subject: Long Term Care and Assisted Living in Florida [print this page] Long Term Care and Assisted Living in Florida
Florida is one among the states with a high percentage of total population that is age 65 and older. Its endowment of Medicaid long-term care funds are heavily tilted towards institutional care but the state is planning a way to help people make the transition to community institutions and increase home and community-based options to people with disabilities.
The complexities of the system of long-term care in Florida can be difficult and confusing. A wide range of services, programs and providers confuse the issue. That's why, continuous monitoring and evaluation are needed to determine which services and programs to provide the best value and ensure that the elderly receive the best quality and most appropriate services.
Another initiative the state continue to pursue involves the disability and aging communities, housing administrators and providers to increase housing choices for people with disabilities. With this goal, Florida hopes to establish partnerships and cross-train on the housing needs of people with disabilities and develop an effective tool to assess the need for home modifications and assistive technology.
In addition, the state also aims to find and develop ways to provide seniors with the community more choice, the diversion of increasing nursing home, offering several transitions to the community and opportunities to reduce the overall cost a formal care in the long term.
Florida has a very precise definition of what assisted living is including the basic services involved. Assisted living facilities in Florida provide "full-time living arrangements in the least restrictive and most home-like setting."
With non-medical care, supportive services provide assistance with personal care such as bathing, grooming, dressing, in addition to help with meal preparation, housekeeping, and other basic daily activities. These supportive services can be arranged for any amount of time needed including up to 24/7 or on a respite or temporary basis.
While medical care constitutes, skilled services provided by medical home health agencies, offer nursing care, physical, occupational, speech, and respiratory therapy as well as social services and hospice care. These skilled services are provided on an intermittent basis, with scheduled home visits to homebound clients only, under a plan of treatment ordered by a physician.
Government offices that are considered most critical in providing elders the service they require in the field of formal care include the Department of Elder Affairs, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Financial Services/Office of Insurance Regulation.
The Florida Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) plays a key role in the coordination of formal long-term care services. These services include screening, assessment and monitoring for individuals entering nursing homes and home and community-based services, training for staff in assisted living facilities, and rule writing with respect to Alzheimer's disease training and training curricula.
