays for Nursing Home Care) Food Stamps   Medicaid financial qualifications for seniors age 65 or old...

Caregiver Turnover Impacts Care Quality

Julie Northcutt, 9/13/2011

Caregiver turnover for senior care companies can be as high as 75%.  Some of the senior caregiver turnover can be attributed to seniors passing away or recovering from an illness and no longer needing care.  The remaining reasons for high senior caregiver turnover are: difficult patients high client-to-staff ratio fluctuating schedules lower pay inflexible staffing Aging comes with some difficult aspects, such as outliving friends and family members a...

Illinois Nursing Home Violations Simplified

Julie Northcutt, 8/16/2012

Chicago, Illinois nursing homes and nursing homes throughout the state are inspected by health inspectors every 15 months.  These health inspection reports are provided to the public through the government's Medicare website.  You may review the Illinois nursing home violations for the 2nd quarter of 2012.  The violations are reported each quarter, with updates on the previous violations for the fines paid or violations removed after further investigation of the events. Nursing h...

Ronald Reagan: My Breakfast With The President

Julie Northcutt, 10/11/2011

In 1998, I was in Los Angeles attending a trade show for business.  I was the first employee in the advertising department for a new website and had convinced the dot-com start-up to purchase a booth at a trade show.  The marketing budget was still small and I would be exhibiting with what I could take and set-up in the convention center by myself.  In order to make it happen, I called my friend Ishtar, who had been an intern at a former company I worked for and now was pursui...

Maxim Health Care Pays $150 Million To Resolve Fraudulent Billing

Julie Northcutt, 10/17/2011

Maxim Health Care Services provides senior home health care in the home, both insurance reimbursed healthcare visits and private pay home care.  The company uses the name Care Focus and Max Health in some markets for their private duty senior care services. Improper billing practices were discovered at more than one office, as they conduct business in several states nationwide. Today it was announced that Maxim Health Care Services has agreed to pay $150 million to resolve fraud allegation...

Caregiver Games: Researcher Finds Game Playing to be Productive

Molly Schlanker, 11/7/2011

Caregiver games?  You may be wondering if you read this right.  It turns out there are many benefits received from involvement in game playing and now a new game for caregivers has been launched to deliver these benefits to caregivers. The Caregiver Village, an online game for caregivers, debuts this month.  The online game brings a virtual world of caregivers together to share support, resources and humor with each other.  The game, called The Village Chronicles, challenges...

Long-term Care Insurance: CLASS Act Included in Healthcare Law May Be On Hold

Molly Schlanker, 12/26/2011

Publisher Note:  On October 14, 2011, the Dept. of Health and Human Services reported that the CLASS Act may not be viable as participation is not mandatory for all.  Read More. Senior care can cost from $34,000 to more than $100,000 in a nursing home each year.  Most of us never plan on needing senior care, but insurance industry professionals who have done the research say we will probably need at least 2 years of senior caregiving.  As Americans are living longer, with th...

Elder Care Scams Watchlist

George Shaw, 4/10/2012

  Family members are unable to be by their elder's side 24/7.  As technology has enabled us to be more "wired" and connected, this has also enabled scammers to be more efficient.  The creation of multiple direct mail advertisements, emails, phone calls and sales promotions by companies, in order to sell their services or products makes it tough to sift the good from the bad.  However, there are some clues that will quickly allow you to identify a scam that could ...

New Office of Older Americans Part of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Molly Schlanker, 4/17/2012

Hubert Humphrey III Leads New Office of Older Americans Seniors are a target for exploitation, unfortunately, as their circumstances can easily fit the requirements for someone easy to exploit (especially if they are lonely, have extra time on their hands and are experiencing memory loss).  Now, the U.S. government is stepping in to protect the elderly with more safeguards and services. A new consumer advocate has been appointed through the creation of the new Office of Older Americans, a...

Minnesota’s New Law Requires Counseling Prior to Moving to Assisted Living

Molly Schlanker, 4/17/2012

Senior care options can be confusing, especially when trying to understand the costs of care and what benefits Medicare provides (only up to 100 days in a nursing home). Minnesota has passed a new law which went into effect on October 1, 2011, which will attempt to make sure a senior understands all the details of a move to an assisted living community. Seniors seeking assisted living in Minnesota now must speak to a counselor who will help them make better and less costly long-term care choic...

Illinois Announces 2Q 2011 Nursing Home Violations

Julie Northcutt, 5/1/2012

Nursing home violations are not included in the health inspections which are part of the Medicare star-ratings.  The state of Illinois has announced the violations for April through June, 2011.  You may review the nursing home's costs and star-ratings from the health inspection reports in Caregiverlist's nursing home directory. The Illinois Department of Public Health has initiated action, as indicated, against the following facilities which have been determined to be in v...

Nursing Home Care Moving to the Home

Molly Schlanker, 5/11/2012

Nursing home care for seniors has been the solution turned to by Medicare and Medicaid insurance for the last 70 years.  However, a few states are finally making strides forward in developing new managed care solutions for senior care. As seniors begin Medicare insurance at age 65, they discover that Medicare does not pay for ongoing long-term care needs, but only for short-term stays in a nursing home.  Medicaid, for very low-income seniors, does pay for ongoing nursing home stays.&n...

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