Seventy percent of people age 65 and older will need long-term care at some point in their lives, according to a 2014 study by CareScout, a division of Genworth Financial Services.

"But that doesn't mean they have to sacrifice their quality of life," says Peder Johnsen, CEO of Concordis Senior Living, www.concordisseniorliving.com, which owns, operates and develops senior housing communities.

"In fact, a person who needs some assistance with day-to-day living will often find he or she is much happier in a good assisted-living community with an atmosphere that reminds them of their former home."

And it doesn't have to be outrageously priced, notes Johnsen, a third-generation ALF operator whose family pioneered the contemporary congregate community model.

The median price for a private, one-bed home in an ALF community is $42,000, he says, citing the CareScout report. By contrast, a semi-private nursing home bed costs a median $77,000 a year.

But it's up to prospective residents and their families to ascertain the quality of the community and whether it's a good match for the person who will be living there.

"ALFs are not federally regulated and states vary widely on the breadth of oversight they provide, so you can't necessarily rely on the law," Johnsen says. "And don't rely on salespeople either - that's the biggest mistake people make."

There are, however, a number of easy ways to see if a home has a truly caring atmosphere and well-trained staff.

Johnsen offers these tips:

•  Ask to see the home's state licensing survey, an assessment that usually includes inspections, audits, interviews with residents, etc.

Every state has an ALF licensing agency and all have some form of survey system for ensuring that certain standards of quality are met, according to the Assisted Living Federation of America.

"Requirements vary from state to state about how often the surveys are conducted and how the public can access the reports, but no matter what state you live in, you should be able to ask the ALF for its most recent report, or obtain it from the licensing agency," Johnsen says.

The surveys will tell you if problems were found - or not - and what the ALF did to address them.

•  Visit the ALF during non-business hours.

Go before breakfast or after dinner - times when the administrators aren't around. What's the atmosphere? How do employees behave with the residents?

"That's a good time to talk to residents, too," Johnsen says.

Be a "mystery shopper," he suggests. Pretend you're just visiting the community - not scouting it out as a prospective customer.

•  Ascertain how truly "homelike" the community is.

In your own home, if you don't feel like eating breakfast at 7:30 a.m., you don't have to. You can have breakfast at 10. You can get snacks when you want them.

"Depending on what's important to your loved one, there are potentially many rules that can affect how 'at home' a person feels," Johnsen says. "Some communities allow residents to have pets, others don't. Some provide lots of activities. At some, residents can quickly and easily arrange for transportation or a service like hair styling."

Not every community can offer everything, he notes. That's why it's important to look for those features that are especially important to your loved one.

About Peder Johnsen

Peder Johnsen is the CEO of Concordis Senior Living, www.concordisseniorliving.com, which owns, operates and develops senior housing communities. He's a third-generation assisted-living specialist whose grandfather and father built one of the first contemporary-style ALFs in Florida more than 30 years ago. Johnsen took over administration of two small facilities at age 18. Today, he specializes the full spectrum of ALFs - from "ALF lites," where most residents live very independent lifestyles but know assisted-living services are available if they should need them, to homes specializing in care for residents with Alzheimer's and dementia. He is an industry leader in staff development and training, and has overseen the development, acquisition and financing of several communities.

Congressman's amendment aiming to measure the long-term costs of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars heads toward House vote

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today continued his years-long fight to require the government to examine the full long-term costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by introducing his True Cost of War amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act currently being debated on the House floor.

"It's embarrassing that over a decade after these wars began, we still don't have a true accounting of the long-term costs because both the Bush and Obama administrations would rather avoid the numbers than see the price we've really paid," Braley said. "The decision to go to war is the most important one the government makes, and if you're going to make it responsibly you need to know the basic facts and you need to understand the costs involved."

The True Cost of War amendment would require the President, in consultation with the Secretaries of Defense, State and Veterans Affairs to report on the long-term costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in human and financial terms.

The report would cover the current and previous costs to date of the wars in terms of number of troops deployed, casualty statistics, pending veterans claims, and the costs associated with caring for wounded veterans.

The report also asks for estimates of future costs based on scenarios of continued troop deployments, estimated number of troops needed, estimates of future casualties, and healthcare cost projections.

Since 2001, Congress has appropriated an estimated $1.5 trillion dollars for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, much of it in supplemental spending bills. During those conflicts, more than 6,600 servicemembers have been killed in the line of duty, and more than 50,000 have been wounded, many with PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, severe burns and amputated limbs?injuries that can often require a lifetime of medical and psychological care. This means the true cost of the wars is much higher than the $1.5 trillion Congress has directly appropriated.

