The brainchild of billionaire investor Steven A. Cohen, the nonprofit Cohen Veterans Network clinics hope to provide free mental health services to veterans and their family members. Besides treating a wide range of mental health disorders, they also help veterans make a smoother transition to civilian life. Staff members offer support in transportation, housing, education, employment and other areas.

Cohen said the clinics are focusing on areas of high need. The network is currently operating clinics in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York City, San Antonio and Addison, Texas. With Cohen’s investment of $275 million nationally, there are plans to open 20 more clinics over the next five years.

Cohen said the clinics were inspired by his son Robert, a Marine. He said although his son did not need mental health care upon returning from Afghanistan, many of his friends did. A key factor that sets the clinics apart is that they care for veterans regardless of how they were discharged.

Many veterans may seek care outside the VA because they do not qualify for government-funded services and benefits. Because the clinics do not have strict eligibility rules, they hope to cater to veterans who are currently struggling to get the help they need.

According to reports, the truck driver, a member of the U.S. Navy, lost control of his vehicle, hit a guardrail, and plunged 60 feet off the bridge landing on a vendor’s booth. The injured victims had gathered for the La Raza Run, a motorcycle ride that begins in downtown Los Angeles and ends with a celebration at the park. One witnesses said the truck was going so fast that it flew over the stage where a band was playing. Four people in the booth were crushed. The truck driver was taken to the hospital in serious condition; he has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence causing deaths and injuries.

Auto accidents nationwide are often the result of an intoxicate driver. When it results in serious injury or death, victims may have legal recourse through a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against the negligent driver. The injured victims and family members of the deceased may be entitled to recover compensation related to medical treatment, funeral and burial expenses, pain and suffering and more.

Although it may be difficult for these victims to think about taking legal action a lawsuit is the only way to hold the negligent party accountable for his actions and to seek compensation for damages. An experienced attorney is the best way to help these victims get the compensation they deserve.

A lengthy legal process can hinder the victims from paying the bills associated with the crash; it may even be a struggle to pay ordinary living expenses. Insurance companies will go to great lengths to reach settle for as little as possible. In times like this, auto accident litigation funding is a good option to level the playing field and push for justice.

Litigation funding is an emergency cash advance to qualified plaintiffs that helps them get out of debt and keep their financial obligations current while waiting for a trial or settlement. Unlike a traditional loan, there are no payments to be made until a settlement is reached. And, if the case is lost, the lawsuit cash advance does not need to be repaid.

Eligibility is based on attorney representation and a strong case with merit. Once an application is received, we do the rest. There is no need to verify employment history and an applicant’s financial standing has no bearing on our funding decision. If approved for funding, the money can arrive within 24 – 48 hours.

If you have been injured or lost a loved one due to a drunk driver, are in a pending lawsuit, and facing serious financial challenges while waiting for a settlement, let Litigation Funding Corporation provide you with the financial ammunition to fight for your rights. Apply online or call our office at 1.866.LIT.FUND for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your case.

Gerald Seppala, Steven Brown and James David Williams face conspiracy, money laundering and wire fraud charges. If convicted, they could face decades in prison. Prosecutors claim that the men lied about producing feature-length films and documentaries. In a 2014 civil lawsuit filed against the men, investors claimed they were told their money would go toward films starring Harry Connick Jr., Nicolas Cage and Willie Nelson.

Prosecutors claim that the men made false representations and promises from 2012 to 2016. They allege that the men used the money for personal expenses, paying back previous investors and funding other projects. Williams was accused of using some of the money to purchase a house and car for himself. The civil lawsuit alleges that an individual and two companies lost $10.9 million that was supposed to be invested in four films. The suit claims that the defendants sent falsified financial records to investors showing investments that had not been made.

Brown was arrested in New York City and was freed on $200,000 bail. Williams was arrested in Los Angeles and Seppala was arrested in Wayzata, Minnesota.

Beloved singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell was found unconscious in her Los Angeles home on March 31, having suffered a brain aneurysm. After Mitchell spent more than a month in the hospital, her longtime friend Leslie Morris was appointed her conservator to make medical decisions for her while she recovers. As fans wish Mitchell a full recovery, they may also be wondering, “What is a conservator?”

