Kentucky Nursing Home Reform Bill Likely Killed by Special Interests
Advocates and families who have witnessed first hand Kentucky nursing home neglect are hoping Kentucky will follow 37 other states in the U.S. and enact a law that requires a minimum level of staffing in Kentucky nursing homes.
Families who are pushing for passage of House Bill 157, a state law that would impose minimum staffing levels at all Kentucky nursing homes. If passed, the law would require dayshift staffing minimums of at least one nurse's aide for every nine nursing home residents, one nurse for every 21 residents and a registered nurse supervisor for facilities with at least 75 beds. There would also be minimum staffing levels, which would be a little less stringent, for evening and night shifts. Nursing homes that didn't comply would face limits on taking new patients and fines of up to $1,000 a day.
However, even though 37 other states have such a law, the supporters of the bill are afraid that it will not even be brought up for a vote in the Kentucky General Assembly because of lobbying and money from the nursing home industry.
According to Shawn Cantley, a Kentucky attorney who advocates on behalf of families and victims of nursing home neglect: This is extremely unfortunate, because nursing home safety advocates and lawyers who represent victims of nursing home neglect and abuse--along with many families of nursing home neglect--know all to well the problems in Kentucky's nursing homes related to under staffing. Reform advocates argue that Kentucky's nursing homes are rife with problems related to low staffing.
A study commissioned by the Louisville Courier-Journal of federal nursing home data showed that in nearly half of Louisville, Kentucky's 47 nursing homes staffing is considered “very poor” or “poor” and “well above average” at only three.
Anyone interested in speaking with Shawn Cantley about nursing home neglect can email him by clicking this link: email_shawn.
