Older Iowans Legislature
Pursuing Quality of Life of Iowa's Senior Citizens
The Older Iowans Legislature is a statewide non-partisan, non-profit volunteer organization. Its members advocate for state legislators and the Governor to sign legislation that will result in an improved “Quality of Life for Older Iowans”.
The Older Iowans Legislature places special emphasis on the frail elderly; those citizens who have contributed much to our society, but have exhausted their resources and in need of assistance to lead meaningful lives.
Please take a look at our web site and join our efforts to pursue quality of life for our elderly.
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Save the Date
The Iowa Legislature Annual Meeting
Monday, Sept. 23 and Tuesday, Sept. 24
In the Iowa House Chamber
At the State Capitol in Des Moines
This is your opportunity to have an impact on the legislation that affects the lives of Iowa's senior citizens.
Watch for more information about the annual meeting as the date draws closer.
Download Our Brochure
BILLS AND RESOLUTION ENACTED BY THE
2019 SESSION OF THE IOWA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THAT ARE OF SIGNIFICANT INTEREST TO THE
OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE
AS OIL NOW PREPARES FOR THE
2019 SESSION OF THE
OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE
SEPTEMBER 23-24, 2019
CARE ACT
• Senate File 210: A bill for an act providing for the designation of a lay caregiver relating to a patient’s inpatient stay at a hospital.
• A hospital shall adopt and maintain evidence-based discharge policies and procedures. At a minimum, the policies and procedures shall provide for an assessment of the patient’s ability for self-care after discharge and, as a part of the assessment, shall provide a patient, or if applicable the patient’s legal representative, with an opportunity to designate one lay caregiver prior to the discharge of the patient.
EXPLOITATION OF A DEPENDENT ADULT BY A CARETAKER
• House File 323: A bill for an act relating to the exploitation of a dependent adult by a caretaker.
• Exploitation of a dependent adult means the act or process of taking unfair advantage of a dependent adult or the adult’s physical or financial resources, without the informed consent of the dependent adult, including theft, by the use of undue influence, harassment, duress, deception, false representation, or false pretenses.
DEFINITION OF VULNERABLE ELDER
• House File 328: A bill for an act relating to the definition of vulnerable elder.
• "Vulnerable elder" means a person sixty years of age or older who is unable to protect himself or herself from elder abuse as a result of a mental or physical condition or because of a personal circumstance which results in an increased risk of harm to the person.
PERSONAL DEGRADATION OF A DEPENDENT ADULT BY CARETAKERS
IN FACILITIES REGULATED BY INSPECTIONS AND APPEALS
• House File 304: A bill for an act relating to reports of personal degradation by caretakers of dependent adults in facilities and programs regulated by the department of inspections and appeals.
• A report of dependent adult abuse that meets the definition of dependent adult abuse under section …. which the department determines is minor, isolated, and unlikely to reoccur shall be collected and maintained by the department of human services as an assessment only for a five-year period and shall not be included in the central registry and shall not be considered to be founded dependent adult abuse. A subsequent report of dependent adult abuse that meets the definition of dependent adult abuse under section …. that occurs within the five-year period, and that is committed by the caretaker responsible for the act or omission which was the subject of the previous report of dependent adult abuse which the department determined was minor, isolated, and unlikely to reoccur, may be considered minor, isolated, and unlikely to reoccur depending on the circumstances of the report.
PERSONAL DEGRADATION OF A DEPENDENT ADULT BY CARETAKERS
IN FACILITIES REGULATED BY HUMAN SERVICES
• House File 569: A bill for an act relating to personal degradation of a dependent adult as a form of dependent adult abuse by a caregiver regulated by the department of human services, and making penalties applicable.
• "Personal degradation" means a willful act or statement by a caretaker intended to shame, degrade, humiliate, or otherwise harm the personal dignity of a dependent adult, or where the caretaker knew or reasonably should have known the act or statement would cause shame, degradation, humiliation, or harm to the personal dignity of a reasonable person.
• "Personal degradation" includes the taking, transmission, or display of an electronic image of a dependent adult by a caretaker, where the caretaker’s actions constitute a willful act or statement intended to shame, degrade, humiliate, or otherwise harm the personal dignity of the dependent adult, or where the caretaker knew or reasonably should have known the act would cause shame, degradation, humiliation, or harm to the personal dignity of a reasonable person.
• A report of dependent adult abuse that meets the definition of dependent adult abuse under section…..which the department determines is minor, isolated, and unlikely to reoccur shall be collected and maintained by the department as an assessment only for a five-year period and shall not be included in the central registry and shall not be considered to be founded dependent adult abuse.
• However, a subsequent report of adult abuse that meets the definition of dependent adult abuse under section ….. that occurs within the five-year period and that is committed by the caretaker responsible for the act or omission which was the subject of the previous report of dependent adult abuse which the department determined was minor, isolated, and unlikely to reoccur shall not be considered minor, isolated, and unlikely to reoccur.
