Post by Logan on Jan 24, 2016 22:01:59 GMT -6
Six months after the Pennsylvania Department of Health faced new scrutiny and criticism over its enforcement of quality care in nursing homes, data show it has quietly been increasing the penalties assessed to substandard operators.
The number of fines and provisional licenses for regulation violations among the 700 nursing homes more than tripled in the second half of 2015 from the first six months of the year, according to figures provided by the department. The combination of 52 fines and licensing actions last year were the most in the state since 2009.
The jump in punishment comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed in July by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office against a national nursing home chain operating 36 facilities in Pennsylvania. The suit alleging a range of problems at the Golden Living Center homes, including two in Monroeville and Mt. Lebanon, did not directly accuse the health department of failing to do its job, but it noted inspectors had identified numerous flaws in patient care that failed to result in penalties.
A June report released by Community Legal Services of Philadelphia had been more pointed, highlighting the lack of enforcement actions in recent years while accusing the state of failing to properly investigate complaints or label substandard conditions as a serious violation of regulations.
Continued at www.post-gazette.com/news/aging-advantage-reports/2016/01/24/Fines-to-Pennsylvania-nursing-homes-increasing-Department-of-Health-quality-care/stories/201601240015 .
The number of fines and provisional licenses for regulation violations among the 700 nursing homes more than tripled in the second half of 2015 from the first six months of the year, according to figures provided by the department. The combination of 52 fines and licensing actions last year were the most in the state since 2009.
The jump in punishment comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed in July by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office against a national nursing home chain operating 36 facilities in Pennsylvania. The suit alleging a range of problems at the Golden Living Center homes, including two in Monroeville and Mt. Lebanon, did not directly accuse the health department of failing to do its job, but it noted inspectors had identified numerous flaws in patient care that failed to result in penalties.
A June report released by Community Legal Services of Philadelphia had been more pointed, highlighting the lack of enforcement actions in recent years while accusing the state of failing to properly investigate complaints or label substandard conditions as a serious violation of regulations.
Continued at www.post-gazette.com/news/aging-advantage-reports/2016/01/24/Fines-to-Pennsylvania-nursing-homes-increasing-Department-of-Health-quality-care/stories/201601240015 .