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LTSS Training and Technical Assistance Center
Visit the online LTSS TA Center for videos, best practices, toolkits, a resource library, and a step-by-step planning roadmap.
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New Navajo health care system will enhance LTSS
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Navajo Nation is expanding health care services by creating a managed care organization (MCO) through partnership with CMS and the state of New Mexico. Medicaid services offered under the Navajo-owned MCO will include many long-term care services and will help fill gaps in the Navajo health care system.
MCOs offer a broad range of health care services through a network of providers. They help control the cost of LTSS, streamline services, improve the quality of LTSS, and promote home-based services that allow patients to stay in their homes and communities.
Learn more about Navajo Nation’s planned MCO.
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Starting with a needs assessment
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Needs assessments help identify needs and resources within your community to guide your plans as you create or expand an LTSS program.
A needs assessment of the Navajo health care system highlighted a need for culturally sensitive health care. To address this need, the Navajo Nation MCO will hire employees who speak Navajo. Further, the MCO will provide services that fit with the needs of Navajo citizens, like traditional healing and transportation.
See the LTSS TA Center’s guidance on conducting a needs assessment for your LTSS program.
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Oglala Sioux Lakota Nursing Home offers culturally sensitive care for elders
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The Oglala Sioux Tribe’s nursing home cares for elders in a setting close to their homes and families. The Oglala Sioux Lakota Nursing Home, which opened in September 2016, serves traditional foods and gives elders the opportunity to participate in traditional spiritual practices and familiar activities, like beadwork. The elders receive care from staff who understand and share their values. The residents and staff often speak Lakota with one another.
Recognizing the need for culturally sensitive care for tribal elders, the tribe developed the nursing home through many years of planning. Due to restrictions in South Dakota, where the reservation is located, the tribe collaborated with state and federal partners to build the nursing home on Oglala Sioux lands in the neighboring state of Nebraska. Visit the LTSS TA Center for information on working with state and federal partners to create a program that works for your community.
Learn more about the Oglala Sioux Lakota Nursing Home.
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Community living for AI/AN elders
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The Administration for Community Living (ACL) works to ensure that elders can live as independently as possible and fully participate in their communities. The ACL recently published a new issue briefing about health and community living among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) elders. It provides information for organizations that work with AI/AN elders and discusses creative solutions that AI/AN programs use to support the wellbeing of their elders.
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LTSS video: Dementia and Alzheimer’s care for tribal elders
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A new CMS LTSS video highlights ways tribes can provide dementia and Alzheimer’s care in their communities. Memory care units, memory and music programs, and caregiver support are programs that can improve the lives of tribal elders with dementia.
The video is one in a series that features Kiowa-Choctaw artist and filmmaker Steven Paul Judd describing ways tribes can provide long-term care to elders and people with disabilities.
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These LTSS TA Center webinar recordings offer additional assistance for tribes helping elders with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease:
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Elders at risk for opioid misuse
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Misuse of opioids, including prescription painkillers like hydrocodone and oxycodone, is being declared a health emergency in the United States, and it has been a growing public health crisis across Indian Country. Though misuse is more widespread among younger adults, elders are particularly at risk.
AARP Public Policy Institute’s Analysis of National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2015 found that more than half of elders who misused painkillers did so after receiving them from doctors.
AARP Public Policy Institute’s Insight on the Issues (PDF, 240 KB, 8 pp) lists several reasons why elders may be affected by opioid misuse. For example:
- they have complex health conditions and often have to take several medications
- they may struggle to take medications at the right times and in the correct amounts
- they could have trouble understanding instructions due to hearing and vision loss or mental health issues
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Because opioids may be necessary to treat chronic pain for some elders, care providers should keep an eye on elders’ prescriptions to ensure they follow their prescription plan correctly and have what they need for pain management. You can share the National Institute on Aging’s information on safe medication use with elders to help them manage their medication safely.
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In case you missed it: Navigating the LTSS TA Center
The CMS LTSS Technical Assistance Center offers resources for tribal LTSS programs, from a planning roadmap to information on possible funding sources. Watch the October 2017 webinar, “Navigating the LTSS TA Center,” to learn what kind of information you can find on the TA Center. The presenters provide a tour of the TA Center and highlight tools to support you in starting, expanding, or strengthening your LTSS program.
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Robotic therapy animals and elder care
Robotic animals are being brought into elder care facilities to help combat loneliness. More advanced robotic animals may even help with dementia care treatments and assist in the relief of chronic pain. As reported by iAdvance Senior Care, the robotic animals provide the benefits of animal therapy in a more predictable way than real animals, eliminating issues like allergies, biting, and limited visitation schedules.
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Join the conversation on LinkedIn
Want to learn more about or discuss LTSS in Indian Country? Looking to connect with others working in the same field? Join the Tribal Affairs Group on LinkedIn and join the conversation.
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Waiver Basics: Understanding Home- and Community-Based Medicaid Waivers
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Wednesday, December 13
Medicaid waivers often provide funding for services to support people who receive long-term care at home. Which services a waiver covers and who is eligible varies widely by state. Join us for an introduction to how Medicaid waiver programs work. Learn more about the differences between waivers for home- and community-based services versus Medicaid card benefits.
Presenter
Elaina Seep
Chief Operating Officer
Red Earth Consulting Group
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Please note your
location's call-in time:
9 a.m. Hawaii
10 a.m. Alaska
11 a.m. Pacific
12 p.m. Mountain
1 p.m. Central
2 p.m. Eastern
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Send Us Your News
Do you have news to share about LTSS in Indian Country? Send it to ltssinfo@kauffmaninc.com, and we’ll include it in a newsletter. Contact us with other comments or feedback, too.
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About the Newsletter
Long-Term Services and Supports Solutions is published monthly by the CMS Division of Tribal Affairs to share information, funding opportunities, and resources with LTSS planners, tribal leaders, and supporters.
Download Adobe Reader for the best reading experience with PDF files.
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