Leaders of the Louisiana Nursing Home Association are visiting this week with the Louisiana Congressional delegation to request measures that could help facilities cope in the wake of two hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

LNHA Executive Director Joe Donchess will be asking legislators to approve 100% Medicaid funding reimbursement for the costs incurred in the aftermath of the storms. He is also requesting certain changes to existing federal law that will help boost staffing levels for homes that are housing evacuated nursing home residents and displaced hospital patients and families.
 
There were 85 Louisiana nursing facilities that evacuated because of the storms, Donchess said. “The remaining Louisiana nursing homes that continue to operate now are stretched to their absolute limits,” he added.
(Published on 10-27-05)