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NURSING HOME REFORM
NEWSLETTER
http://www.KyNursingHomeReform.org
April 19, 2005
A STAFFING ‘SUMMIT’ IN SEPTEMBER?
The outlook is good for a legislative “summit” on staffing problems in nursing homes, probably beginning in September, according to Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown, who is spearheading the idea. What this could mean is that legislation to improve front-line care in nursing homes will finally get its due public airing. This is good news for advocates of nursing home reform because Rep. Lee is a lawmaker vitally interested in long-term care issues and he is a tireless worker on the causes he supports. Witness the passing of the Elder Abuse law in the last legislative session that he picked up and got passed after it was all but done for. Numerous committees and lobbyists both for and against improving the handling of elder abuse in Kentucky had worked on legislation but nothing happened until Rep. Lee took an interest and got things moving. One of the keys was that he was able to move within partisan ranks and get support from both Democrats and Republicans. He was joined by Republican Sen. Katie Stine of Ft. Thomas and the two worked well together. He also worked closely with Republican gubernatorial appointee Dr. Jim Holsinger who heads the powerful Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Rep. Lee has shown that he is an indefatigable champion of causes he believes are for the public good. And it will take the leadership of people like Rep. Lee and others to come up with regulations that will stop abuse by neglect in nursing homes.
HERE’S SOME BACKGROUND…
Legislation proposing quality staffing standards was introduced in the 2005 short session by Rep. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington. She has been a standout stalwart in backing reform. Her HB 208 was legislation solidly backed by Kentuckians For Nursing Home Reform. The bill got a hearing in the health and welfare committee but movement on it bogged down when the chairman of health and welfare, Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, said it would cost the state $20-$30 million a year to implement. No one could figure out where Rep. Burch got this figure. But he was not challenged publicly and the damage was done. It is puzzling because Rep. Burch has always leaned toward nursing home reform. He obviously received information he trusted and acted in good faith, openly and honestly, in passing it out. We like that approach by a legislator even though in this case it hurt. One thing you can say about Rep. Burch is that he is not timid. We like that, too. During committee debate on HB 208 Rep. Lee spoke up and said that he thought discussion on problems with staffing could be handled in more depth during the interim – the time between the close of the 2005 session and the opening of the 2006 session next January. He called for a “summit.” That is, bring all the top stakeholders in long-term care together before a legislative gathering, either in an interim committee or elsewhere.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
Since that legislative hearing, Kentuckians For Nursing Home Reform contacted Rep. Lee and asked him if he was going to follow through on his idea to have a “summit” on nursing home staffing. Rep. Lee responded to the question quickly. He wrote, “We intend to invite all interested parties to a series of meetings on staffing requirements. I, along with Rep. Burch, will try to begin those discussions in early September. I am hopeful we will have cooperation from all sides as we try to determine whether we need legislative changes to staffing requirements. I have been promised by the long-term care industry full participation by their representatives and would hope they would come to the table with an open mind.” Note that Rep. Burch is joining in this effort. That is encouraging news because he heads the powerful health and welfare committee where legislation of this kind would probably start. He, too, has showed signs of supporting nursing home reform and has been extremely fair in hearing advocates for nursing home reform in his committee meetings.
WHAT WE HOPE….
We echo Rep. Lee’s hope that “the long-term care industry would come to the table with an open mind” on the upcoming discussions of quality staffing in nursing homes. We have not seen much of that from them, frankly. Their lobbyists have relied on excuses, one of the favorite being that they do not have the money to hire more nurses. This, even as they have happily raked in some $55 million more a year from the increase in the provider tax. You remember that they sneaked that measure through in 2003 without any provisions in it as to how the money would be used to improve care in their nursing homes. In the meantime they trot administrators from some of their better nursing homes to testify before legislators in glowing words about the quality of care they give. You can see why many legislators are confused.
THE ANSWERS?
Rep. Lee is on the right track. Legislators know very little about the state of long-term care. Few of them have had experience with a loved one in a nursing home and observed first-hand the neglect many residents receive from an insufficient staff of front-line caregivers. With his “summit” idea, legislators can be educated about the real problems and make better decisions on solutions. The main problem in getting reforms in nursing homes is educating the lawmakers. A rich, billion dollar nursing home industry has done a good job of keeping all the bad news about their operations away from lawmakers. And unless you are there yourself, or have a loved one there, little can be learned about the real state of long-term care in Kentucky.
WHAT ‘KENTUCKIANS’ WILL DO.
Kentuckians For Nursing Home Reform now has a challenge before it. We must go all out to educate the public and lawmakers about the problems with care in nursing homes. We must speak out publicly and to our lawmakers about the abuses we have seen first-hand. You can go to our web site and read about some of this under “Feedback” where we give real people a chance to tell their story about poor care.
FACTS WEIGH HEAVILY….
The problem of insufficient staff in nursing homes is well known to advocates for nursing home reform. Many facts back up the anecdotal examples of poor care that we get from nursing homes on a daily basis. Through this newsletter we will begin to share with you these facts. Here is one for a starter:
Kentucky has a good system of nursing home ombudsmen. These are the wonderful people who regularly visit nursing homes to observe problems residents are having and then help solve them. These ombudsmen make regular reports to their state bosses on what they see. And for the 2004 reporting year, here are the Top 5 complaints they observed out of 8,415 statewide:
1. Dignity, respect, staff attitudes
2. Call lights, requests for assistance
3. Personal hygiene
4. Accidents, improper handling
5. SHORTAGE OF STAFF
The Shortage of Staff problem moved to the No. 5 spot of top complaints in 2004, up from No. 6 the previous year, and suggesting that the problem of short staffing could become worse and worse as time goes by.
We will have more facts for you in future editions of this newsletter. But in the meantime, send us your examples of poor care in nursing homes because of insufficient staff. Send them to
KyNursingHomeReform@yahoo.com and let us know if you want us to publish them with your name or anonymously.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“I certainly understand the need to balance the federal budget. But people need to remember that to balance the federal budget off the backs of the poorest people in the country is simply unacceptable. You don't pull feeding tubes from people. You don’t pull the wheelchair out from under the child with muscular dystrophy.” -- Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, a Republican and vice chairman of the governors’ association on Dec. 26, 2004. (We think this quote is appropriate as Washington lawmakers consider Administration proposals to cut Medicaid.)
P.S.
It is well documented that for every minute that you exercise, you add
one minute to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an
additional five months in a nursing home at $5,000 per month.
HERE’S HOW TO CONTACT US....
Bernie Vonderheide
Kentuckians For Nursing Home Reform
e-mail: KyNursingHomeReform@yahoo.com
web site: http://www.KyNursingHomeReform.org
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