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According to court documents, Hamlisch’s primary doctor may have misdiagnosed him from the beginning. The statement of claim indicates that the physician, Dr. David Cohen, permitted his patient to travel even though he had low blood pressure, chills, weakness, nausea, exhaustion and difficulty breathing. Cohen allegedly attributed the symptoms to back pain, even though Hamlisch had a kidney transplant that appeared to be doing its job.

Although there were conflicting reports about the cause of death, it was ultimately determined he died of lung failure. Court documents suggest that Hamlisch’s sudden death was due to the medical negligence of his doctor. Allegedly, Cohen repeatedly dismissed his symptoms without conducting a physical examination. Further, the argument states that the diagnosis was done while the physician was on vacation and out of the New York Presbyterian Hospital.

The doctor returned to work on July 30, 2014 and discharged his patient, opining that a five-and-a-half hour flight to Los Angeles would be “perfectly safe.” Hamlisch left for Los Angeles on August 1 to score the movie Behind the Candelabra, starring Michael Douglas as Liberace. Although he did arrive in Los Angeles, he collapsed, went into an unrelenting coma and died five days later on August 6.

His family may benefit from applying for a lawsuit loan to tide them over financially until the case is resolved. Litigation funding is available for plaintiffs who are struggling to keep up with usual bills and added financial burdens, such a medical bills and funeral and burial expenses.

Pre-settlement funding is often available fairly rapidly upon application by a plaintiff. All applications are treated with respect and dignity. Litigation funding intake specialists realize the applicant has gone through a lot before coming to them for help. In most cases, funding is approved in less than 48 hours and is sent directly to the plaintiff’s bank account, where he or she may start paying bills and setting funds aside for the long wait to trial or settlement. The plaintiff must have an attorney of record to be eligible for a lawsuit loan.

While pre-settlement funding may not suit every applicant, it is an option many may wish to explore. Serious injuries or death often bring very high bills, and not everyone has the means to source the kind of funding needed to deal with those expenses without help.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit http://www.litigationfundingcorp.com/.

In early August, the federal government passed legislation that qualifies veterans for in-state tuition at any public university, regardless of where the veteran legally resides.

Veterans can finally dispense with the complexities of Yellow Ribbon tuition programs, which promised tuition coverage but frequently stranded students. Michigan veterans were already close to some of the best public universities in the country, and this fall, many Michigan veterans can ponder the possibility of four years in Los Angeles, Chapel Hill or Austin as well.

At the same time, innovative new programs are popping up across the state for Michigan veterans who are looking to blend education and employment.

The Michigan Advanced Technician Training Program, also known as MAT2, combines classroom education and work experience into a highly structured program. Students work directly with and for advanced manufacturers while attending select classes at a community college. Participants are paid for their work by a sponsoring employer, who also covers complete tuition costs. Graduates earn an advanced Associate’s degree and are guaranteed full-time employment upon graduation.

MAT2 offers open enrollment and ongoing fairs to match accepted students with sponsoring employers.

The Inforum Center for Leadership offers a short and flexible program to help Michigan’s returning servicewomen acquire the necessary tools to transition into the workplace. Next4Vets is an adaption of the Center’s NextUp program, an eight-week course that helps young women plan and network for professional careers.

The Next4Vets program mixes a limited number of in-person learning sessions with ample home-based learning, so that women with families, current employment and other responsibilities can access the course more readily.

A pilot cohort of Next4Vets is expected this fall, and the program should become permanent in 2015.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans lawyer, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, First Lady Michelle Obama reacted with “horror” to the employment situation that veterans face, saying, “After everything they have done for us, the idea that any of our veterans are spending months or even years struggling to find a job is unacceptable.”

Young veterans agree. In a new public service announcement, veterans report spending months searching for employment. These young speakers were surprised to learn that companies who do hire veterans frequently pigeonhole them into low-paying security, labor or janitorial roles.

Moreover, dissatisfaction with the GI Bill is rising. A recent Gallup poll showed that veterans aged 18 to 24 are the least likely to call themselves “satisfied” by the benefits the GI Bill provides.

With complex lives, many young veterans are forced to use their GI Bill benefits for lower-quality, part-time programs or online universities. And as the number of for-profit colleges expands, there are increased reports of schools eating up GI Bill benefits before a degree is even earned.

The VA Center for Innovation is seeking to diversify the types of opportunities available to veterans looking for a path to a professional future.

