General Assembly leaders Thursday unveiled a comprehensive package of legislation aimed at improving the quality of care at Rhode Island’s nursing homes and providing more oversight of their administration and financial condition, a State House press release stated.
Produced by the Permanent Joint Committee on Health Care Oversight, which has been studying issues in the nursing home industry since last fall, the Long Term Care Reform Act of 2005 includes five bills that take into account lessons learned from the closure of the Hillside Health Center in Providence and problems at other Rhode Island nursing homes last year, state leaders said. All the bills were introduced in both the House and the Senate Thursday.
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“Our committee’s mission this year was to take a long, hard look at the entire nursing home industry, from the perspective of residents and families, including how the state enforces licensing standards,” said Sen. Elizabeth H. Roberts (D-Cranston, Warwick), who serves as co-chairperson of the joint committee, in the news release. “We spoke with nursing home employees, residents’ families, administrators, numerous state agencies, and other experts to find out what challenges they face, and what they think needs to be done to make the system serve residents more effectively and compassionately.”
The need for this legislation is particularly evident with recent news that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed court documents describing Hillside Health Center as a fraudulent business that let residents suffer, bounced its staff’s paychecks and defaulted on government-backed loans while directing money into contracts with part-owner Antonio L. Giordano’s family members.
“Hillside Health Center unfortunately stands as the exemplification of the limitations of state oversight of the nursing home industry. What happened to residents there – they were often left without food, beverages, air conditioning, bandages and other necessities because the center was mismanaging funds – illustrates why nursing homes’ financial well-being is a matter of great public concern,” said House Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox (D-Providence), whose district includes the former Hillside Health Center.
The legislation also takes into account conclusions drawn by Auditor General Ernest A. Almonte, who conducted a performance audit of the Department of Health’s Division of Facilities Regulation this year at the request of Assembly leaders. That audit showed that the office was generally complying with federal standards for investigating nursing facilities, but not the more stringent state standards, and that nine nursing facilities were issued 2005 licenses without required inspections.
“One pervasive issue that we found was that the standards are in place, but they’re not being enforced and there aren’t enough inspections or follow-up visits. One of the major focuses of the legislation is making sure the state is actually checking in on nursing homes – both in resident care and in fiscal soundness,” said Rep. Steven M. Costantino (D-Providence), the committee’s other co-chairperson. “We are proposing a more effective use of resources at the Department of Health, focusing on nursing homes in which there is an indication of trouble.”
