Re: Nursing Home Administrative Sanctions Guidance Document

There have been plenty of news stories about inadequate or abusive nursing home care. I live in the Richmond area have been witness to multiple instances of poor care, inadequate staffing, and lack of education on the part of the people actually providing care in three nursing facilities. In spite of the fact I was visiting 3-4 times a week, and communicating regularly with nursing home staff, there were issues I was unaware of until outside hospice staff alerted me. I was helped to problem-solve some issues by the ombudsman for my region, but little changed, and ultimately without nursing homes knowing that trained observers are coming in, enforcement for infractions is inconsistent and can easily be hidden. Without regular oversight, we rely on nursing homes self-policing, and it is obvious that is not an effective strategy to protect vulnerable people, especially in light of the fact that most facilities are owned by for profit corporations. Nursing home work is undeniably physically and emotionally hard, but it is also work that requires trust, which regular inspection and oversight will help provide, along with actual consequences for repeated infractions. Our healthcare system is no doubt under great strain (or even broken) now. The patients in these facilities suffer a host of indignities and it is our responsibility to advocate for them, to say nothing of the money being paid for inadequate care. Good health care providers in these facilities are just as tired and burned out as the patients by the bad actors, and thus would benefit too from standard enforcement.