One new initiative, the VA-TechShop Partnership, is a pilot program with a chain of Silicon Valley fabrication laboratories. The hope is that veterans with mechanical engineering skills may be able to invent new products or start a manufacturing business with access to high-tech fabrication tools.

As more veterans come home, both statistical and anecdotal evidence suggest that better programs, not more programs, are needed.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans lawyer, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

Experts predicted the 2025 availability date at the 2013 Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress, according to the Detroit News. The SAE issues standards that affect every aspect of car design. Panelists at the conference said that “semiautonomous” vehicle technology, which combines steering and vehicle-detection systems to keep cars in the lane and far enough away from the vehicle in front of them, would be available much sooner.

Much of the debate about self-driving cars centers on the potential for distracted driving. In theory, autonomous vehicles have the potential to greatly reduce traffic accidents, since most crashes are caused by human error. However, a malfunction could have serious consequences. And if drivers cannot safely attend to other matters while the vehicle is traveling, then the benefits of the technology are greatly diminished. In October, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it would spend $1.75 million on a multiyear research endeavor to determine what human controls would be necessary in self-driving cars.

A recent survey found that 49 percent of drivers would prefer a driverless car. Google has successfully driven a robotic Toyota Prius over 140,000 miles in heavy traffic in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Many features of self-driving cars are already available in today’s models, such as lane departure warning systems, crash-avoidance, self-parking and adaptive cruise control.

Convenience is one of the features consumers welcome most in self-driving cars. Autonomous vehicles offer the promise of turning “wasted” driving time into time available for other activities. All of the activities that currently amount to distracted driving – cell phone use, eating, conversations with passengers – could be engaged in without threatening safety. Commuters could get work done or simply relax as their cars transport them to their destinations.

The potential for enormous gains in traffic safety is another predicted benefit of driverless cars. Google has claimed that at some point in the future, self-driving car systems will be able to decrease traffic accidents by 90 percent. This would amount to saving almost 30,000 lives annually, preventing nearly 2 million injuries and decreasing costs due to car crashes by about $400 billion.

Paul Greenberg is a car accident lawyer in Chicago and car crash attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

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Beginning in 2014, you’ll be required to have health insurance coverage. To alleviate any confusion on how insurance will be bought sold we will discuss five quick facts you need to know to prepare for the health insurance change.

#1 – Where will you get health insurance?

Insurance will continue to be purchased through employers, individual coverage, or public programs. The major difference is that large employers will be required to offer coverage or pay a fine. Some employers will opt to provide coverage some will refuse because the fine is more affordable. If your employer does not offer coverage, you can purchase your own on the health insurance exchange with no risk of being turned down or sold a substandard policy.

(Related: Will You Lose Medicare or Medicaid If You Leave the Nursing Home to Visit Family?)

#2 – So if your employer doesn’t offer coverage, where will you purchase health insurance?

If your employer doesn’t offer coverage, it can be purchased on the health insurance exchange. Policies will be standardized and easy to compare. Massachusetts has a version of Obamacare already in place with a high functioning exchange.  See just how easy it is to purchase coverage. We used the Quincy, Massachusetts zip code to browse – 02169. Give it a try.

#3 – Pricing is based on only four factors – and bad health is not one of them.

Health issues will not be considered in your health insurance premium. The price of insurance will be based on four factors.

(Related: Worried About Chained CPI? You Are Not Alone)

1. Age – older people pay up to three times more than younger people.

2. Rating area – people who live in high cost health areas (think Boston, Miami, Los Angeles,) will pay more than people who live in low cost health areas (like suburban type towns.)

3. Number of people in the family.

4. Tobacco use – tobacco users will pay up to 1.5 times non-tobacco users. However, this will be very difficult to implement and is considered discriminatory by many. Because of these arguments, some states have decided that tobacco status will not be used in pricing.

#4 – Will your health insurance costs be sky high?

Sky high is a relative term. It will depend on your income, the state you live in, and if you currently have group or individual coverage.

(Related: Rural Areas Could Suffer In States That Opt Against Medicaid Expansion)

1. A broken ankle can easily cost $10,000, a cardiac bypass can be $100,000, and cancer can be $1,000,000 or more. If your health insurance is $5,000 per year, is that worth it to prepare for a million dollar illness? If you don’t make much to begin with, you’ll get help paying for the insurance.

