| WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today joined Representative
Henry Waxman (D-CA) and House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO) to
introduce the Nursing Home Quality Protection Act.
“Earlier
this year, I released a study of nursing homes in Chicago. I found
that many seniors in Chicago area nursing homes are not receiving quality
medical and personal care. That is why I am very pleased today that we
are talking about solutions and not only the problem,” said Schakowsky.
“Our
parents and grandparents are at real risk if we do not take the necessary
measures to ensure that they receive the best nursing home care possible.
And the Nursing Home Quality Protection Act is a key component in that
effort,” Schakowsky added.
The
Nursing Home Quality Protection Act would impose tougher sanctions on nursing
homes that violate federal health and safety standards; reinstate previous
law to guarantee that nursing homes receive reasonable rates for their
service; use fines to finance grant program to improve quality of nursing
home care; and expand public disclosure about nursing home conditions by
requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to post detailed
information about nursing homes on the Internet.
The
principal author of the legislation is Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA),
ranking member on the House Government Reform Committee and a senior member
of the Commerce Committee.
Schakowsky,
who is a cosponsor of the Nursing Home Quality Protection Act, released
a report of nursing homes in her district earlier this year. The
report found one out of every seven nursing homes in the Chicago metropolitan
area had a violation that caused actual harm to residents or placed them
at risk of death or serious injury. As a result, they suffer from
bedsores, malnutrition, and a host of other disturbing and preventable
ailments. The report cited an example of a nursing home where a single
nurse aide was left to care for an entire floor of 68 residents in the
middle of the afternoon. As a result of staff shortages, residents
with pressure sores were left in the same position and in soiled diapers
for hours.
“I
look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that our elderly are
safe and that no senior is robbed of his or her golden years,” Schakowsky
said. |
