Consumer Info
Evaluate Long Term Quality
Understand Care Costs
Explore Care Options
Evaluate Long Term Quality
The mission of the Oregon Health Care Association is to advocate and support quality long term care services throughout Oregon via professional development, advocacy, and technical assistance. OHCA does this on behalf of the long term care providers and those served in the diverse long term care system in Oregon. We also see our organization as a resource to Oregonians who need help in understanding or finding quality long term care services. Our hope is to extend resource information to help you with an immediate need or that will prompt you to consider information to plan for your future.
The State of Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), Seniors and People with Disabilities licenses, monitors (surveys) and administers corrective action to licensed assisted living, residential care and nursing facilities in Oregon. In home care and home health services are also licensed and monitored by the Department of Human Services through the Health Division section of the Department.
The monitoring/survey process involves on site routine inspections to assure that long term care providers are in compliance with applicable federal and state regulations. The compliance survey is an essential measure of foundational quality in long term care. Measuring quality in long term care is multi-dimensional. In addition to regulatory compliance, quality indicators such as staff turnover and clinical issues should be considered. It is also extremely important to understand the satisfaction levels of families, residents, and staff to complete the picture. Consumer checklists and resource links are available on this page to further assist with your evaluations of quality long term care.
- American Health Care Association Consumer Resources
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living provide consumers with information on nursing homes, assisted living/residential care, and other types of long term care including: - Nursing Home Compare
From the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a tool to provide detailed information about the past performance of every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home in the country.
Local & National Initiatives to Improve Long Term Care Quality
AHCA has recently launched a comprehensive consumer website, Care Conversations. This website is a tool for consumers to better understand the spectrum of long term and post-acute care.
Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes is a new coalition based, two-year campaign that launched in September 2006. The campaign is reinvigorating efforts to improve the quality of care and quality of life for those living or recuperating in America’s nursing homes.
M.O.V.E. (Making Oregon Vital for Elders) is a network of dedicated organizations and individuals united in changing the way Oregonians feel about health and long-term care for older adults. Building on principles of the Pioneer Network, Oregonians from a variety of organizations and experiences started a statewide coalition in which ideas and actions come together to create culture change for the benefit of elders and those who support them.
Pioneer Network, based in Rochester, N.Y., is at the forefront of changing the culture of aging and long-term care of elders in America. A growing coalition of organizations and individuals from across the nation, Pioneer Network advocates for public policy changes; creates communication, networking and learning opportunities; builds and supports relationships and community; identifies and promotes transformation in practice, services, public policy and research; develops and provides access to resources and leadership; and hosts a national conference to bring together interested parties with a desire to propel this important work.
Understand Care Payment Options
- Medicaid
Medicaid is a health insurance program administered through a state-federal partnership for certain low-income people, including the aged, (65 and older) blind, or disabled people on Supplemental Security Income; and people who have very high medical bills. - Medicare
Medicare is a federal program that pays for certain health care expenses, including some long term care costs, for people aged 65 or older. - Private Financing
- NAIC Consumer Alert: Long Term Care Insurance Fact Sheet
- Understanding long-term care insurance – American Institute of CPAs
- National Clearinghouse for Long Term Care Information – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- SHIBA
The Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance (SHIBA) program provides free counseling to people with Medicare and those who assist them. - Veterans’ Administration Health Care Eligibility & Enrollment
Explore Care Options
Navigating Long Term Care in Oregon
The long term care continuum is very robust in Oregon. Note that this continuum is fluid and that where these services are placed in relation to least amount of care to highest amount of care can fluctuate. A person who is very compromised may receive services around the clock in their own home via a home health agency. This serves as a general guide.
Oregon’s Long Term Care Continuum
- Long Term Care Glossary
This glossary includes terms commonly used in long term care insurance policies. - Choosing A Long-Term Care Setting: Compare Licensed Care Services
Planning and Preparation
- Communicating Your Health Care Decisions
If you have a serious health condition you need to make advance decisions about life sustaining treatment. The POLST form is voluntary and is intended to help you and your health care professional discuss and develop plans to reflect your wishes, as well as assist health care facilities, and emergency personnel to honor your wishes for life-sustaining treatment. - Legal Issues for Older Adults
This Oregon State Bar publication, Legal Issues for Older Adults: An Oregon Legal Information and Resource Guide, provides understandable and comprehensive information to literally guide families through a number of legal topics. In addition, it provides cross-references, glossaries and resource lists to direct readers to other sources of information. - National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information
This web site was developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide information and resources to help you and your family plan for future long-term care (LTC) needs. - The Effort
(Elder Fraud Fighters of Oregon Tribune) is a quarterly newsletter published by DHS Seniors & People with Disabilities to help fight Medicare/Medicaid fraud. The publication is made possible by a grant from the Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. - Don’t Become an Accidental Empolyer
- National Institutes of Health – National Institute on Aging. This web site will provide consumers with answers to questions such as: “What is long-term care and will I need it? If I do need long-term care services, where can I find them? Are there things I should be doing now to plan ahead?” Older adults and their loved ones can find easy-to-understand answers to these and other questions by visiting “Long-Term Care,” at http://www.nihseniorhealth.gov/longtermcare/toc.html.
Services In Your Community
- Network of Care
A community resource where seniors and people with disabilities, along with their caregivers and service providers, can easily access a wide variety of important information about issues that affect their lives. - Oregon Partnership for Prescription Assistance
The Oregon Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) was developed to improve access to health services and medications for Oregonians in need. Simplified access points create an easy way to apply for both public and private prescription assistance and to learn about access to other health services. - State of Oregon, Department of Human Services (DHS), Senior & People with Disabilities (SPD)
The division responsible for licensing and regulating long term care providers, including facilities, in the State of Oregon. - Oregon Area Agencies on Aging – all Administer Older Americans’ Act Programs, and most also determine Medicaid eligibility & provide Adult Protective Services.