2. How much do you make? If your income is lower than 400% poverty level, you will receive assistance paying for your health insurance and if you earn less than 138% poverty level, you will be eligible for Medicaid – unless you are in one of those states that elected not to expand Medicaid coverage for their poorest citizens. Per this great chart by Kaiser Family Foundation, a full 67% of our population will be eligible for premium tax credits or Medicaid.

3. How well has your state regulated insurance in the past? If you live in a state that previously had good oversight in place, and provided good coverage for their constituents, you will not see much of a change in premiums. But, if you live in a state that allowed cherry picking of healthy populations in the individual market, and you have individual insurance, you may experience a significant increase in your premium cost on individual insurance – Texas and Florida for examples.

4. Do you have group or individual coverage? Group insurance has been regulated largely by the federal government for a long time and provides richer benefits like maternity coverage and improved prescription coverage.  As a result, group coverage is more expensive, but employees don’t experience the cost because employers pay a large part of the bill. Individual coverage in many states may not be as robust, and subsequently the premiums may be less expensive. If you live in a state with minimum coverage requirements, premiums for individual insurance may rise significantly to pay for better health insurance policies.

(Related: DOMA Increases Medicare Costs For Same-Sex Married Couples))

California recently released the rates for policies available on the exchange, and they are quite a bit lower than anticipated, which is a good sign.

#5 – When do you have to shop for health insurance?

Open enrollment, for individual coverage starts October 1, 2013. You will want to shop during the enrollment period versus waiting until you’re sick to purchase coverage. In the event you develop a serious illness, you will flying solo until the next enrollment period.

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolynmcclanahan/2013/05/25/five-quick-and-important-facts-on-health-insurance-through-obamacare/?utm_content=buffer1b9cf&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer

Christopher J. Berry is an elder law attorney Dedicated to helping seniors, veterans and their families navigate the long-term care maze. To learn more visit http://www.michiganelderlawattorney.com/ or call 248.481.4000

Hospitals Face Pressure to Avert Re-admissions
By JORDAN RAU

After years of gently prodding hospitals to make sure discharged patients do not need to return,the federal government is now using its financial muscle to discourage re-admissions.THE NEW OLD AGE New Efforts to Close Hospitals’ Revolving Doors Spurred by new financial penalties that Medicare started imposing on places with too many re-admissions, hospitals are doing more outreach to make sure patients are following their discharge program. Medicare last month began levying financial penalties against 2,217 hospitals it says have had too many re-admissions. Of those hospitals, 307 will receive the maximum punishment, a 1 percent reduction in Medicare’s regular payments for every patient over the next year, federal records show.  One of those is Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, which will lose$2 million this year. Dr. John Lynch, the chief medical officer, said Barnes-Jewish could absorb that loss this year, but “over time, if the penalties accumulate, it will probably take resources away from other key patient programs.” The crackdown on re-admissions is at the vanguard of the Affordable Care Act’s effort to eliminate unnecessary care and curb Medicare’s growing  spending, which reached $556 billion this year. Hospital inpatient costs make up a quarter of that spending and are projected to grow by more than 4 percent annually in coming years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.  The readmission penalties will recoup about $300 million this year. But the goal is to pressure hospitals to pay attention to what happens to their patients after they walk out the door. The penalties have captured the attention of hospitals, and many are trying to improve their supervision of discharged patients’ recoveries. “I’ve been doing this for over two decades and talking to hospital leaders about re-admissions, and I used to get polite but blank stares,” said Dr. Eric Coleman, a professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus who has devised widely adopted methods to reduce hospitalizations. “Now they’repaying attention.” With nearly one in five Medicare patients returning to the hospital within a month — about two million people a year — re-admissions cost the government more than $17 billion annually. Hospitals’ traditional reluctance to tackle re-admissions is rooted in Medicare’s payment system. Medicare generally pays hospitals a set fee for a patient’s stay, so the shorter the visit, the more revenue a hospital can keep. Hospitals also get paid when patients return. Until the new penalties kicked in, hospitals had no incentive to make sure patients didn’t wind upcoming back. The maximum penalty is set to double next October and then reach 3 percent of reimbursements in October 2015. Medicare also is expanding the list of conditions it will assess in setting punishments. Right now it only evaluates re-admissions of heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia patients, counting every rebound, even ones not related to the original reason for hospitalization. The penalties are based on readmission rates in the past and applied to future payments for all Medicare patients. Researchers say that while some re-admissions are unavoidable, many are caused by the short shrift hospitals have given patients on their way out.Jonathan Blum, principal deputy administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the penalties had helped galvanize hospitals’ efforts to avoid re-admissions. “We’ve seen a small but significant reduction,” he said. “That tells me we’ve focused the industry on improvement.”  Medicare’s tough love is not going over well everywhere. Academic medical centers are complaining that the penalties do not take into account the extra challenges posed by extremely sick and low-income patients. For these people, getting medicine and follow-up care can be a struggle. At Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Dr. Lynch said physicians from all over the Midwest referred their sickest heart patients to his facility for transplants and other major interventions. But those patients can skew his hospital’s re-admissions numbers, he said: “The weaker your heart, the more advanced your emphysema, the more likely you are to be re-admitted to the hospital.” Dr. Lynch said Barnes-Jewish set up follow-up appointments for patients who didn’t have their own doctors. But about half of the patients never showed up, he said, even after the hospital made reminder phone calls and arranged for free rides. Sending nurses to see patients at home did not significantly reduce readmission rates either, he said. “Many of us have been working on this for other reasons than a penalty for many years, and we’ve found it’s very hard to move,” Dr. Lynch said. He said the penalties were unfair to hospitals with the double burden of caring for very sick and very poor patients. “For us, it’s not a re-admissions penalty,” he said. “It’s a mission penalty.” Various studies, including one commissioned by Medicare, have found thatthe hospitals with the most poor and African-American patients tended to have higher re-admission rates than hospitals with more affluent and Caucasian patients. But the studies also determined that some safety-net hospitals performed better than average, showing that hospitals can overcome the challenges posed by the kinds of patients they treat. In some ways, the debate parallels the one on education — specifically, whether educators should be held accountable for lower rates of progress among children from poor families. “Just blaming the patients or saying‘it’s destiny’ or ‘we can’t do any better’ is a premature conclusion and is likely to be wrong,” said Dr. Harlan Krumholz, director of the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation at Yale-New Haven Hospital, which prepared the study for Medicare. “I’ve got to believe we can do much,much better.” Some researchers fear the Medicare penalties are so steep, they will distract hospitals from other pressing issues, like reducing infections and surgical mistakes and ensuring patients’ needs are met promptly. “It should not be our top priority,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health who has studied re-admissions. “If you think of all the things in the Affordable Care Act, this is the one that has the biggest penalties, and that’s just crazy.” With pressure to avert re-admissions rising, some hospitals have been suspected of sending patients home within 24 hours, so they can bill for the services but not have the stay-counted as an admission. But most hospitals are scrambling to reduce the number of repeat patients, with mixed success. A few days after Eda Laurion was discharged from the Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center near Phoenix after treatment for her congestive heart failure in August,a nurse showed up at her house. “She helped explained the medicines I’m taking, the side effects,what they do for you,” said Ms. Laurion, 91, of Sun City West. Still, re-admissions can’t always be prevented. The nurse, Sue Koner, sent Ms. Laurion back to the hospital after two weeks for dangerously low sodium caused by an un-diagnosed kidney problem. However, Ms. Laurion avoided re-hospitalization in October when Ms. Koner deduced that her hallucinations were a reaction to an antibiotic. Overseeing former patients is expensive and time-consuming, so many hospitals are relying on financing from community health organizations and foundations. Ms. Koner works for Sun Health, a foundation-supported nonprofit. Since Sun Health started its program in November 2011, only nine of 213 patients have been readmitted. Dr. Krumholz said hospitals should think of re-admissions as a challenge to overcome. “One day, we’ll look back,”he said, “and we’ll be incredulous that one out of every five patients ended up back in the hospital.”

