Nursing Homes Fouled By Lax Regulation And Lobbyist Influence

Second Amendment


Reprinted with permission from DCReport

Former Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat but the CEO of a nursing home industry group, wrote Trump after the 2016 election seeking a “collaborative approach” to regulation, much like the one the Federal Aviation Administration has had with the aircraft industry.

Team Trump acquiesced, rolling back fines and proposing to weaken rules for infection prevention employees. That collaborative approach has failed, much as it did with the FAA , the agency that enabled failures in the design of the Boeing 737 Max.


Shoddy federal oversight of planes helped kill 346 people. The death toll from the pandemic, where health officials Seema Verma and Alex Azar helped turn our nation’s nursing homes into Trump death traps, is more than 46,000.

“Nursing homes are incubators of epidemics,” said Betsy McCaughey, the chair of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.

So far, more than 7,000 residents or people connected to nursing homes have died. That number includes 12 residents at the Milford Center in Delaware owned by Genesis HealthCare which has an executive, Michael Wylie, who previously chaired the American Health Care Association board.

Parkinson was paid about $3.3 million in 2017 by the association which represents more than 14,000 nursing homes. The association had 45 lobbyists in 2019, including Brian Ballard, the former chairman of Trump’s fundraising committee.

Nursing home residents are especially vulnerable to infections spread among groups such as the flu and norovirus. In a normal year, almost 388,000 of our nation’s elderly and disabled die of infections they got in nursing homes.

Under Obama, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services created a new position for nursing homes to try to help prevent infections from spreading. The employees, infection preventionists, are supposed to make sure nursing home staff properly clean their hands, disinfect surfaces and other measures to prevent illnesses in residents and staff.

The requirement was part of a 2016 rule that was the first major update to requirements for long-term care providers since 1991. The rule also included protections against abuse, neglect and exploitation of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

In 2016, a fifth of skilled nursing facilities were cited for actual harm or jeopardy to residents. Only 6.5 percent had no deficiencies in 2016.

Under Trump, fines for nursing homes that injured or endangered residents dropped to an average of $28,405 compared with $41,260 during the last year of Obama’s administration. In 2017, CMS put an 18-month moratorium on fines and other penalties for some of the tougher regulations, saying it would use the time to “educate surveyors and the providers.”

Now, Verma and Azar want to weaken the infection preventionist position, changing the position from at least part-time to spending “sufficient time” at the facility. Nursing home inspectors started focusing exclusively on infection control after the pandemic started.

More than 1,500 people or organizations commented on the proposed changes, many of them from the nursing home industry. The cutbacks, which also include weakening a resident’s right to file a grievance and allowing nursing homes to medicate residents with antipsychotic drugs indefinitely, are expected to save nursing home operators more than $600 million a year.

Some of the nursing home executives who asked federal regulators to weaken the standards for infection preventionists have had COVID-19 outbreaks in their facilities.

Deb Fournier, the chief operations officer for Maine Veterans’ Homes, said in September that she supported the proposed Trump changes in employees charged with preventing infections.

“This will allow LTC facilities to use workforce resources in a manner that best meets the needs of their organizations,” she wrote.

Two people have died at the veterans’ home in Scarborough, Maine, and 38 people have gotten sick.

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web



Source link

41 Comments

  1. 269684 13029Id have to check with you here. Which is not something I generally do! I enjoy reading a post that will make folks believe. Also, thanks for permitting me to comment! 690923

  2. 975430 925168Even though youre any with the lucky enough choices, it comes evidently, while capture the fancy with the certain coveted by ly folks other helpful you you meet could possibly effectively have hard times this specific difficulty. pre owned awnings 748421

  3. отуз бед энд брекфаст курск
    санаторий бфо официальный сайт база отдыха в белоруссии обухово санаторий официальный сайт цены
    санаторий кургазак санатории горного алтая дагомыс олимпийский оздоровительный комплекс

  4. гостиница центральная дальнереченск знание санаторий
    см роял отель more алушта отдых на выходные в подмосковье
    а отель брно воронеж санатории в сочи с бассейном отели в крыму все включено шведский стол

  5. гостиница салют санкт петербург пулковское шоссе санатории екатеринбурга и свердловской области
    топ 10 санаториев сочи байкал форест иркутск отдохнуть в подмосковье на выходные
    афиша ялта ноябрь 2021 атлант сочи art hotel che

  6. санаторий авангард сочи официальный виктория отдых
    пансионаты в крыму отдохнуть в геленджике гостиница сибирь в новосибирске
    признаки микролитиаза почек что это санатории радуга санаторий юность в ессентуках официальный сайт

  7. крым лукоморье приморье санаторий евпатория 3
    отзывы лазаревское белая невеста геленджик история сокос отель санкт петербург васильевский остров
    санаторий нива ессентуки официальный сайт бердская заимка цены санаторий якты куль цены

  8. гостиница нива краснодар уральская 144 спорт отель гладенькая официальный
    отель царь санаторий им с м кирова пятигорск отель золотой павлин серпухов
    забронировать номер в отеле в сочи сочи отель гостиница в ишиме

  9. аванос п николаевка крым
    спутник резорт алеан санатории челябинской области купчиха морозова коломна
    краснодар дивноморское каменск шахтинский гостиницы на м4 сукко все включено с бассейном

  10. как добраться до нового афона из москвы гостиницы в невинномысске цены за сутки
    кабардинка пансионаты с питанием шведский стол цены санаторий белоруссия в сочи тропарево гостиница
    домбай пэлас бургас отель сочи отзывы лиго морская крым

  11. отель селена анапа официальный ласточка горячий ключ
    кохма гостиница отель с детьми подмосковье интер сухум фото
    холидей инн сокольники ресторан гонконг гостиницы вязьмы санаторий удельная раменский район

  12. гостиница 12 месяцев нижний новгород отзывы аквалоо
    казань санаторий отель lemar москва гостиница липецк ул ленина 11 липецк
    санатории в белоруссии официальный сайт отель россия вольск санаторий волжский утес официальный

  13. отзывы о санатории пятигорье в пятигорске radisson ulyanovsk
    санаторий на урале недорого с лечением отель 4 сезона абхазия новый афон отдых в геленджике все включено шведский стол
    недорогой отдых в крыму 2021 цены гостиницы лоо санатории беларуси профсоюзные

  14. отель бриз сочи официальный сайт талисман гороховая санкт петербург
    мотылек анапа официальный сайт дешевые санатории кисловодска гостиница голубая волна
    отель альбатрос анапа официальный сайт просто квашино козынево янтарное побережье калининград

  15. вихревая ванна показания отдых на выходные в ярославской области
    апсуана роза бутик 4 купить путевку в санаторий каспий дагестан отель пик в рязани
    санаторий имени кирова кисловодск порт отель семеновский welna spa

  16. курорты алтая цены театр чехова ялта официальный сайт
    ester house в москве калина калининград гостевой дом гостиница в архызе цены
    сан сан ставрополь официальный отель с бассейном краснодарский край мини отель старая вена

  17. союз пансионат газпром фанагорийское горячий ключ базы отдыха
    санаторий днепр гаспра официальный сайт гостиницы сальска ростовской области коралл санаторий
    краснодарский край санатории прайм судак гостиница в керчи недорого

  18. Envato Elements Group Buy has changed my process of creativity!

    Accessing a treasure trove of designs at a lower cost is a game changer.

    This collaborative approach makes premium design available,
    ideal for any project that requires creativity.

    Highly recommended for those looking to elevate their work without spending a
    fortune!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *