Action Agenda for Nursing Home Reform in Kentucky

QUALITY STAFFING STANDARDS.

We will continue to press lawmakers and state government officials to create minimum staffing standards for front-line caregivers in all nursing homes in the state.

THE FIVE-STAR RATING SYSTEM.

We support the new federal Five-Star Rating System for nursing homes and will work to see a law enacted in Kentucky requiring each nursing home in the state to display its current rating prominently.

TRANSPARENCY IN OWNERSHIP AND ENFORCEMENT.

We urge Kentucky state government to support transparency in the enforcement of nursing home laws and regulations by maintaining and displaying on their Web site an up-to-date and complete file of information concerning the ownership of every nursing home in the state; and we urge the state government to notify the public about serious deficiencies in nursing homes as soon as legally possible, and to create and release a quarterly report of nursing homes that have had serious deficiency citations along with those that have been inspected and have no serious deficiencies.

ORAL HEALTH.

We will continue to push for state enforcement of oral health requirements in the care of nursing home residents. We support a pilot program in oral health that will demonstrate best care practices in nursing homes.

CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.

We urge the amendment of current state law to require that all employees of nursing homes receive a criminal background check before they are hired.

RANDOM DRUG TESTING.

Evidence indicates that drug abuse exists among nursing home caregivers. We therefore urge a law that will require random drug testing of all nursing home employees.

TRAIN ALZHEIMER’S CAREGIVERS.

More than half of nursing home residents suffer from some form of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. Therefore, we urge the establishment of a program to train all caregivers in nursing homes in best practices to care for these residents.

STANDARDIZE END-OF-LIFE REGULATIONS.

There is not a standardized way in Kentucky of recognizing residents who do not want to be resuscitated. We urge the creation of a standardized system on DNR by incorporating a combination of wrist band i.d. and DNR documentation in residents’ charts.

‘DUMPING’ OF NURSING HOME RESIDENTS.

We urge the state to form a committee to study the serious situation that occurs when nursing home residents are forced from the nursing homes in which they live and, because of alleged “bad behavior,” “dumped” into an out-of-state nursing home.

QUALITY CARE MONITORING FOR ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITIES.

As the number of assisted living facility residents continues to grow, so do the problems in living in them. We urge the state to continue the monitoring of assisted living facilities and the creation of a state ombudsman program to provide advocacy for ALF residents.

USE OF ANTI-PSYCHOTICS.

The overuse of drugs to “quiet” over-active residents of nursing homes has become prevalent in many facilities. Sometimes drugs are used instead of hiring adequate staff. We will work to get a study by the state to determine the extent of this problem and to recommend regulations to prevent misuse of anti-psychotics.

A WATCHDOG COMMITTEE FOR THE CMP.

The Civil Monetary Penalties Fund (CMP) that at times contains upwards of $5 million from federal sanctions of nursing homes in the state has rules and regulations created by the federal government for the use of those funds. Because of the amount of the funds collected, we urge the Governor to create a CMP Fund Advisory Committee as soon as possible to perform mainly a watchdog role and to ensure that these funds, when used, benefit nursing home residents.

NURSING HOME OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM.

We support funding full-time nursing home ombudsmen in all fifteen ADDs in the state. We will also support efforts to extend the ombudsman program to assisted living facilities.

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH ON LONG-TERM CARE.

The University of Kentucky, working with the Praxeis Corporation, is trying to establish a continuing care community in Lexington. We applaud this action, but urge the university to use these facilities, when established, as part of its ongoing research on aging, especially on providing quality long-term care. We also urge the university to work toward establishing an institute on long-term care with a funded endowed chair holder of national renown, and to utilize the Cooperative Extension Service to deliver the results of research on long-term care through its county offices across the state.

If you have any questions, please contact:

KENTUCKIANS FOR NURSING HOME REFORM
E-mail: KyNursingHomeReform@yahoo.com
Telephone: (859) 312-5617