Alabama Bill Could Point Toward Change

TUSCUMBIA, Ala. -- Change could be coming to Alabamians with developmental disabilities. Representatives from the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program were in Tuscumbia on Monday with Haylee Cain and her family — Judson, Donna and Nadia Emens — to kick off their campaign for Haylee's Law.
"This state is in dire need of legislative change, regarding those disabled as I," Haylee told those gathered on the lawn of the Colbert County Courthouse. "Twenty-one-year-olds do not need to be in a nursing home, and there are too many in this state who are."

Nursing Homes See Younger Patients

FLORENCE, Ala. -- An analysis of federal data from the Department of Health and Human Services by National Public Radio found people between ages 31 and 64 comprise 14 percent of the nursing home population. That’s up from 10 percent a decade ago.
The trend is playing out in Alabama as well, according to Louis Cottrell, executive director of the Alabama Nursing Home Association.
"We are seeing younger residents who are either disabled or developmentally disabled coming to nursing homes," he said. "I'm afraid we're going to see that number grow."