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Nursing homes fail to meet federal standards
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4-17-2000 Washington. Staffing levels at nursing homes nationwide soon will come to the attention of federal lawmakers – part of the fallout of a new congressional report on the state of Chicago-area skilled nursing facilities. The report, "Nursing Home Conditions in Chicago: Many Homes Fail to Meet Federal Standards for Adequate Care," by the House Committee on Government Reform, found that 79 percent of the 290 nursing homes in the three-county metro area were in violation of federal standards as of their last inspection. The March study, which followed a similar one of Los Angeles facilities last year, will lead to the introduction of legislation this spring to increase nursing home staffing levels, a spokesman for the House committee said. "Staffing is the key problem," said Donna Peterson, an Oakland, Calif., LVN with 25 years’ experience in elder care. "In every nursing home I’ve ever worked in, it’s been a problem." The nursing home industry responded that any mandate to increase workers must be accompanied by extra funding or the facilities will be unable to comply. "It will lead to more deficiencies," said Tom Burke, spokesman for the American Health Care Association. "It feels like a vicious cycle." The AHCA blasted the study’s findings, calling it "distorted" and claiming instead that long-term care facilities are improving. Industry leaders said the Health Care Financing Administration’s inspection process is unwieldy, tracks only negative events, and creates a paperwork burden so large that it takes nurses away from patient care. But Patricia McGinniss, JD, executive director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, said the industry’s reaction is typical and that a crisis in care persists. "Any scrutiny of nursing homes right now is good," she said. "We give millions of dollars away to an industry that has little accountability."
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