FL Still At Bottom Of Senior Care Barrel
Posted February 14, 2012 06:55 am
By Les Coleman
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - Florida is still near the bottom on a first-ever scorecard by AARP that ranks states on how well they provide long-term health care for seniors and people with disabilities. Florida is number 41 overall and, in some subcategories, the state ranks even lower.
Links:
AARP
Full report
SCAN Foundation
At AARP Florida, Jessyca Sosa says Floridians should
not expect the long-term care score to improve in the
coming years.
"And it's also very clear that the average person, the
middle-class family, in no way, shape or form can afford
to pay for the type of costs that they face under our
current system."
Sosa is AARP's southeast regional spokesperson. At the
other end of the scorecard, but still not encouraging,
she notes that Florida has the fifth highest nursing
staff turnover of any state.
The report, Raising Expectations: A State Scorecard
on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults,
People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers,
covers four areas: affordability and accessibility,
choice of setting, quality of care and support for
family caregivers.
Florida ranks 44th in terms of providing
seniors a choice of where to receive their care, with
nursing homes often the only option. Sosa would like to
see improvement here, as well.
"You know, the fact is, is that most people, if given a
preference, would prefer not to have to go to a nursing
facility. They want services in their homes and
communities."
Home or community-based care is also less expensive than
nursing home care, adds Sosa, which is another reason
for the trend away from institutional care.