Connect with us

Arizona

Arizona legislators call for more transparency, improved safety in assisted living

Published

on

Arizona legislators call for more transparency, improved safety in assisted living


(Credit: Jon Hicks / Getty Images)

Arizona has joined a growing list of states where governments are calling for more transparency from assisted living communities through legislation following local media reports questioning resident safety in the setting.

HB 2653, introduced last week in the Arizona Legislature, would require assisted living communities to report resident injuries to the Arizona Department of Health Services and to families, allow cameras in common areas and in resident rooms, and forbid communities from hiring employees who have a history of abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

Arizona LeadingAge CEO Jaime L. Roberts said that she supports legislation aimed at safeguarding the well-being of older adults but that she has concerns about HB 2653, which drew inspiration from prior legislation that permitted the monitoring of facilities serving people living with intellectual disabilities. 

Advertisement

Roberts proposed a “thoughtful reconsideration” of several provisions in the bill to “strike a balance between ensuring safety and preserving the privacy and autonomy of assisted living residents.”

She said that it is “crucial” to acknowledge the “distinctive nature” of assisted living communitie that are homes for older adults.

“Residents and their families choose these environments for their residential feel, steering away from institutional settings,” Roberts told McKnight’s Senior Living. “Many of these seniors actively engage in the community, exercising their right to vote, and may only require minimal assistance. It is paramount to recognize and respect the right to privacy for seniors, their visitors and the dedicated staff within these facilities.”

A provision of the bill allowing residents or families to install electronic monitoring devices in rooms raises concerns about the potential effect on the privacy of roommates, visitors, other residents and staff members, Arizona Health Care Association Executive Director David Voepel said. 

Advertisement

As of 2021, at least nine states had laws mandating that assisted living communities accommodate resident requests to install electronic monitoring equipment in their rooms: Connecticut, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Utah. New Jersey also has a “Safe Care Cam” program that loans micro-surveillance equipment to healthcare consumers, including families of assisted living and nursing home residents.

Overall, Voepel said, his organization is open to more transparency.

“The camera legislation doesn’t go near far enough legislatively to protect residents and roommate privacy and leaves too much to the rules process,” he told McKnight’s Senior Living. “If we’re going to do something, we should have comprehensive language that takes the guesswork out of the rules process.”

He said other states have good language in place that is working, including Iowa, which is considering a law for nursing homes.

Roberts also addressed requirements for reporting any serious injury, medical issue or fall by a resident.

Advertisement

“While we understand the importance of such reporting, it’s worth noting that assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities are already subject to similar obligations,” she said. “The interpretation of terms like ‘fall’ could introduce complexities, making compliance potentially burdensome.”

Voepel addressed a requirement under the bill mandating that employers verify that employees or potential employees are not on the Adult Protective Services registry for past incidents of elder abuse.

The Arizona Health Care Association shares best practices with its members, including those related to looking up potential employees on the APS list, and will continue to work with the governor’s office and the bill’s sponsors to suggest changes, he said.

The Arizona Assisted Living Homes Association, which represents 1,585 smaller residential assisted living home locations, raised concerns about how the proposed legislation may impact current licensees and the privacy of individual residents.

“We recognize that the proposed legislation introduces requirements that are intended to help protect residents, and AALHA applauds that goal, but it should be balanced with the interests of small business owners,” AALHA President Annette Quinata, MSG, told McKnight’s Senior Living. “Owners of facilities licensed for 10 or fewer residents do not have access to the same level of resources as large centers, and already have to comply with extensive regulations in order to operate a licensed assisted living home.”

Advertisement

The Alzheimer’s Association Arizona chapter also put forth a proposal to address memory care minimum training standards, which is something the AALHA supports, as approximately 15% of older Arizona residents have Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia diagnoses.

“A large majority of residential assisted living homes are licensed for directed care services,” Quinata said. “As an organization, we are in support of additional training for managers and employees. More training is important as it helps to prevent abuse and neglect.”

Push for more regulation

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) also announced during her recent State of the State address her plan to advocate for a package of bills to ensure that long-term care facilities “cannot hide or erase their violation history,” increase fines, standardize inspections, and establish standardized credentials for Alzheimer’s, dementia and memory care.

The focus on long-term care, including assisted living, comes after several high-profile death and abuse cases were highlighted in the Arizona Republic’s investigative series “The Bitter End,” which chronicled resident injuries, care issues and sexual assaults in assisted living communities and nursing homes.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) raised the issue of safety and transparency concerns at Arizona assisted living communities during a US Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing last week that focused on safety, staffing and pricing in assisted living. Kelly also mentioned the Arizona Republic series and the “horrifying” stories it shared.

