Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

The consolidation of nursing homes has been on the rise for the past several years now and will continue into the future. People want to grow old in their own home rather than in an institution. I don’t blame them. Knowing what we went through with my mom and what we see with others.

Recently, RiverView Health has announced that negotiations are underway for the sale of RiverView’s 55 bed skilled nursing facility, Hillcrest Nursing Home, in Red Lake Falls, MN. RiverView also owns a nursing home in Crookston, MN, a critical access hospital, a homecare agency, a chemical dependency treatment center and seven other medical clinics.

If this type of consolidation is happening in small rural areas like Red Lake Falls and Crookston, you can only imagine what’s going on in the big cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul.

This decision did not come easily or quickly for RiverView I’m sure. RiverView Health, like other nursing home owners in Minnesota, has experienced operating losses in its skilled facilities for several years now. Hillcrest Nursing Home lost $2 million over the past five years and preliminary financials show another $525,000 loss this last fiscal year.

When they acknowledged that they needed to explore other solutions, they looked for a potential buyer that would be committed to retaining quality care. The highest quality they could find was in the form of another Minnesota company to help out. The potential buyer is a senior residential service provider in Minnesota who owns and operates about 30 other senior housing facilities around the state.

Negotiations between the two parties started this month, with February 1 as the target date for completion of the sale. This still has to be approved by their board but, they know they cannot go on year after year losing money.

Major changes in 2005 to reduce expenses and increase revenues where possible were made but, those changes were negated by stagnant payment rates, rising costs of wages, benefits, utilities and supplies.

Reimbursement for long-term care facilities in Minnesota has declined over the last several years and profit margins for skilled nursing facilities have dropped dramatically. Today, the majority of the state’s skilled nursing homes are losing money and 26 percent are at risk for closure, according to the Minnesota Health and Housing Alliance.

With the growth of alternatives such as home care, healthier seniors have avoided nursing home stays. Hillcrest’s daily occupancy is at an average of 42, compared to 60 just 10 years ago

It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with your home care needs.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

I know it’s not news to anyone that this holiday season is going to be another great one for Nintendo’s Wii. Last holiday Nintendo couldn’t make enough of them. This year people were camping out in front of big box retailers waiting for the moment to be the first in line to get a Wii on Black Friday morning. Mind you, very early in the morning too.

If you are not sure what all the fuss is about, let me give you an idea about what the Wii is. I must say, what a cool gaming console it is! I mean not just from the standpoint of the games themselves but, in order to play any game correctly, you have to get physically involved in the game by twisting and turning the hand held remotes.

I was at Wal-Mart with a relative recently and we got so caught up in playing a Mario Brothers game that I was walking away from the Wii in a sweat. I couldn’t believe it.

The point of this is that I recently read of a hospital in Canada that is using the Wii’s for rehabilitation and therapy purposes. What a great idea? Matching the medical science of today with the gaming technology of tomorrow.

This hospital has been using the Wii for a few months to help people recovering from strokes and spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries. Patients also use the internet connected console to find information on news or weather channels to improve brain function as well.

Recently, it is starting to catch on in the United States.

In Ohio, I have read of some patients that used to spend hours performing video game feats regularly until they had an injury of some kind. Using the Nintendo Wii, and the rest of their body, it helps them to regain strength after a tragic accident.

One 51-year-old, who had a stroke about a month ago, has been working hard to rebuild the muscles in his immobilized right side at Ohio State University’s Medical Center.

Patients would usually undergo a total of two to three hours of daily therapy and work with the video game system for about 30 minutes per day, two to three times per week.

The idea of sitting there fiddling around with a couple of buttons on a video game controller is not that motivating or interesting if you struggle with that movement in the first place. But, if you think about it, it’s pretty cool that you use your body to control the movement on the screen.

I can’t think of any other home video game consoles that come close to matching the Wii’s appeal for its total movement, cognitive testing and its therapeutic ability. Way to go Nintendo!

It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with your home care needs.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

The holiday season is here. For some, plans are in motion to visit elderly family members. If it has been a while since you last visited, you might be shocked at how much they have aged, you may be concerned about their continued safety and well-being and motivated to do something about it.

First, try and remember the value of independence. Almost no one wants to be uprooted from his or her home. Getting help doesn’t always mean moving. Many people can remain safe in their home with minimal help.

There are often signs of trouble that usually show up in several areas. By being observant, you may be able to identify problems before they become a crisis.

While you are visiting, consider the following:

* Are medications a problem? According to a recent survey, one out of every three seniors said they had trouble taking their medications correctly. If someone takes four or more medications daily, they are at significant risk.

* Is there difficulty with daily living activities? A variety of health and safety equipment can easily be used in the home to make it better.

* Is the person depressed? Clinical depression is real and it affects thousands of people

Still, 92 percent of older Minnesotans who need assistance are taken care of by family members, community or church-based volunteers, or home health care agencies being paid out of pocket.

The percentage of families purchasing nonmedical home care has risen from 4 percent in 1988 to 27 percent in 2005, according to a survey done by the Minnesota Board on Aging.

Home health care numbers are expected to skyrocket by 2030, when Minnesota’s population over 65 will double, especially as nearly all current seniors and baby boomers say they want to stay in their home communities as long as possible and receive support and services there.

Baby boomers, often the ones who are helping their parents find care, are changing elder care. In a study this year by Ecumen, a Shoreview operator of nursing homes and provider of care for the elderly, only 1 percent of baby boomers would choose to live in a nursing home or assisted living. By a wide margin, they prefer to remain at home. With the percent of the U.S. population over 65 expected to double within the next 25 years, the impact on families will be huge.

