Expanding Long-term Care Choices for the Elderly

Workshop Brief for Senior State and Local Health Officials

---

This workshop was designed for senior State and local policymakers from the executive and legislative branches of government responsible for long-term care (LTC) policy. It was held in San Diego, California, on September 11-13, 2000.

About the Workshop Sponsor.

---

Overview

This workshop was designed to offer a closer look at the dynamics of today's long-term care (LTC) systems and strategies undertaken by States to shift funds from institutional to residential and in-home services in order to offer expanded choices to elderly people with functional impairments and chronic health conditions. The workshop examined initiatives to expand service options.

The objectives for participants in this workshop included:

• Understanding the changing characteristics of elders served in nursing facilities and home and community-based programs and the importance of having data across LTC settings.
• Addressing the important role of housing in relocating nursing facility residents and in supporting the independence of elders living in the community.
• Understanding the role of assisted living in serving people with functional limitations and chronic health conditions and the importance of reimbursement to create incentives to serve low-income populations with greater impairments.
• Addressing the challenges facing residential facilities and home care providers in their efforts to support aging in place, maintain appropriate staffing, and provide quality care.

Participants

Workshop participants included representatives of State and local health departments, human services departments, bureaus of aging/elder services, long-term/continuing care offices, licensure/quality assurance offices, Medicaid agencies, managed care oversight offices, finance offices, legislative offices, and governors' offices. Representatives of Federal agencies also participated. Thirty-seven States were represented.

AHRQ's User Liaison Program (ULP) disseminates health services research findings in easily understandable and usable formats through interactive workshops. Workshops and other support are planned to meet the needs of Federal, State, and local policymakers, and other health services research users, such as purchasers, administrators, and health plans.

Top of Page

---

                  Contents         Next Section

---