Advertisement

The national Alzheimer’s Association submitted comments for the record of the hearing, calling for federal involvement to increase the dementia care workforce and training in assisted living, and it also urged the Aging Committee to take steps to support states in implementing and improving dementia training for direct care and other workers in assisted living communities.

AARP Arizona Director of Advocacy Brendon Blake said that his organization planned to push for enhanced regulation of assisted living communities and nursing homes in the state. He said that the organization will advocate for increased fines and measures to ensure that staff members are trained, that substandard care is reported and that medication administration is improved.

“It’s kind of the Wild West,” Blake said in a statement. “Our system is weak when it comes to punishing bad actors.”

The National Center for Assisted Living’s 2023 edition of its “Assisted Living State Regulatory Review” report noted that 20 states updated assisted living regulations, statutes and policies in the past year. 

Advertisement



Source link

Arizona

2026 NFL draft: 3 potential trades back from No. 3 for Arizona Cardinals

Published

on

2026 NFL draft: 3 potential trades back from No. 3 for Arizona Cardinals



Since the Arizona Cardinals want to trade back from the No. 3 picks, here are three deals that could work.

The Arizona Cardinals have the third pick in the 2026 NFL draft, which begins this week on Thursday. All the reports coming out are saying that they want to trade out of the pick to acquire more draft picks.

But what does a trade look like and who could be involved?

Advertisement

The Kansas City Chiefs are involved in talks at some level. ESPN’s Adam Schefter expects trade talks to heat up this week.

NFL teams use a variation of a trade value chart when it comes to draft picks. Now, what a team actually is willing to give up can be influenced by potential competition with other teams, but we can’t count on that.

Here is the general trade value chart teams use.

Here are some potential deals that could be done.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs have two first-round picks, which would be appealing to the Cardinals, who reportedly want to make a move for quarterback Ty Simpson, and the 29th pick might be just the spot to get him.

Advertisement

The third overall pick is worth 514 points.

The Chiefs’ picks at No. 9 (387 points) and No. 29 (202 points) together are worth 589.

To make up the difference, the Cardinals could give up No. 65 (78 points) for a total of 592 points.

One deal could be:

  • Cardinals receive get No. 9 and No. 29 (589 points)
  • Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 65 (592 points)

Another could be:

  • Cardinals receive No. 9, No. 29, No. 74 and 2027 third-round pick (653 points + value of future third-round pick, which is 36-78 points)
  • Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 34 (689 points)

The Cardinals keep their third-round pick and the Chiefs essentially move back five spots from No. 29.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys have the 12th and 20th picks but no pick in the second round.

Advertisement

Pick No. 12 is 347 points and No. 20 is 269 for a total of 616.

This deal is close:

  • Cardinals receive No. 12, No. 20 (616 points)
  • Cowboys receive No. 3, No. 65 (592 points)

New Orleans Saints

The Saints are perhaps a dark horse to move up, although they do not have two first-round picks. They have the No. 8 pick, worth 406 points. Their second-round pick, at No. 42, is worth 142 points.

This deal could work:

  • Cardinals receive No. 8, No. 42 (548 points)
  • Saints receive No. 3, No. 104 (547 points)

Then the Cardinals could use their two second-round picks to then move back into Round 1 to get Ty Simpson.

They could trade No. 34, No. 42 and No. 65 (395 points) for No. 28, No. 38 and No. 106 (398 total points).

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Arizona

Dust returns to Phoenix area after hazy weekend – KTAR.com

Published

on

Dust returns to Phoenix area after hazy weekend – KTAR.com


PHOENIX — Breezy winds kicked up a blanket of dust across the Valley on Sunday, and forecasters say more is on the way this week.

Visibility in Phoenix became so bad on Sunday that Sky Harbor airport stopped flights for over an hour

The wind and dust peaked Sunday afternoon and gradually improved into the evening, said Michael Graves, an air quality meteorologist with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

Advertisement

“You might’ve seen the mountains a bit obscured in the distance,” Graves told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday. “A lot of haze in the air.”

By Monday morning, skies had largely cleared and dust levels near the ground had dropped significantly.

Expect more gusty, dusty days this week

The relief may be short-lived.

ADEQ is watching for increased afternoon breezes Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, this time from the west and southwest. Though the winds are expected to be weaker than Sunday’s, Graves said forecasters cannot rule out dust.

“I wouldn’t say windstorm,” Graves said. “I would just say we’ve got some waves coming in. They’re going to increase our afternoon breeziness.”

Advertisement

It’s enough to kick up dry, exposed dirt, which could create pockets of dust. There is a slight chance of broader regional dust transport, Graves said.

