In 2006, seventy-seven million baby boomers-people who worked hard all their lives-will begin to turn sixty. They have a right to expect the best of everything, but if the nursing home industry doesn't change dramatically and soon, they can only expect the worst. Today, nearly two million people are institutionalized in nursing homes, and millions more will face the possibility of one day joining the ranks of system victims.
Every American has a personal, vested interest in shifting the paradigm of a struggling industry that is on the verge of collapse and that ends patients' lives prematurely. Author and CPA Jerry L. Rhoads is a fellow of the American College of Health Care Administrators fellow, a licensed nursing home administrator, and the CEO of All-American Care, Inc. In Restore Elder Pride, he shares an educated insider's look at a system in crisis-and how each person can be a part of the solution. He outlines the three prevailing principles that make this problem solvable:
Embrace the restorative care model as a necessary transition between the current medical and social models.
Use computer technology and case management to customize care plans for each patient in order to manage interventions for positive outcomes.
Pay for performance based on outcomes attained.
He calls his approach restorative care, and that involves changing the approach to elder care to embrace more humane and productive outcomes. By restoring function of the mind, body, emotion, and spirit, Rhoads believes that the industry can be saved.