The Ten Most Common Nursing Home Violations
By Long Term Care Solutions
Pro Publica analyzed 262,500 deficiencies with its u Nursing Home Inspect tool, which includes deficiencies identified by government regulators and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over the past three years.  Since releasing this information on its website this summer,has added details of historical violations found in nursing homes. The agency now releases narrative reports of these problems from a home’s last three inspection cycles — or about three years.  Here is their list of the 10 regulations most commonly violated by nursing homes:
•    Facility is Free of Accident Hazards: 17,331     •    Facility Establishes Infection Control Program: 14,186     •    Provide Necessary Care for Highest Practicable Well-Being: 13,401     •    Store/Prepare/ Distribute Food Under Sanitary Conditions: 11,746     •    Develop Comprehensive Care Plans: 9,070     •    Services Provided Meet Professional Standards: 8,986     •    Clinical Records Meet Professional Standards: 7,962     •    Not Employ Persons Guilty of Abuse: 7,288     •    Drug Regimen is Free from Unnecessary Drugs: 7,040     •    Dignity: 6,605

OIG Issues Compendium of Unimplemented Recommendations
from Dixon Health Care Solutions, Inc.

The Office of Inspector General issued is Compendium of Unimplemented Recommendations. It summarizes significant monetary and non monetary recommendations that, when implemented,will result in cost savings and / or improvements in program efficiency and effectiveness. This includes two unimplemented issues for home health agencies, three unimplemented issues for hospices, and an unimplemented issue for Recovery Audit Contractors. For more information please utilize the following link:

https://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/compendium/files/compendium2012.pdf

Avoiding Sexual Harassment by Residents
by Ted Boehm

A recent lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)against a healthcare facility in Virginia highlights a legal liability to which nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are particularly vulnerable: harassment of employees by residents.The lawsuit in question was filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and it alleged that a female receptionist was subjected to a “sexually hostile work environment” on the basis of harassment by a resident. The lawsuit further alleged that the employee made numerous complaints to her supervisor about the harassment yet the employer failed to take proper corrective action.
Harassment Problems Specific to the Resident Care Arena
Sexual harassment is a difficult issue in any employment setting, but perhaps nowhere more sothan in the resident care arena. A number of different nursing home employees have regular,physical contact with non-employees – primarily the residents for whom they care (and the familymembers of those residents). Under Title VII, nursing home employees are protected fromharassment by residents just as they are from co-workers and supervisors. Hospitals, nursinghomes, assisted living facilities and other patient-care entities are responsible for providing aworkplace free of sexual harassment, regardless of whether the harassment is perpetrated by aco-worker or by a paying resident. Most nursing home employers have experienced episodes inwhich a resident acts out in an inappropriate manner. Often, the inappropriate behavior is due tothe resident having a deteriorated mental condition such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. As a resultof this condition, residents may not understand that their actions are inappropriate. However, thismental condition does not act to shield nursing home employers from liability.
How Employers Can Minimize the Risk of Harassment
Where sexual harassment has been alleged, a court will likely first look to whether the employerknew or should have known about the harassment and whether the employer did anything tocorrect the offending conduct. Of course a nursing home employer is somewhat constrained inhow it can respond to complaints of sexual harassment by residents. For example, a residentcannot be transferred unless the transfer complies with the Bill of Rights for Residents ofLong-Term Care Facilities. However, this constraint does not mean an employer should donothing. While it may not be possible to completely prevent harassment in the long-term caresetting due to the mental conditions of residents, employers can take steps to address andminimize the risk. First, employers should maintain a policy that addresses harassment byresidents or other third parties. The policy should specifically address how employees can reportthe harassment when it occurs. Maintaining a “reporting” policy is critical for another reasonbecause it provides employers with important legal defenses in situations involving allegedharassment by a supervisor. Second, employers should regularly train its employees on how toreact when they are harassed by a resident. Because the duties of a nursing home employee oftenrequire him or her to work in close contact with residents, there is an increased potential forharassment. If employees are trained to react properly and promptly, the unwelcome conduct maybe stopped before it becomes “severe or pervasive” – the standard used by courts in analyzingsexual harassment claims. Third, employers must respond to complaints appropriately. While theresponse will depend on the circumstances of the complaint, there are several “best practices”that employers should consider. For example, employers could make staffing adjustments so thatthe employee does not care for the resident by his or herself. Other options include assigning theresident to another employee’s care or discussing with the employee whether he or she wants totransfer to another part of the facility.
Respond to Complaints – But Do Not Retaliate
While it is critical for an employer to respond meaningfully to a complaint, it is just as importantthat the response does nothing to permit an employee to argue that he or she was retaliatedagainst for making the complaint. Retaliation claims have increased within all industries in recentyears and the long-term care industry is no exception. An employer should not take any actionthat is “materially adverse” to the employee -such as transferring the employee to a position thathas more onerous job duties. The most effective way to minimize the risk of harassment in yourlong term care facility is to conduct regular training on your policies or to implement policiesnow if they do not exist.

