CRISIS IN NURSING HOME OVERSIGHT

ASSEMBLY HEARING HELD IN NYC ON MAY 19, 2005

On May 19th, Assembly Chair of Health Richard N. Gottfried held a hearing on New York State’s Regulatory Role in Nursing Homes.  The notice for the hearing stated, "Nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable of all long term care recipients.  Most are chronically ill, and need help with daily activities such as eating, walking and going to the bathroom.  The New York State Department of Health (DOH) is responsible for protecting them by regulating and monitoring nursing homes.  The DOH inspects and surveys nursing homes to determine if they are complying with state and federal guidelines, and uses its enforcement powers to act against those facilities that do not abide by these rules.  Recent studies, reports and anecdotal evidence from consumers have indicated that New York State’s nursing home inspection and complaint system has not been working as it should."  The hearing addressed the following issues:     

TESTIFYING


Cynthia Rudder, Executive Director, LTCCC
and Martin Sobel, Public Policy Intern

"The findings of this study indicate that NYS is failing in this job a significant amount of time and are is putting nursing home residents at risk."  Click Here for the full testimony.

 
Shaun Flynn, New York State Nurses Association

" In facilities where there are unsafe staffing levels for both licensed and unlicensed personnel, staff cannot deliver the care that residents need. While some of these incidents are captured during the survey process, the broader systemic problem of understaffing is often not cited."
Click Here for full testimony.


Paula Wolff, Direct Services Supervisor at the Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY (CIDNY)

" Despite the Department of Health’s oversight responsibility for discharge planning, in which nursing home staff is required to develop individual plans that will lead to successful transitions for residents wishing to return to the community, CIDNY has found in our work on the Nursing Home Transition project that discharge planning either is often not being conducted at all, or is conducted in a very superficial way."  Click Here for full testimony.


Shirley Genn, family member and retired ED of Brooklyn-wide Interagency Council of the Aging

"There is no adequate and effective DOH oversight. The major obstacle ...appears to be its (DOH's) willingness to cooperate with the Administration." Click Here for full testimony.

Myra Rosenberg, family member, took sick two days before the hearing.  Her testimony was read.

"Something is very wrong with the investigatory process.  I feel I could do a better job at picking up the gaps, the omissions, the lack of responsiveness as evidenced in the official progress notes.  Is it too much for me to expect that the nursing home be cited for not taking the lead in reacting to the needs of the patient and for allowing the progress of his deterioration to continue unabated, w/o appropriate intervention?" Click Here for full testimony.


Amy Torres, Director of Help Line, Amy Paul, Executive Dirctor and FRIA Board Member

"...the result is a complaint process that does not adequately protect New Yorkers. First, the intake process is not properly structured so that critical mistakes and omissions are made in describing the complaint. Second, the complaint process takes much too long to be of utility in most situations. Third, investigations are incomplete or prejudiced in favor of the home. And, there is no regulatory appeal process available to overcome these obstacles. But above all, DOH senior administrators need to demonstrate renewed leadership in establishing the agency as an effective protector of nursing home residents." Click Here for full testimony.