The Inevitability of Reimagining Long-Term Care

Abstract

Attesting to the complexity inherent in long-term care, each article in JAMDA's special issue highlights a different topic, yet every article points to the interrelatedness of all topics. This editorial groups the articles into 5 areas and notes interrelationships among them:The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Provision of Home-Based Primary Care to Individuals With Intellectual and/or Developmental Disability Is Associated With a Lower Hospitalization Rate Than a Traditional Primary Care Model

“…As recently discussed in JAMDA, there exists a considerable current opportunity to reimagine long-term care. 20 New, augmented models of support and care for people with IDD are needed, and HBPC is one such promising model of care. Reporting hospitalization rates among individuals with IDD, along with potential strategies to reduce them, may help to align individuals receiving services, families, provider organizations, and payors around the goal of enabling people with IDD to spend more time integrated in the community and less time in institutional settings.…”

Managing the Impact of COVID-19 in Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities: An Update

“…53,216,217 Although a discussion on these standards and their implementation is beyond the scope of the current review, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted important deficiencies in the long-term care sector, necessitating the need for a reimagination in the provision of high-quality long-term care as we move forward. 218,219…”

One accurate measurement is worth 1000 expert opinions—Assessing quality care in assisted living

“…So much so that government, academic, and industry leaders have called for the need to re-imagine AL. 1,4,5 However, compared to nursing homes, AL is a free-wheeling, regulatory-lite entityoften owned by mixed senior housing and service corporations. 6 Methodologically, uniform measures in representative samples are hard to come by and make comparisons between high-and low-quality care challenging.…”

“…Indicators of frailty, need, and personal cost have risen and reflect the intensity of some AL care that approaches care in nursing homes. So much so that government, academic, and industry leaders have called for the need to re‐imagine AL 1,4,5 . However, compared to nursing homes, AL is a free‐wheeling, regulatory‐lite entityoften owned by mixed senior housing and service corporations 6 .…”