Eyes on secured units after man's escape

Apr. 13, 2012, Newark Advocate

By JESSICA ALAIMO
CentralOhio.com

HEATH -- Ohio nursing homes don't have to accept potentially dangerous and violent patients like the man who escaped from a secured unit in a Heath facility Thursday, forcing schools to close and putting residents on edge.

John J. Stroud, 53, was found in Heath and taken into custody Thursday night.

The Heath Nursing Care Center could have refused care for Stroud if staff didn't think they could provide the necessary level of security, said Jane Straker, a senior research scholar at Miami University's Gerontology Center.

Locked units are common in nursing homes across the state, but they are not for prisoners. They're for people who need specialized care in a secure setting, and those living there are free to sign out -- either on their own or with permission of a family member -- at any time.

Read more in the Newark Advocate.

Ohio bucks trend, shifts funds to home-based care

July 16, 2011, Port Clinton News Herald

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

While budget shortfalls have forced many states to move away from home-based care, Ohio is shifting toward it.

However, all providers, regardless of their setting, saw a decrease in Medicaid reimbursement rates this month.

Gov. John Kasich’s first two-year budget, which began July 1, decreases Medicaid reimbursements for nursing homes and increases funding for home-based care.