Few Hospitals Dedicate Space for Family Caregivers, but That Could Change

Fewer than 20 acute-care hospitals in the U.S. have dedicated spaces for family caregivers, but advocates expect more hospitals to invest in them out of economic necessity, reports Modern Healthcare . For one thing, the Affordable Care Act imposed penalties for avoidable readmissions, which caregivers can help prevent, while some programs are compensating caregivers for their labor. "The caregivers in the population we're taking care of need to be recognized as a component that will reduce readmissions to hospitals and keep length of stay shorter," says Burke Rehabilitation Hospital CEO Jeffrey Menkes. "So, yes, we would hope this would be an operating cost that would be recognized, because right now it's not." Leah Eskenazi with the National Center on Caregiving's Family Caregiver Alliance notes that hospital administrators do not always see value in caregiver centers because they do not perceive a direct connection between supporting caregivers and important results such as reducing preventable emergency room visits. AARP supports a law requiring hospitals to provide caregivers with education and instruction on at-home medical tasks. Meanwhile, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been fining hospitals with excess readmissions to reduce wasteful Medicare spending and improve care.