BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer
EDISON — On the heels being ordered to pay more than $15,000 in state fines for carelessness that put "patients in immediate jeopardy, Roosevelt Care Center has come out with a brochure addressing long-term care financial questions.
The brochure aims to provide prospective residents, families and others with an explanation of long-term care and its financial implications. The literature is designed also to guide those in charge of coordinating finances to support a stay at Roosevelt with cost estimates in connection with modes of payment, a prepared statement from the Middlesex County Improvement Authority (MCIA) said. The improvement authority owns and manages the center.
"Prospective residents and their loved ones have so many questions when first facing the decision to seek long-term care; not the least of these questions is how they are going to pay for it," Roosevelt Care Center Financial Officer Donna Smith said. "This brochure will answer some of the financial questions, while helping families form others for our staff."
The brochure explains payment for care through private insurance companies, and other sources, such as Medicare and Medicaid. As a result of a report released recently by the state Department of Health and Senior Services on the center, it stands to lose Medicaid and Medicare subsidies for any new patients should improvements not pass state scrutiny by May.
Health and Senior Services was first prompted to investigate the center because of a February incident deemed a serious lapse in judgment. A diabetic amputee was allegedly left stranded at a New Brunswick social services office with no way home to the center.
This, together with two other incidents involving what the state said was poor patient care put the facility in a category that "constituted immediate jeopardy to resident health and/or safety" the state report read.
In addition to the recommended base fine of $15,000 for not meeting critical care center standards, as demonstrated by the incidents outlined in the report, the center was also assessed another fine of $50 a day for every day since March 18 that its care didn’t meet state standards.
In light of the report, the center is in the process of revamping many of its policies. Though Smith did not say that the brochure was connected in any way to the reworking of procedures, it answers questions that new residents or their families may have, she said.
The cost of preparing the brochure was not disclosed. It is nine pages and has a list of frequently asked questions and "contact information for various relevant agencies," the MCIA’s prepared statement said.
While the brochure is meant to market Roosevelt’s services, "whether you are interested in Roosevelt Care Center for your skilled-nursing needs or not, this brochure offers a great deal of helpful information on paying for long-term care," Smith said.