State legislators want a hearing on nursing home staffing in Kentucky, following a series of stories in the Lexington Herald-Leader that showed how some residents have died as a result of neglect. "A Republican leader of the key committee on health care said she is getting letters from dozens of concerned nursing home residents in her district, urging her to support minimum staffing standards for the facilities," the newspaper reports.
“It sounds to me like a public discussion is due on this sooner rather than later,” state Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, told reporter John Cheves who wrote the series. Adams is co-chair of the legislature’s Interim Joint Committee on Health and Welfare and Family Services.
"Meanwhile, Adams said, she plans to meet in coming weeks with her unhappy constituents in their nursing homes to learn more about the risks of having too few nurses and nurse’s aides on duty to care for residents," Cheves reports, quoting her: “I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, but there does seem to be some sort of initiative emerging here from the residents. This is clearly an important issue to them.” About 12,500 Kentuckians live in nursing homes.
Another health committee member, Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, told Cheves that a hearing is needed. “We have some of the worst nursing-home ratings in the country here in Kentucky,” he said. “We need to have standards for how many employees are on duty taking care of residents. The only time we talk about nursing homes in Frankfort, it’s for tort reform, to stop the so-called frivolous lawsuits after someone gets hurt. Maybe we should stop people from getting hurt.”
The Herald-Leader series reported that 43 percent of Kentucky’s 284 nursing homes were rated as “below average” or “much below average” this year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "That’s among the worst collective ratings for nursing homes in the country," Cheves reports.
“It sounds to me like a public discussion is due on this sooner rather than later,” state Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, told reporter John Cheves who wrote the series. Adams is co-chair of the legislature’s Interim Joint Committee on Health and Welfare and Family Services.
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| Committee co-chair Rep. Addia Wuchner |
The House chair of the panel, retiring Rep. Addia Wuchner, R-Florence, doubted that it would be able to take up a bill pre-filed for the 2019 session that would set staffing standards for nursing homes in its remaining monthly meetings before the session begins in early January. She told Cheves that the agendas are "jammed full."
"The committee is scheduled to meet Oct. 17, Nov. 27 and Dec. 12," Cheves notes. "An identical bill was ignored during the 2018 legislative session last winter, despite the sponsor, state Rep. Rick Nelson, D-Middlesboro, repeatedly calling for a committee hearing at that time." Nelson is also leaving the legislature.
"The committee is scheduled to meet Oct. 17, Nov. 27 and Dec. 12," Cheves notes. "An identical bill was ignored during the 2018 legislative session last winter, despite the sponsor, state Rep. Rick Nelson, D-Middlesboro, repeatedly calling for a committee hearing at that time." Nelson is also leaving the legislature.
"Meanwhile, Adams said, she plans to meet in coming weeks with her unhappy constituents in their nursing homes to learn more about the risks of having too few nurses and nurse’s aides on duty to care for residents," Cheves reports, quoting her: “I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, but there does seem to be some sort of initiative emerging here from the residents. This is clearly an important issue to them.” About 12,500 Kentuckians live in nursing homes.
Another health committee member, Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, told Cheves that a hearing is needed. “We have some of the worst nursing-home ratings in the country here in Kentucky,” he said. “We need to have standards for how many employees are on duty taking care of residents. The only time we talk about nursing homes in Frankfort, it’s for tort reform, to stop the so-called frivolous lawsuits after someone gets hurt. Maybe we should stop people from getting hurt.”
The Herald-Leader series reported that 43 percent of Kentucky’s 284 nursing homes were rated as “below average” or “much below average” this year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "That’s among the worst collective ratings for nursing homes in the country," Cheves reports.
from Kentucky Health News https://ift.tt/2Edrpf4
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