Vermont Public Radio: Dementia Patients Wait Months For Long-Term Care In Vermont Hospitals (April 24, 2019)

Many seniors in Vermont who suffer from dementia are waiting months, and some up to a year, in hospitals before being accepted into nursing homes. Seniors affected by long wait times also tend to qualify for Medicaid and have health conditions that call for higher staffing needs. Justice in Aging’s Directing Attorney Eric Carlson said that the state’s nursing home waits are “atypical.” And that “the level of difficulty that you’re talking about in Vermont is far above what I think the average is.” Advocates recommend increasing Medicaid’s nursing home reimbursement rate and creating specialized dementia facilities.