Ginny Speaks About the Need for Increased Protections for Nursing Home Patients

Washington, D.C., Sep 27 -

At the unveiling of the Suburban Caucus’s “7 Bills for 2007,” U.S. Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-05) today announced that her recently introduced legislation, H.R. 6161, the Senior Safety and Dignity Act of 2006, has been included as one of the seven bills on the Suburban Caucus’s agenda for 2007.

“Common-sense tells us that when trusting our weakest and most vulnerable to the care of others that they be qualified and competent professionals,” said Rep. Brown-Waite.  “The sad news is that in too many cases, individuals with criminal or abusive backgrounds have been found to be working in health care positions of authority.  H.R. 6161 takes away that possibility by requiring long-term care facilities or providers to perform background checks on their employees.  This is a no-brainer for American seniors, and I expect that most of my colleagues will feel the same way.”

H.R. 6161 would expand the nursing home patients’ bill of rights to include the right to receive care from a credible caregiver by requiring criminal background checks on direct access employees.  The legislation would also provide the right to a safe environment during an emergency or natural disaster by requiring nursing long-term care facilities to establish disaster emergency and evacuation plans.

“As we have learned from the Katrina disaster in Louisiana, not all states have emergency evacuation plans in place for their nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and their hospitals,” continued Rep. Brown-Waite.  “While Florida has state of the art procedures in place for the timely and efficient evacuation of our loved ones in case of an emergency or natural disaster, it is clear that Congress must ensure the other states follow their lead.  H.R. 6161 provides a minimum standard of patient care and safety that all Americans should expect from their health care provider.”

In 1987, the Nursing Home Reform Act established a comprehensive list of patient rights.  The Act also established a strict set of regulations and penalties for nursing homes if they violated patients’ rights.  However, according to recent studies by Consumer Reports, 186 of the nursing homes cited for poor care in 2005 had been cited before.  The Senior Safety and Dignity Act is a valuable part of the Suburban Caucus Agenda and will amend the 1987 legislation to include background checks for potential nursing home care employees in the Nursing Home Bill of Rights.