Improving Long Term Care for American Indians in Region VIII. A Workshop for Tribal and State Health Officials. Held in Bismarck, North Dakota on July 21-23, 2003

摘要

American Indians have higher rates of disability and health conditions than other Americans and fewer resources to serve those with long-term care needs. To help Tribal and State officials learn about long-term care (LTC) systems and potential Tribal initiatives, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality User Liaison Program and the Administration on Aging, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Indian Health Service, and the University of North Dakota developed a 2 1/2 day workshop. Held July 21-23, 2003, in Bismarck, ND, the workshop dealt with developing policies and programs to address the needs of American Indians with functional limitations, chronic conditions, and other related needs for LTC. Participants learned about resources available to help Tribes develop LTC systems and services; strategies to develop program and service capacity to meet the supportive and LTC needs of American Indians in Region VIII; and lessons learned from specific initiatives. Individual sessions addressed the structure and function of needs assessment information; cultural values and family support; reducing LTC needs through health promotion and disease assessment; accessing Medicaid to meet LTC needs; using tool kits to develop services and systems; consolidating access to services; collaboration between Tribes and States; consumer directed programs; and barriers to improvement and research priorities.