elderly

Advocates say understaffing at the Kansas agency that regulates adult care homes puts elderly and disabled residents at risk of abuse and neglect.

With elder abuse cases in Kansas on the rise, investigators are taking on three times the number of cases they can adequately manage. The state says it can't release data on caseloads but advocates say metrics for evaluating elder abuse are lacking.

Bills sponsored by Missouri state Sen. Stephen Webber and state Rep. Kimberly-Ann Collins are designed to provide more oversight to state nursing homes and require certain staffing levels. But so far they’ve made little progress in the legislature.

Around this time last year, a quarter of Missouri nursing homes hadn’t been inspected in at least two years. Now the number is closer to 3%, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data.

Missouri’s long-term care ombudsman program organizes workers and volunteers to advocate for and educate residents at the state’s hundreds of nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities. But it has fewer than half the recommended staff members.

More than 10,000 households around Kansas City lack access to any kind of air conditioning — and during the summer, many more struggle to afford their electric utility bills. Some programs around Kansas City are trying to help.

New rules from the Biden administration will force most Kansas nursing homes to hire more staff, and owners aren’t happy. Plus: The USDA's new program SUN Bucks doles out $40 per month over the summer for each eligible child. However, 13 states turned down the funding.

A landmark federal staffing mandate has prompted fierce disagreement between resident advocates and the nursing home industry.

A St. Louis nursing home’s overnight closure in late 2023 upended the lives of more than 170 residents and families. Advocates and politicians called for its directors to be held accountable, but a $56,000 fine from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could be the only penalty.

The United States has a patchwork system of long-term medical care that usually leaves elderly people and their families footing most of the bill. Medicaid can cover much of the cost, but in Kansas and Missouri, seniors and people with disabilities have to earn below the poverty level and have less than $2,000 in assets before they can qualify for Medicaid.

The number of seniors living in rural America is rising, but resources are decreasing and facilities are closing. So residents of towns like Cuba, Missouri, and Louisburg and Osawatomie, Kansas, are rallying to provide elders with services and support.

Vanessa Woods, a former professional ballet dancer, suffered an injury that ended her career. So she formed a company, Vitality in Motion, that brings movement classes to retirement communities, while also providing work for dancers when they're not performing.