Community Businesses Impacted by Looming Cuts to Long Term Care Feder...(nities. Additionally organizers are usi...),Health

"Staff that work in the long term care industry make a positive difference everyday in the lives of the residents who live in our country's nursing and assisted living facilities - both the staff who care and the residents who made our country what it is today deserve to be recognized and included in the health care reform discussions," noted Gail E. Rader, Founder of Care Perspectives, Inc. a consulting firm located in Philipsburg, New Jersey specializing in the education and training of long term care staff on administrative policy and regulatory matters.

Nationwide, the long term care industry provides almost two million jobs and employers anticipate filling more vacancies further stimulating local economies. CoCares emphasizes that preserving and strengthening Medicare and Medicaid is the key toward ensuring that patients receive high quality nursing home care or care in assisted living settings. Nursing homes account for approximately 1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Not only do cuts to Medicare and Medicaid impact patient care, but thousands of jobs are at stake.

"Main Healthcare Pharmacy is a long term care pharmacy serving rural Iowa where many long term care facilities are the major employers, " said CoCares member Mark McMullen, RPh, CGP, Certified Geriatric Pharmacist for Main Healthcare Pharmacy in Bettendorf, Iowa. "Many businesses that supply long term care goods and services that providers and facility residents cannot do without will also face the consequences of massive Medicare funding cuts."

The impact of nursing homes and assisted living affects jobs, services provided by vendors in the community such as pharmacies, insurance agencies, the tax base, and so on. Long term care
'/>"/>