Braley first introduced the True Cost of War Act in 2008 and has worked in subsequent sessions of Congress to pass the bill into law. In 2013 the legislation was passed by the US House in a bipartisan vote.  However, the True Cost of War Act has never advanced to the President's desk for his signature into law.

Branstad appoints Janet Phipps Burkhead Director of Department of Administrative Services, Gerd Clabaugh Director of Iowa Department of Public Health 

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad today appointed Janet Phipps Burkhead as the Director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Gerd Clabaugh the Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH). Phipps had been serving as interim director of DAS since April 8, 2014. Clabaugh had been serving as interim director of IDPH since January 9, 2014.

"I am pleased today to name two individuals with high integrity, invaluable experience and a passion for service as directors of two important departments," said Branstad. "I'm confident that Janet and Gerd will continue their work to ensure the departments they lead operate in an efficient and effective manner to provide exceptional service for the Iowa taxpayers."

The DAS mission is to provide high-quality, affordable infrastructure products and services to Iowa state government customers in a manner that empowers them to provide better service to the citizens of Iowa and support the State of Iowa in achieving economic growth. The formation of DAS is the first and largest endeavor of this kind in the country. DAS has established an alternative to privatization that provides an incentive to employees to drive down the cost of service delivery.

Phipps Burkhead, a resident of Adel, Iowa, is a retired Brigadier General in the Iowa Army National Guard. She earned her undergraduate and Masters of Public Administration from Iowa State University, and her law degree from Drake University. She served as the Director of the Iowa Department of General Services from 1994-1998 and the Michigan Department of Management and Budget from 1998-2001. From 2001-2005, Phipps Burkhead was on active duty with the U.S. Army and attended law school, and from 2005-2014 she worked in the private sector. She began working as DAS General Counsel in February 2014.

IDPH partners with local public health, policymakers, health care providers, business and many others to fulfill its mission of promoting and protecting the health of Iowans.

Clabaugh, a resident of Johnston, Iowa, served as Deputy Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health from August 2011 to January 2014. From 1989-1997, he served as the Director of the Center for Health Policy within the Iowa Department of Public Health.  He held positions in the Iowa Department of Personnel and Iowa Department of Administrative Services between the years of 1997-2003. Clabaugh worked in the private sector from 2007-2011, which included serving as the Director of Operations for the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative.

Director Phipps Burkhead's and Director Clabaugh's appointments are subject to Senate confirmation. A photo of Phipps can be found here. A photo of Clabaugh can be found here.

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(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad today appointed Ashley Koopmans to the Iowa Employment Appeal Board, John Hodges as the Chair of the Iowa Board of Parole and Dr. Mark Graber to the Medical Assistance Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee.

Koopmans' term on the Iowa Employment Appeal Board begins Friday, May 23, 2014, and ends April 30, 2016. Koopmans, who resides in Des Moines, Iowa, is appointed as the employee representative.

The three-member Employment Appeal Board is appointed by the Governor and serves as the final administrative law forum for state and federal unemployment benefit appeals. The Board also hears appeals of rulings of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and rulings of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS). The three members of the Board are appointed to represent employers, employees and the general public.

In addition to unemployment cases, the Board hears appeals involving peace officer issues and contractor registration requirements. The Board receives 96 percent of its funding from the federal government based on the number of appeals heard and the time taken to render a decision.

Koopmans' appointment is subject to Iowa Senate confirmation.

John Hodges, of Bondurant, Iowa, previously served as Vice Chair of the Board of Parole. His term as Chairman begins today, May 19, 2014, and runs until April 30, 2018. The position is subject to Iowa Senate confirmation.

The Iowa Board of Parole works to enhance overall public safety by making evidence-based and informed parole decisions for the successful re-entry of offenders back into the community to become productive and responsible citizens. The Iowa Board of Parole is established by Iowa Code Chapter 904A and consists of five members, including a Chairperson.

Dr. Mark Graber, a resident of Solon, Iowa, began his term on the Medical Assistance Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee on May 14, 2014. The appointment is not subject to Senate Confirmation.

The Medical Assistance Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee provides ongoing maintenance of the preferred drug list and recommended drug list to the department. The committee develops the preferred drug list and recommended drug list by considering each drug's clinically meaningful therapeutic advantages in terms of safety, effectiveness and clinical outcome. The committee uses evidence-based research in determining the status of drugs on the preferred drug list and recommended drug list.