Jenna Carlesso and Dave Altimari, reporters with The Connecticut Mirror
Enabling extra Individuals to stay their remaining years at dwelling needs to be a win-win, giving older folks the consolation of acquainted environment whereas saving authorities packages cash on expensive nursing dwelling care.
However in Connecticut, a state program to extend the variety of long-term care residents on Medicaid who stay of their properties has adopted a rocky path.
In a four-part collection, The Connecticut Mirror revealed how the state’s rapidly growing home care industry operates with little oversight utilizing chronically underpaid staff. Not like requirements for nursing dwelling workers and residential well being aides, the state lacks a licensing course of for staff employed by homemaker companion companies, or HCAs.
Reporters Jenna Carlesso and Dave Altimari reviewed greater than 75 complaints towards such companies filed with the state’s client safety division between 2018 and 2020 and located “at the least half a dozen circumstances by which HCA workers had been arrested for allegedly stealing from their purchasers, greater than a dozen findings by DCP investigators of companies that routinely mis-advertised the providers they offered, and 7 complaints of purchasers being left alone for hours at a time.”
They discovered a system that’s troublesome for shoppers to navigate and hampered by housing and transportation shortages and an approval course of that inadvertently steers some people to nursing properties. The collection uncovered broader challenges of a rising aged inhabitants and disparities in care choices resembling a dearth of assisted living facilities in nonwhite, non prosperous communities.
Right here is AHCJ’s “How I did It” interview with Carlesso and Altimari. Responses have been edited for brevity and readability.
What bought you interested by protecting this transition within the construction of elder care?
Carlesso: Through the first 12 months of the pandemic Dave and I each lined the devastation in nursing properties. Connecticut’s nursing properties had been significantly onerous hit. I believe we began to surprise about how properly the system was working for people in nursing properties, and from there broadened it to the elder care system.
Altimari: When COVID hit, I used to be truly working on the Hartford Courant the place Jenna and I first labored collectively. I got here to the Mirror in January 2021. Jenna had a way that there was an even bigger story to do about the way forward for ageing.
How did you determine to give attention to this matter?
Carlesso: We’d forged a fairly broad internet to start with and from that discovered what was helpful. A whole lot of that centered on how properly ready or not the state was for this inhabitants that has already largely elevated and is ready to massively improve within the subsequent 20 years or so.
Altimari: I believe we did upward of 40 interviews originally, interviewing nursing dwelling suppliers, nursing dwelling folks, the house companion company stuff, which was fully uncovered actually. A part of that was from a state audit that indicated there was very little oversight.
How lengthy did the undertaking take?
Carlesso: It was over a 12 months. A part of that was the complexity of the undertaking, getting our arms across the system, and to be candid, a part of that was my subject. At one level after we had been sort of nearing what we thought may be a publication timeframe, on account of an sickness after which a surgical procedure, I used to be out for a few months. By the point I bought again, we had been in the midst of the legislative session and needed to do some regrouping.
Altimari: We needed to principally return and redo quite a lot of our interviews.
Had a lot modified?
Altimari: With nursing properties, rather a lot modified frankly due to tales that we did within the interim. We did a giant story about one of the largest nursing home companies in Connecticut and all the issues they had been having. The legislature picked up on it. Hastily nursing properties grew to become a scorching matter. It took us fairly some time to get the factor printed however after we lastly did, it was truly fairly good timing.
What do you assume was the largest problem?
Carlesso: For me, it was the sheer complexity of the system. I had finished reporting, and I believe David had finished reporting on nursing properties, however didn’t notice what number of completely different layers there have been, what number of completely different packages, completely different funding mechanisms.
Altimari: I believe organizing is without doubt one of the largest. Like I mentioned, we in all probability interviewed properly over 40 folks, a number of a number of instances.
What are your suggestions for reporters who need to cowl issues with elder care of their states?
Carlesso: I believe it’s actually necessary not solely to get the oldsters who’re managing the system on the state stage but in addition to get the folks which can be affected. It was necessary to get individuals who had been having hassle navigating the system, wanting to remain in dwelling care.
Altimari: In case your state has a long-term care ombudsman like we do, she was a terrific useful resource to steer us to folks inside the completely different industries. With the story on dwelling companion companies, there have been arrest warrants and courtroom data that we used to buttress the story. I additionally assume it’s necessary not solely to speak to the individuals who stay in a few of these services but in addition nursing dwelling homeowners. There are these nationwide chains and in addition family- owned companies that perhaps have a unique view of issues.
One uncommon side of your reporting is that shift to the house companions. Is that a part of a nationwide pattern away from institutional care?
Carlesso: Each state I believe is going through this problem of, we name it right-sizing. We’ve seen the condensing of nursing properties as extra persons are shifting to dwelling care. It’s actually a subject that reporters in each state may take a look at. How does that have an effect on establishments? How does that have an effect on the place the state directs its funding? And the way properly suited or ready are states for this rising older grownup inhabitants?
Altimari: Connecticut is an older state, and I believe that we’re a microcosm of what’s occurring everywhere in the nation.
Are there different suggestions you will have for sourcing, significantly with regard to that dwelling companion piece?
Altimari: Keep watch over stuff that’s occurring in courtroom. Generally there are lawsuits filed towards the person corporations. If there’s a demise, for instance, or if there was a case the place there was abuse. There are additionally situations the place folks have been arrested. A whole lot of instances it’s a larceny cost or one thing like that, and if you happen to discover circumstances the place you may get courtroom data, you may get entry to much more than attempting to undergo a state company. I truly FOI’d the division of client safety for all of their investigations. It took them fairly some time to offer them to me, however that at the least gave me some leads and that’s how I discovered a number of courtroom circumstances.
It’s the identical with nursing properties — –not as many as a result of after COVID nursing properties bought immunity [from civil liability], however we did discover some potential circumstances of abuse. With Athena there have been multiple lawsuits filed. There was truly a murder investigation in one among their services. There have been lawsuits filed by temporary employment agencies that the corporate didn’t pay.
