Paying for Change in LTC
Mission Possible
As editor-at-large at Irving Levin Associates, a leading source of news and research into the business of long-term care, Steve Monroe has unique insight into what makes providers want to spend money on something new – and what doesn’t. In a sector where new regulations grab the biggest headlines, there’s just as much – if not more – change to be made by changing funding sources. Monroe joins Alex Spanko for this frank discussion on the financial mechanisms that the government can use to create lasting change in nursing homes and other eldercare settings, as well as the state of an...
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Creating a Community of Care Where Elders Already Live
Mission Possible
This week on “Mission Possible,” we step back from the U.S. to explore a unique model from the Netherlands. Thijs de Blok, CEO of Buurtzorg International, joins Anne Montgomery to discuss his organization’s mission to bring care directly to Dutch elders through a network of self-managed care teams. Based on the belief that people thrive in their own communities, Buurtzorg relies on nearly 900 teams of nurses to provide direct care in elders’ homes – all without managers, and all consisting of no more than 12 individual members. The idea, according to de Blok, is to provide a seamless...
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What Residents Want from Nursing Home Reform
Mission Possible
Far too often, nursing home reform investigations and reports exclude input from the very people impacted the most by their conclusions: nursing home residents themselves. On this week’s episode of “Mission Possible,” we pass the mic over to Washington, D.C.-area writer, advocate, and nursing home resident Maurice Miller to learn what he really wants to see from providers, lawmakers, and caregivers as we work to improve the system. Maurice brings a unique perspective to the “Mission Possible” conversation, and not just because he’s a resident in a dialogue that consists primarily...
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Building an LTC Workforce That Actually Works
Mission Possible
No long-standing issue in long-term care seems more persistent – and unsolvable – than workforce shortages at nursing homes, assisted living communities, and home- and community-based service providers. “Mission Possible” assembled a team of experts to tackle some practical solutions to the workforce crisis, all with extensive experience and unique perspectives on the issue: Tara Cortes, clinical professor and executive director of the Hartford Institute of Geriatric Nursing at New York University Kezia Scales, vice president of research and evaluation at PHI Otis Woods,...
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Fighting for Nursing Home Ownership, Finance Transparency
Mission Possible
Nursing home reformers have long been stymied by questions that seem simple but have no clear answers: Who actually owns any given nursing home? How many other nursing homes does that person or group own? And where is all the Medicare and Medicaid money going in the end? We’ve assembled a panel of leaders calling for more public information regarding nursing home ownership and spending: Sam Brooks, director of public policy, National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care Taylor Lincoln, research director, Public Citizen Richard Mollot, executive director, of Long-Term Care Community...
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LTC Workforce Roundtable: Many Perspectives, One Goal
Mission Possible
At the moment, one of the fiercest debates in long-term care is over staffing mandates, with resident advocates calling for a strictly enforced minimum staffing standard on the federal level and industry officials protesting that there aren’t enough available workers to meet a legal minimum. This week’s episode of “Mission Possible” brings together a group with a diverse set of perspectives on the issue: Charlene Harrington, professor emerita of nursing, gerontology, and sociology at the University of California, San Francisco Chris Laxton, executive director, AMDA – The...
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Searching for Financial Levers for Change
Mission Possible
Please note that this interview was conducted in fall 2022; while some of the references to macroeconomic conditions may have shifted since then, the overall discussion on reform strategies remains timely and relevant. As the co-founder and former CEO of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), Robert Kramer has a deep and broad perspective on the financial factors that shape long-term care. Like it or not, in a for-profit healthcare system, where investors put their dollars – and where they don’t – has a direct impact on the types of services that are...
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Trailer
Mission Possible
Since the first nursing homes opened in the 1960s, people have been asking why they can’t be better, more enriching places for elders and people living with disabilities. Coming this March, “Mission Possible” will present concrete answers to that question through interviews with advocates, residents, visionaries, financial leaders, and other stakeholders in the world of long-term care. While the history of nursing home reform is littered with reports and blue-ribbon committees whose suggestions have gathered dust over the years, we’re determined to not let the same fate befall a...
info_outlineThis week on “Mission Possible,” we step back from the U.S. to explore a unique model from the Netherlands. Thijs de Blok, CEO of Buurtzorg International, joins Anne Montgomery to discuss his organization’s mission to bring care directly to Dutch elders through a network of self-managed care teams.
Based on the belief that people thrive in their own communities, Buurtzorg relies on nearly 900 teams of nurses to provide direct care in elders’ homes – all without managers, and all consisting of no more than 12 individual members.
The idea, according to de Blok, is to provide a seamless combination of formal and informal supports that empower elders to stay connected to the people and activities they love, in the places they’ve always called home.
Tune in to learn more about this incredibly successful alternative to traditional communal care, and how the Buurtzorg principles could be adapted to work in the home, the community, and even new types of forward-thinking care communities.
Learn more about Buurtzorg: https://www.buurtzorg.com/about-us/