It strikes every adult child who realizes that an elderly but independent parent who still lives at home needs additional help, more help than the child can offer. The adult child, often a daughter, typically helps out while managing her own family needs and a job.

We’re at the beginning of a sea change. Public policy isn’t meeting the need, and parents of baby boomers require services. Many people end up in nursing homes even if they don’t need that level of care. And they might not realize how much less it is for home health care.

The average rate for a home care aide is $24 an hour in the Twin Cities. (The highest hourly rate in the country is $30 in Rochester, Minn., according to a recent study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute.) At Aspirience, the rates range from $16-26 per hour for individualized and tailored Personal Care Services. Most home care is paid out of pocket or by long-term care insurance but is rarely covered by Medicare or Medicaid. Low-income or disabled families might qualify for some assistance under Minnesota’s Medical Waiver Program.

The point is to take note of the people you visit this holiday. They may need someone’s help.

It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you navigate your home care choices.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

Today marks the one year anniversary that I have been writing this newsletter. It seems like it went by so fast without any changes. However, there have been many changes. We have sponsored several conventions and meetings this past year, we’ve done presentations to local groups on the state of home care in general, the Veterans home in Minneapolis has gone through trauma with being fined by the state for lack of care, my mom passed away in May and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, there has been change that we have had to adapt to.

I wanted to write about the benefits of home care again in this ever changing world. November has been set aside as “National Home Care and National Hospice Month” to honor the men and women who have dedicated their lives to caring for others. A time for us to say thanks.

Traditionally delivered at patients’ homes throughout the centuries, home care is the oldest form of health care. It is also the newest.

Modern technology has evolved to the point where virtually anything that is available in a hospital can also be provided at home. And there is significant evidence that home care is less costly than other forms of care.

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice believes we as a society need to re-examine the reasons why home care is a viable, cost saving model of health care delivery. Here are just a few of the many reasons to consider home care:

1. Home care helps the elderly maintain their independence.

2. Home care prevents or postpones institutionalization. Few want to be placed in a nursing home unless it is the only choice.

3. Much scientific evidence indicates that patients heal more quickly at home.

4. Home care is safer. Some 20 percent of people who enter hospitals develop complications, such as infections.

5. Home care reduces stress.

6. Home care nurses and aides consider what they do a calling rather than a job.

7. In many of the rural or dense urban areas, home care is the only available form of health care.

8. Home care improves quality of life.

9. Home care is less expensive than other forms of care, such as hospitals and nursing homes.

10. The Internet will increasingly make it possible to diagnose, monitor, and treat illness at a distance, allowing patients to stay home and health professionals to save time.

Clearly there is evidence that taking care of someone at home is the best form of living and knowing there is a helping hand to walk you through that change is even better.

It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with home care.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

The Shakopee Valley News recently published a nice article on our business. I thought I would share what they wrote about us…

“Can we help people with health concerns aspire to a better life?” When Tom Wiest and his family asked this question, the result was the founding of Aspirience Home Care. This Shakopee-based business provides services to people who need help with activities of daily living and health-related functions through Personal Care Assistants.

The realization of the need for a company like Aspirience started many years ago when Tom’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Tom’s father did a great job taking care of her in the early stages. However, this destructive disease eventually took its toll on him and the rest of the family. The inevitable happened and his mother was put in a nursing home.

His mother went from having his dad take care of her at home, in a setting in which she was most comfortable, right into a full-time nursing home. That’s when Tom and the family started looking at the options and determined to create a home-care company that was guided by very specific principles.  Tom, founder and CEO of Aspirience Home Care says, “Our mission is to empower all caregivers to help home-care clients dream more, do more and be more. Our vision is to turn aspirations into experiences. Hence, our company name Aspirience. We understand that we are in the ‘people’ business, like a good neighbor taking care of a friend.”

Aspirience Home Care provides services to people of all ages who need help with activities of daily living and health-related functions through Personal Care Assistants (PCAs). They offer hourly, daily or weekly service, 365 days per year to a wide variety of patients from children to seniors, including the convalescing, disabled persons and anyone else who needs help with daily living activities. Aspirience Home Care will help anyone who needs help with routine activities of daily living so that they can live at home.

Tom comments, “Our home care aims to enable people to remain at home in surroundings that are comfortable to them, rather than use institutional-based care facilities. Caregivers visit clients in their own home to help with many different daily tasks such as getting up, going to bed, dressing, toileting, personal hygiene, some household tasks, shopping, cooking, supervision of medication and more.” “We help out with the daily routine of things you and I take for granted every day.”

Aspirience Home Care services those whose needs are described as Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). ADL refers to basic activities that reflect the patient’s capacity for self-care. IADL refers to more advanced daily activities that enables the client to live independently in the community. Aspirience Home Care is licensed and serves the entire state of Minnesota as well.

Aspirience’s Chief Nursing Officer constructs a personalized care plan designed to fit the needs of the individual. These Care-Giving Services are then provided by Personal Care Assistants who are carefully recruited and trained. Aspirience guarantees its services, and those of its PCAs, who are all bonded, insured and tested. The Chief Nursing Officer monitors each PCA’s activities to ensure compliance with client care plans.

If you, or a loved one aspires to a better, more fulfilling life and could benefit from in home health care, give Aspirience a call today.

The printed article can be found by clicking here.

It’s important to know, Aspirience Home Care can help you with home care.