A special investigation recently conducted by PennLive found that many nursing homes once owned by the Golden Living chain are still being cited by the state Health Department for substandard care.
This includes citations for inadequate training and medication errors. Even under new management, about two-thirds of these facilities continue to have care-related violations.
This report has since raised significant concerns of nursing home oversight with U.S. Senators Pat Toomey (R) and Bob Casey (D), both of whom represent the state of Pennsylvania. Many advocates for seniors believe state regulators are not doing enough to protect residents and prevent inadequate care.
Now these senators are urging state and federal regulators to take more aggressive steps to ensure that nursing homes are being held liable for health and safety violations. This includes seeking more information from officials on the oversight of these facilities and what can be done to improve the quality of resident care and treatment.
Enforcing Rules to Keep Residents Safe
In February of 2018, a group of twelve senators, including Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asking to restore rules designed to enforce nursing home health and safety standards. The letter said that without tougher regulations and penalties in place, nursing homes could continue to endanger the wellbeing of residents.
Another audit of the state Health Department concerning nursing home oversight is being planned by Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. Similar audits conducted over the past several years have exposed state officials for failing to properly review nursing home staffing levels.
In a 2016 audit, it was found that the department failed to properly handle complaints or take stronger action against substandard facilities. It has since stated new plans to release stronger regulations to include updated standards on minimum staffing.
Contact Our Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys
If your loved one has been neglected or abused in a nursing home, contact a Harrisburg nursing home abuse attorney at Schmidt Kramer. We have helped many victims of nursing home abuse and neglect recover the compensation they deserve.
Contact us to schedule a free legal consultation. There is no risk or obligation to you. We work on contingency, so there are no upfront costs for our services unless you recover fair compensation.
Get started today by calling (717) 888-8888 for your free case review.