It will impact people with asthma, COPD or respiratory conditions the most. Graves advised those with issues to monitor conditions and stay indoors during the dustiest hours.

“If you’re going to be outside, be outside during the times when it’s less dusty or hazy,” Graves said.

Graves noted that spring weather systems typically pass to the north of the Phoenix area, delivering wind and slight temperature drops but little to no rain, a pattern likely to continue.

KTAR News reporter Kellen Shover contributed to this report.

Advertisement

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.





Source link

Continue Reading

Arizona

Trying to beat the heat: Addressing rising temperatures in Southern Arizona

Published

on

Trying to beat the heat: Addressing rising temperatures in Southern Arizona


The University of Arizona and Tucson are known for yearlong warm weather, but when is it too much? With temperature reaching record highs in March, the city of Tucson has already reported increased temperatures for this year. 

In the wake of the third annual Southern Arizona Heat Summit, integrating voices throughout the City of Tucson, community stakeholders and experts from UA gather to speak about possible solutions and policies to address rising temperatures and extreme heat. 

The summit strives to ensure that the lived experiences of Southern Arizona residents are voiced. The first summit commenced in 2024, in response to the declaration of an extreme heat emergency in Arizona by Gov. Katie Hobbs, as part of a larger plan called Arizona’s Extreme Heat Response Plan. 

With representation from organizations such as the American Red Cross, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, Arizona Jobs with Justice, Tucson Indian Center and many more, the summit emphasized the importance of the perspective and concerns of stakeholder groups throughout the community. 

Advertisement

The summit included a variety of UA experts, including faculty representing the School of Geography, Development and Environment; the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy; the Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture.

One particular project, led by Ladd Keith at the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning, is a part of the Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory, which is funded by the United States’ Department of Energy to explore extreme heat throughout Arizona. SW-IFL works in collaboration with other national laboratories including those at ASU and NAU. 

The team works to analyze extreme heat in the southwest and rural areas, and how communities deal with heat by conducting interviews. The team has also prescribed policy to Pima County and the City of Tucson regarding more effective strategies to combat rising temperatures, such as green stormwater infrastructure. 

Anne-Lise Boyer, a post-doctoral researcher with the Climate Assessment for the Southwest, shared that the team particularly analyzed extreme heat in three parts: heat mitigation, heat management and heat governance.

Mitigation deals with prevention through strategies such as green infrastructure and planting trees, while management includes cooling sensors and heat warning systems. Governance allows these measures to be enacted through policy.

Advertisement

In Tucson, some of the most meaningful work the team has engaged in has been drafting the City of Tucson’s Heat Action Roadmap in 2024, which outlines goals to mitigate and mandate extreme heat and its impacts while prioritizing community voices.  

The goals of the roadmap include informing and educating citizens of Tucson on the adverse effects of extreme heat and cooling people’s homes and neighborhoods by incorporating heat risk in regional planning. These steps are essential to practicing heat management, especially as the city of Tucson grows. 

“I think the most interesting thing about being based in Tucson is that because the heat has been here for a long time, it’s like a laboratory in itself,” Boyer said. “We have all this research and all this collaboration happening with local actors because it’s a pressing issue in Arizona.”

As the annual heat summit recurs, new ideas and perspectives continue to be shared throughout the community. Boyer shared that this year, the Southern Arizona Heat Summit focused on the youth perspective, highlighting middle school and high school students and how heat impacts their everyday lives. Many students spoke about how heat shaped their lives at home, school and sports.

“That’s one of the goals, to have community members participate and give their input in how they wish the city will deal with the heat,” Boyer said. 

Advertisement

Boyer and Kirsten Lake, a program coordinator for the SW-IFL team, also shared how the impacts of extreme heat impact some neighborhoods and communities in Tucson more than others, and that their research often evaluates these factors to determine where heat management efforts would make the greatest impact.

“Its important when you’re putting into effect some of these measures, that you make sure you put it where it’s going to make the biggest difference,” Lake said.

The work of the SW-IFL team is not just locally known. The Brookhaven National Lab based in New York deployed a specialized truck to Tucson to collect information on the atmosphere and rising temperatures. The SW-IFL team hosted the Brookhaven team.

Additionally, Keith’s work has led to a guidebook called “Planning for Urban Heat Resilience” which focuses on the adverse effects extreme heat poses to marginalized communities across the country. 

“It is so different from place to place and neighborhood to neighborhood because you have to take the whole context into account,” Boyer said. “They recommend first to document the heat impacts in your communities.”

Advertisement

Follow the Daily Wildcat on Instagram and Twitter/X






Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending