Elder Law Prof Blog

UN celebrates disabilty rights convention - in force on May 3

The UN is celebrating the coming into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) - a landmark agreement that aims to give the world's 650m disabled people full equality.  Adopted in 2006, and opened for signature in March last year it took effect on 3 May a month after the 20th nation ratified it - in this case Ecuador.  This is fast, officials say, reflecting the commitment of some nations to the treaty's goals, as well as pressure from the disability lobby.  It is estimated that about 10% of the world's population lives with some sort of disability - making disabled people the world's largest minority.  This figure is likely to increase as a result of medical advances and the world's ageing population, according to the World Health Organisation.  Disabled people experience a number of social, cultural and economic barriers which the convention aims to address.  For example, the World Bank estimates that 20% of the poorest people on the planet have a disability.  Disabled women are said to be "multiply disadvantaged" because they experience exclusion on account of their gender and their impairment.  In some countries, disabled child mortality is as high as 80% even when the general level of mortality for the under fives has dropped below 20%.  And almost one in five of less educated people has a disability compared with just over one in 10 of those who are better educated.

The CRPD guarantees disabled people:

• The right to make their own decisions
• The right to say No to being placed in an institution
• The right to say No to medical or psychological treatment
• The right to live in the community
• The removal of barriers to participation in daily life
• Equal opportunities for all

22 nations have ratified the treaty. The US is not among them.

Source:  BBC

Latest issue of NCEA E-news now online

The May issue of the NCEA E-News is now online at:
http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/NCEAroot/Main_Site/Resources/Newsletter/current_newsletter.pdf

Contents:

• Calendar…15

• WEAAD Webcast Archived…14

• Elder Abuse Research…13

• Federal Legislation Update…11

• Funding and Scholarship Opportunities…10

• Delaware Celebrates 25 Years of APS…8

• Question of the Month…7

• National PSA Series Ready for Airing…3

• National Training Survey Under Development…3

• MOSAFE Unveils New Video…2

• Updating NCEA Promising Practices Clearinghouse…2

• NCEA Student Arts

New report on residential care and assisted living--get it while it's hot

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Residential Care and Assisted Living Compendium: 2007

Robert Mollica and Kristin Sims-Kastelein, National Academy for State Health Policy
Janet O'Keeffe, RTI International
November 30, 2007
http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/2007/07alcom.htm

This compendium describes regulatory provisions and Medicaid policy for residential care settings in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It updates an earlier report completed in 2005 with data for 2004.

The original intent for this edition of the compendium was to provide data for 2006. However, due to the increased availability of current data on states’ websites, we were able to collect data for 2007. Information was collected between February and August 2007 by reviewing state websites and regulations and calling key state contacts to verify information. Section 1 provides an overview of residential care and assisted living policy. Section 2 presents six tables, which compare states’ policy in selected areas. Section 3 provides summaries of each state’s regulations and policy for residential care settings, including assisted living facilities (ALFs).

The 2004 edition of the compendium differed from prior editions in that it used “residential care setting” or “residential care facility” (RCF) as the generic terms for all types of group residential care settings, rather than the term assisted living. The 2007 edition continues the use of these terms. Although many states use the term assisted living generically to cover virtually every type of group residential care on the continuum between home care and nursing homes, for many stakeholders the term assisted living still represents a unique model of residential care that differs significantly from traditional types of residential care such as board and care. When discussing state statutes and regulation, the compendium uses the terms that each state uses.

This one pretty much ruined my breakfast...

Since they first walked the planet, humans have either buried or burned their dead. Now a new option is generating interest — dissolving bodies in lye and flushing the brownish, syrupy residue down the drain.  The process is called alkaline hydrolysis and was developed in this country 16 years ago to get rid of animal carcasses. It uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers.  No funeral homes in the U.S. — or anywhere else in the world, as far as the equipment manufacturer knows — offer it. In fact, only two U.S. medical centers use it on human bodies, and only on cadavers donated for research.  But because of its environmental advantages, some in the funeral industry say it could someday rival burial and cremation.  "It's not often that a truly game-changing technology comes along in the funeral service," the newsletter Funeral Service Insider said in September. But "we might have gotten a hold of one."

Source:  AP, http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ifodxwqgqRNgn74m2nZOLId0xCOwD90HKMBG0

And now for the How Did I Miss This report

Pittsburg prof and all around wild and crazy guy Larry Frolik recently published "Residence Options for Older and Disabled Clients"

This book is a comprehensive guide to the many different types of housing available for aging and disabled individuals. It starts with the most independent type of living, proceeds through transitional forms of housing and ends with an in-depth discussion of medically assisted housing. The book covers virtually every type of senior housing possibility except the recreational r.v.  With this book you will learn not only about the various types of housing but the pros and cons of each.

Get the book here.   No free copies for law professors, sorry!

Larry will be autographing copies of the book in the lounge at the Maui Hilton next week during the NAELA meeting in Hawaii... Kidding.

 

Not elder law: Genenic code of world's oldest mammal revealed

Scientists have deciphered the genetic blueprint of the duck-billed platypus, one of the oddest creatures on Earth.  The animal comes from an early branch of the mammal family, and like mammals it is covered in fur and produces milk. However, it lays eggs like a reptile.  Researchers say this unique mixture of features is reflected in its DNA.  The genome sequence, which is published in the journal Nature, holds clues to how humans and other mammals first evolved, they add.  The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is the latest in a string of mammals, including the mouse, rat, sheep, horse and dog, to have its genome decoded.  But it is the only member of the monotremes (egg laying mammals) for which we have a genetic blueprint.  The platypus is so strange that it was considered a hoax when sent from Australia to European researchers in the 19th Century.  "It has a very weird appearance because it's a mishmash of the bill of a duck, the eyes of a mole, the eggs of a lizard and the tail of a beaver," Dr Ponting told BBC News.

Source/more:  BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7385949.stm

How much less do prescription meds cost in UK? inquiring minds want to know

Summary of the data:

Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) provides details of the number of items and the net ingredient cost of all prescriptions dispensed in the community in England. The drugs dispensed are listed alphabetically within chemical entity by British National Formulary (BNF) therapeutic class.
Summary

In the PDF file, the number of prescription items dispensed for individual preparations, dressings or appliances is rounded to the nearest 100. There are a very large number of preparations/dressings/appliances where only 50 items or less were dispensed in 2006. While accounting for just under 50 per cent of the total number of preparations dispensed, such preparations covered less than 0.02 per cent of the total items dispensed. In order, therefore, to keep the publication to a manageable size, such preparations have been excluded.

The Excel file also excludes data on products where less than 50 prescription items were dispensed and aggregating data for individual products may not produce the actual totals.

The data in the file for prescription numbers, cost and quantity are given to the nearest hundred. However we would recommend that any data extracted for use is presented to the nearest thousand.

Get report.

Then compare US drug costs.

Profs. Doron and Mewhinney publish collection of international documents relating to rights of the elderly

Received from Dr. Israel Doron, Haifa University:

It is with great pleasure that I am letting you know that a new book, which I and Prof. Kate Mewhinney have edited, has just been published.

"The Rights of Older Persons:  A Collection of International Documents".

The book (published by a collaboration of:  IFA – International Federation on Aging;  AGE Concern UK;  ILC India;  and JDC-ESHEL in Israel) provides a unique collection of all the main, important international documents relating, at the international level, to the status of the aged and the phenomenon of ageing.  For the first time, readers, the aged and professionals all over the world can obtain a comprehensive picture of the worldwide activities in the field of international law and ageing.

The link for further details and for purchasing is the following:

http://www.ifa-fiv.org/en/accueil1.aspx?sortcode=2.7&id_article=473&starting=1&ending=50

I believe this book could be very helpful for anyone in the field of elder law get an international-comparative perspective on the international documents relating to older persons. 

May is Older Americans Month!

How do you plan to celebrate the older persons in your life? Here are some ideas:

http://www.aoa.gov/

http://www.midlothianexchange.com/npps/story.cfm?ID=1842

http://www.ci.tracy.ca.us/modules/news/article.php?storyid=85

http://www.goldenbuckeye.com/oam/

http://www.positivearticles.com/Article/14-Leadership-Quotes-to-Celebrate-Older-Americans-Month/19368

National Health Policy Forum (NHPF) reports on legal services to elderly

The National Health Policy Forum (NHPF) recently issued reports on
programs that provide services to older Americans:

. The Aging Services Network: Accomplishments and Challenges in
Serving a Growing Elderly Population
[http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/DPERIKBPNG/OIEDIKBPQT/1951062716] examines the expanding number of seniors and their
need for additional services. The report finds that the aging network
will require more funding to meet the increased need.

. The Basics: Older Americans Act of 1965
[http://capwiz.com/ncoa/utr/1/DPERIKBPNG/LOCTIKBPQU/1951062716] outlines the major titles of the OAA, along with
Fiscal Year 2008 funding.