Introduction
In the United States of America, the Accreditation of CCRC is done by the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC) which is sponsored by the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. This body is the only one charged with the responsibilities of accrediting CCRCs. Accreditation of these communities ensures that quality, integrity, and customer satisfaction are maintained at all times. The process of accreditation is normally voluntary and is thorough and involves wide self-evaluation by the staff, residents, and board of directors. The commission’s mission is very clear as explained by Gillespie is “to inspire excellence and advance innovation and improvement in organizations dedicated to serving older adults in the continuum of care” (Assisted living success, 2002). Government regulation is done by the state’s government and mostly by the departments of insurance. Most states do this through the departments of health, and others such as consumer protection and aging departments. According to a report by the US department of health and human services (2007), which quoted Conover and Sloan (1995,) stated that “Government involvement may take the form of measures designed to improve the ability of prospective residents to make informed decisions (e.g. consumer disclosure requirements), entry regulation (e.g. certification as a prerequisite for selling CCRC contracts), and measures to mitigate the adverse financial consequences to residents when bankruptcies occur” (p.445).
CCAC Regulation and Accreditation
The CCAC in the past years developed and adopted some standards to regulate fundamental areas touching on CCRC operations. The process starts with self-evaluations with focuses on these aspects after which the CCAC carries another inspection. Every five years, the CCAC carries out inspections after which the CCRC is certified to continue with the provision of its services. In addition to this, the CCRCs must also submit annual financial reports/statements. The standards that are used by CCAC have threefold purposes: assisting CCRC in creating, understanding, improving, and evaluating all aspects of their operations; providing the blueprint for decisions concerning accreditation; and increasing consumer confidence in the services offered by CCRC. The CCAC standards for accreditation do not necessarily mean that accredited CCRCs must guarantee long-term care coverage throughout the lives of their clients. Long-term care coverage only happens in cases where the benevolent service is part of the CCRC’s mission statement (Sanders, 1997). Due to the nature of insurance characteristics of CCRC, resident contract, it is a requirement by states that CCRC creates reserves with purposes of ensuring that these facilities meet future health care obligations. The investment regulation of these reserves is not the same in all states but a common requirement is that they must be invested in a way to do away with or minimize the potential risk of loss and to allow easy conversion to cash if needed (Keating and Brace, 1994).
Evaluation Process
The evaluation process is an eight-step process which includes: taking the CCRC’s marketing tour to assess the safety, upkeep, and sanitation of the facility; verification of the quality, type, and methods of training given to the staff; checking if the facility does a thorough check on any criminal background on its staff; comparing the number of staff to workload and services offered; finding out the nutritional services offered in the facility in terms of the type of food and balanced diet; finding out about alternative facilities that the CCRC has entered with into agreement to assist during full capacities and for purposes of transition; assessing the availability of activities that meet the seniors’ needs on-site and off-site; inquiring if the facility offers other services such as weight control, mental impairment and blood sugar checks (eHow Health Editor, 2007). These steps are used in self-assessment.
Works Cited
- “How to Evaluate a Continuing Care retirement Community.” eHow: How To Do Just About Everything. 2009.
- Assisted living success (2002) CCRC accreditation booming.
- Conover, C.J. and F. Sloan. “Bankruptcy Risk and State Regulation of Continuous Care Retirement Communities”. Inquiry 32.4 (1995): 444-456.
- Keating, D. M., and Brace, G. L. (1994). “Appraising continuing care retirement centers: The income approach”. The Appraisal Journal 62.4 (1994): 546.
- Sanders, J., “Continuing Care Retirement Communities: A Background and Summary of Current Issues.” U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. 1997.