March 11, 2016

Karen Smith, MD, MPH

Director and State Public Health Officer

California Department of Public Health

PO Box 997377, MS 0500

Sacramento, CA 95899-7377

Dear Dr. Smith:

We are writing on behalf of the California Association of Long Term Care Medicine, the state chapter of AMDA—The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine and California’s organization of skilled nursing facility medical directors, attending physicians, and other post-acute and long-term care professionals. Our members are very concerned about the judgment issued by the Alameda Superior Court in the CANHR v. Chapman case and its far-reaching consequences for some of the most vulnerable individuals requiring skilled nursing services in California. We are requesting that the Department of Public Health appeal this ill-considered decision to avoid significant suffering on the part of one of the most vulnerable segments of the population.  We stand with other professional organizations including the CMA, CHA and CAHF in requesting your assistance on this matter. 

by Timothy Gieseke, MD, CMD

At the recent national POLST meeting, a case of a patient unwilling to complete a POLST was discussed.  As the WAVE readers are probably aware, POLST is not generally recommended for patients unless they are in the last year or so of life.  In this case, in a nearby state, a SNF demanded that a total joint patient with a good prognosis complete and sign the POLST as a condition of admission to the facility.  When the patient refused, the facility refused to admit him.  In this state with a mandatory registry, what would be the implications of this “inappropriate” patient’s POLST form becoming a part of their electronic registry?

CALTCM is social!  Join the conversation and receive updates on the latest news on Post-Acute/Long-Term Care on social media. You will need an account (which are free and simple to set up) with each social media platform you use.  Here’s a “How To” to get you started: 

by Deb Bakerjian PhD, APRN, FAAN, FAANP

Greetings CALTCM Members and Friends!

It has been a while since I last wrote an article for The Wave, so I thought it would be timely to update the membership on the many activities that we have going on at CALTCM.

As most of you know, last year we announced an opportunity for nursing homes to participate in our “Best Practices” call.  We had 17 nursing homes submit proposals, all of which were fabulous!  Our panel of judges were really challenged to select the top five submissions, but after careful consideration and much debate back and forth, we selected five proposals that best met the criteria of the award.  I’m pleased to announce the five who were selected: