Elder Care in Hart County

A journal article published in Age and Aging in February found that people are not only living longer, but they are living healthier lives.

Unfortunately these people reside in Denmark, and their healthier lives are attributed to a large investment in healthcare for the elderly.

In Hart County, Ga., healthcare options for senior residents are deteriorating.

Budget cuts have led to employee cuts at the county health department, and nursing and assisted living facilities are full or near capacity.

Hart County has a larger than average elderly population. 16.5 percent of residents are 65 and over compared to the state average of 9.7 percent.

Many are long time residents and others come to the county to settle after retirement.

Residents who do not have a private physician may find the task of seeking and receiving care a difficult one.

Government funds are being cut in various departments and the Hart County health department has not been spared.

Pat Brake, office manager for the health department, said that the budget cuts have resulted in layoffs.

“I have two RN’s here,” said Brake. The office which previously had a staff of four has been cut in half.

Even the clerical staff has been cut in half.

Layoffs within the county have caused the health department to see an increase in people requesting services.

The most common services requested by older members of the community according to Brake are flu shots, blood pressure checks, and hemoglobin checks.

Due to budget cuts general clinic days, which are the times when anyone can come and be seen, have been reduced from everyday to one day per week.

“Today they scheduled 27 appointments with two nurses and a visiting nurse practitioner,” said Brake.

Residents within the city of Hartwell, who require more than the occasional check-up, have access to two nursing facilities and one assisted living facility. All three facilities are located within the city and are the only facilities available for the entire county.

Maintenance supervisor, Gary Hill, said that for the past year the occupancy at the Lake Point Assisted Living and Memory Care Community has hovered between 97 to 100 percent.

“Sometimes one bed is available,” said Hill.

Lake Point’s assisted living community is very small with only 37 occupants. It is a private-pay facility that is not primarily government funded.

Although the nursing facilities receive government funds, they do not paint a much different picture.

Jerry McCurley, social services director for Hart Care Center, also reports a nearly full facility.

Hart Care Center which is a 117-bed nursing facility currently has 114 occupants.

The average age of patients, according to McCurley, is 84 with most patients paying for their care with Social Security and Medicare insurance.

Care in nursing home facilities is covered under Medicare Part A as they are considered skilled nursing facilities or SNF’s.

Only the first 20 days are completely covered by the Medicare Part A plan.

The 21^st through the 100^th day are partly paid for by Medicare, with the patient then being responsible for a co-payment.

McCurley approximates that most patients pay $123 a day for care.

With Medicare rapidly growing, it is important that citizens become aware of current conditions and options available for their healthcare, and be proactive in their search for other options.