Why Long-Term Care Facilities Need to Embrace Change David Rubenstein, a speaker at the marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2013, on how long-termcare facilities need to move along with the industry. Interview with: David Rubenstein, Chief Operating Officer, AdCare Health Systems “Do not be static,” is the message that David Rubenstein, Chief Operating Officer at AdCareHealth Systems wanted to convey to long-term care (LTC) facility directors. The healthcareindustry is changing, and facilities have to embrace that to take advantage of businessopportunities, he commented. Ahead of the marcus evans Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2013, in Los Angeles,California, January 28-29, Rubenstein exchanges his ideas on ensuring a LTC facility is patientcentered and evolving with the industry. Q: How can LTC facilities build a person-centered culture? DR: It is important to remember that we do not make products in this industry, but take care ofpeople. A lot of facilities get wrapped up in numbers, rules and regulations, but at the end of theday, our job is to take care of people. I always encourage management to walk the floors of theirfacility every morning before they go to their office and start dealing with all the technical issues,to keep that person-centered focus. Q: How is culture change best done? What do employees resist the most and what is the wayaround it? DR: Most people get into a rhythm of doing things the way they have always done. The problemis that the healthcare industry is constantly changing, whether it is the regulations, referralsources or the types of residents we admit. The facilities that do not embrace change are thosethat typically end up having problems or cannot achieve their goals. They will not achieve themif they do things the way they did ten years ago. LTC facilities need to be ahead of the curve. Weencourage folks to adapt their policies and procedures, so things are not static. For employees to embrace change, the leaders must spend a lot of time communicating andexplaining the game plan. Too often they send out budgets or expectations, without explainingthe rationale behind them. Q: How could LTC facilities be more profitable? What opportunities can they capitalize on at themoment? DR: Each facility needs to assess every department, expenditure, and resident before they comein. The margins in this business are not so large that they can overlook some expenses.Establishing par levels and expectations for supplies and commodities, such as food, could proveeffective. There is also value in outsourcing certain services, housekeeping and laundry forexample, to specialists who can do a better job. It is important to be as efficient as possible on the expense side, and to ensure that the facility isable to attract residents. Q: How will President Obama’s re-election impact the LTC industry? DR: All aspects of healthcare are going to be affected. The nursing home industry is the smallestsector of the healthcare budget, and we have gone through some radical adjustments in theMedicare payment rates over the last few years. We need to meet with our state leaders andlobbying groups to make sure they understand that right now a nursing home is the lowest costalternative for a patient who needs the services we provide. Interview by: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division About the Long-Term Care CXO Summit Spring 2013 This unique forum will take place at the Westin Long Beach, Los Angeles, California, January28-29, 2013. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusivemeeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highlyfocused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on AccountableCare Organizations, reimbursement maximization, staff recruitment and retention, and electronicmedical record implementation. For more information please email d.drey@marcusevansch.com, or alternatively, feel free to call416-800-2481.

Delaney’s husband, Patrick Smalley, was a used car salesman for over 20 years. More than half of those years were spent serving the customers of the greater Los Angeles area. So when he had come home from working ridiculous hours all he wanted to do was veg out with his favorite Chicago teams – in every sport under the sun. He would yell and throw the couch pillows at the TV.

Finally, Delaney had enough of this maddening behavior and told Patrick to wise up or get out after many years of marriage.

“What do you mean, wise up?” Patrick asked.

“It means do something useful with your brain!” Delaney said.

“I bust my butt all day with the most difficult clients and you want me to read an encyclopedia?”

“That’s right! I want you to get a clue. Not just read stupid comments your buddies post on your fishing forums or news forums or all those sports forums, either!”

“That’s it, I’m calling Matt!” Patrick warned.

“Go ahead; at least Matt has more sense than you!”

Matt Lockhard had been the friend of the family since their early days out in California. Matt is now an Independent California Health Insurance agent and had been providing the Smalley’s with top-notch health insurance coverage since he started.

“At least Matt protects my health, and you don’t.” Delaney continued.

