Page 148 - Jan 2013

148 | Business World Magazine | January 2013
input, and upon passage, will advise on the
interpretation and implementation of the
approved guidelines. In this capacity, the
FHCA serves the interests of government,
the greater community of health care pro-
viders and the public at-large.
FHCA’s other primary duty deals with
budgeting, especially when it comes to reim-
bursements. As Polivka-West explains, much
of the costs involving elder care is paid for
through the auspices of Medicare and Med-
icaid. Interestingly, as much as two-thirds of
Medicaid’s total funding is used to support
the frail elderly and disabled, yet these only
represent one third of the population eligi-
ble for Medicaid – which gives a good indi-
cation of costs associated with that care.
Polivka-West affirms, “The public ex-
pects good quality care for the most frail,
most vulnerable individuals who are cared
for in our nursing home… they require 24
hours skilled care.” She says that whereas
these patients were once only seen in hos-
pitals, today they are being discharged into
nursing homes. And despite some lingering
perceptions, these centers are not destina-
tions to which one goes awaiting inevitable
demise, but rather serve more as places of
rehabilitation that not only help sustain life,
but also enhance quality of one’s life.
In so doing, there are factors that force
food for thought. For example, Polivka-West
notes some sixty percent of nursing home
residents are diagnosed with conditions
such as Alzheimer’s Disease and/or demen-
tia. The advent of this statistical reality has
necessitated certain change in terms of how
care providers function.
Of course, funding issues make for
peculiar situations too, especially in light of
factors Polivka-West notes as indicating that
over the next 20 years, Florida will need an
additional 20,000 beds to accommodate de-
mand for care. She says another “major