GUARDIANSHIPS AND CONSERVATORSHIPS FOR ADULTS AND MINORS
• House File 610: A bill for an act relating to the opening of guardianships for adults and conservatorships for adults and minors and the administration of guardianships and conservatorships.
• If, at the hearing, the judge finds by clear and convincing evidence that the dependent adult is in need of protective services and lacks the capacity to consent to the receipt of protective services, the judge may issue an order authorizing the provision of protective services. The order may include the designation of a person to be responsible for performing or obtaining protective services on behalf of the dependent adult or otherwise consenting to the receipt of protective services on behalf of the dependent adult. Within sixty days of the appointment of such a person the court shall conduct a review to determine if a petition shall be initiated in accordance with section …. for good cause shown.
• …,. upon a finding that there is probable cause to believe the dependent adult abuse presents an immediate danger to the health or safety of the dependent adult or is producing irreparable harm to the physical or financial resources or property of the dependent adult, and that the dependent adult lacks capacity to consent to the receipt of services, the court may order the appointment of a temporary guardian or temporary conservator without notice to the dependent adult or the dependent adult’s attorney if all of the following conditions are met: ……
DISCUSSING STATE’S STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING THE INCREASING AGING POPULATION IN IOWA
• Senate Resolution 4: A resolution requesting the convening of a conference of stakeholders to discuss the state’s strategy for addressing the increasing aging population in Iowa and its effect on the state and Iowa’s communities.
• Be it resolved by the Senate, That the Senate requests that the Department of Public Health and the Department on Aging, in collaboration with the Iowa Hospital Association, convene a stakeholder conference at an independent, non-profit, acute-care medical center, originally established in 1900 and currently housing a Family Caregivers Center, located in an eastern Iowa metropolitan area with a population of approximately 250,000.
• Be it further resolved, That the stakeholder conference convened shall conduct a statewide discussion regarding the state’s strategy to address the increasing aging population in Iowa and its effect on the state and Iowa’s communities, including the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, and report findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 15, 2019.
Ron Jome
Secretary, Board of Directors, Older Iowans Legislature
Chair Helene Magee's Summary of the 2019 Session of the Iowa General Assembly
It seems like a good comparison of getting legislation passed that would be beneficial to Iowa's older population is like waiting for Heinz Ketchup to come out of the bottle. It requires a lot of patience, a tap, then a little push and pull and then finally, you have some success.
For example, it took several years but finally with strong advocacy by the Older Iowans Legislature, AARP and several other organizations, we gained passage of The CARE ACT, which has now been signed into law by Governor Reynolds.
The CARE ACT has four major provisions:
- The name of the family caregiver is recorded when a loved one is admitted into a hospital, if a patient chooses to designate one.
- The designated family caregiver is notified when the loved one is to be discharged back home.
- The hospital discusses the caregiver's abilities and limitations.
- The hospital discusses the patient's care needs at home and provides an explanation and live instruction of the medial task to be performed at home---such as medication management, injections, wound care and transfers.
Another legislative success was the passage of House File 610 and House File 591, which incorporated the legislative recommendations of the Guardianship and Conservatorship Reform Task Force. These bills relate to adult guardianships and adult and minor conservatorships. This was legislation strongly supported by the Older Iowans Legislature.
OIL also supported the passage of legislation affecting the exploitation of a dependent adult by caretakers in facilities and programs regulated by the Department of Inspection and Appeals. The Governor signed this bill into law on April 23rd.
The Iowa House and Senate also passed legislation regarding the definition of what constitutes a vulnerable elder. This legislation will likely be signed by the Governor.
As I said in the beginning of this article, gaining passage of legislation can be compared to waiting for Heinz ketchup on your hamburger.
The Older Iowans Legislature is DISAPPOINTED with the failure of the 2019 legislative session to enact the following:
- A comprehensive approach to detecting, managing and preventing elder abuse.
- Finding a solution to house geriatric sex offenders.
- Establishment of a home modification grant program within the Department on Aging which would co-inside with the Department's program Return to Community.
We know from our many years of experience that it can take several years for our legislative priorities to gain passage, so if the members in attendance at our September 23rd and 24th annual meeting determine that these three issues remain a priority we will advocate them during the 2020 session.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who worked so hard on advocating legislation that will enhance "the quality of life" of Iowa's seniors. I want to say a special thank you to Larry Kudej, Monica McCarthy, Tony Vola, Bob Welsh, Anthony Carroll and Josie Gittler.
A big THANK YOU to OIL Secretary Ron Jome for his weekly updates and legislative action alerts.
I look forward to seeing all of you at our annual meeting Sept. 23 and 24. Remember THIS IS YOUR ORGANIZATION. YOU DETERMINE OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.
Thank You for the honor of letting me to serve as your Chair.
Helene Magee