It was not before long that Patrick decided that he outgrew his profession and decided to be the sales manager for a green company that helped people build efficient and safe organic gardens in their backyard with prefab green-friendly gardening plans and kits.

He would continue to catch a game every now and then, but does not get his blood pressure worked up over a failed play. Patrick did not read the encyclopedia, but joined his wife in a literary book club. After she had read a review of a book, she would read it and then Patrick would read it after her.

Their dinner conversations were filled with music, art, literature and laughter; and of course their dinner would consist of organic food from their very own garden. Not only was Delaney delighted in her new husband, but Patrick was pleased of himself, for once in his life.

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Now overlooking Los Angeles in his luxury high-rise penthouse, he just cannot believe how he made it this far, literally. Some series of odd events happened when he just turned 21 after celebrating his birthday. A tourist named Alan McNabb from one of the luxury liners visited the island and happened to bump into him at the one and only pub in the settlement. Alan told Sean about his shampoo company out in California and offered Sean a job. Many years later, Sean found himself owning and running the company after the old man bequeathed it him.

Now in his late 30s, battling homesickness was becoming harder and harder. He wanted to take a hiatus and visit his old little island but he did not want to go alone, so he asked his friend Matt Lockhard, a California independent health insurance agent, to come and accompany him. But this time, instead of taking freight ships to the island, he planned to take his yacht.

“Thanks, but no thanks, Sean,” said Matt, declining Sean’s offer. “I heard that the seas are so rough down there that ships and freights sometimes cannot make it into the harbor, and there is always a chance that the volcano will erupt. It will be our luck!”

“So, are you saying that it’s a remote chance that you will go to the remotest island in the world with me, Matt?” Sean asked.

“Yup, you got that right!” Matt exclaimed.

“Hey, but at least you and I have great health insurance now. So live a little and hit the high seas with me!”

Matt and Sean found themselves on the island six months later chasing the infamous Northern Rockhopper Penguins.

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“Stop this madness,” Willimina howled, as she accidentally stepped in a puddle with her new designer heels. Willimina Hayslett just flew into Los Angeles from New York City to visit her clients regarding her new fall line. Although it hardly ever rains in Los Angeles, she managed to find a muddy pool of water to step into. In the northeast, muddy puddles were just synonymous to the unpredictability of spring.

She was polished and dressed impeccably, for she was a walking symbol of ultimate fashion. But she was, on the other hand, never an optimist. Even as a baby she cried every time her mother tried to put her into her favorite fleece sweater. “Look at that thing, it’s hideous, you would cry too if you had to wear it,” she said to her boyfriend, who was looking with her through her old baby photos. She had a series of handsome boyfriends, but not one was ever suited or stylish enough for her.

“No, not the Willimina Hayslett heels!” exclaimed a man who just witnessed the event.

Willimina looked up to look at the most stylish and debonair man she had ever seen.

“How did you know that these were…?”

“Are you kidding me? Willimina Hayslett is my specialty! I have a store on Rodeo and I sell her stuff. You should come and visit since you are also a big fan of her and you can perhaps get a new pair of heels.”

Perhaps he didn’t recognize who she was with her big black shades, or maybe it was because her hair was up. But then again, she remembered that she didn’t care for photographers too much and avoided them all like a plague, so not too many pictures of her circulated, not even at fashion week in New York or Milan.

“Thank you,” said Willimina, “but I have too many of her stuff in my warehouse, too.”

“Would you care to join me at the café here, where I was sipping my coffee before I witnessed the tragedy?”

Willimina didn’t have to go anywhere until the next day, so she obliged. During the course of their encounter, she learned that his name was William Hatsfield and that he was originally from Powers Lake, South Dakota – not the hybrid of luxurious living that she hoped for but he, after all, was certainly a big fan of her work. As she looked down at her waterlogged heels, she wondered if she should tell him?

Then she remembered what Matt Lockhard, the independent California insurance agent said, “Don’t have to tell the whole story all the time in order for them to believe you!”

“I would love to see your store while I’m in California,” she said to William just short of being interrupted by her cell phone. “Excuse me for a moment, William. Hello, mother…yes, yes, I see… How is the weather in Powers Lake?”

At that moment, William forgot about his infatuation with Willimina Hayslett and fell in love with a hometown girl.

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