Tag: Richard Mollot

After pandemic ravaged nursing homes, new state laws protect residents

So far, 23 states have passed more than 70 new pandemic-related provisions affecting nursing home operations. 

By Susan Jaffe | KAISER  HEALTH  NEWS | August 17, 2021 |  This story also ran in

When the coronavirus hit Martha Leland’s Connecticut nursing home last year, she and dozens of other residents contracted the disease while the facility was on lockdown. Twenty-eight residents died, including her roommate.

“The impact of not having friends and family come in and see us for a year was totally devastating,” she said. “And then, the staff all bound up with the masks and the shields on, that too was very difficult to accept.” She summed up the experience in one word: “scary.”

But under a law Connecticut enacted in June, nursing home residents will be able to designate an “essential support person” who can help

take care of a loved one even during a public health emergency. Connecticut legislators also approved laws this year giving nursing home residents free internet access and digital devices for virtual visits and allowing video cameras in their rooms so family or friends can monitor their care.

Similar benefits are not required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees nursing homes and pays for most of the care they provide. But states can impose additional requirements when those federal rules are insufficient or don’t exist.  And that’s exactly what many are doing, spurred by the virus that hit the frail elderly hardest. [Continued at Kaiser Health News and USA Today

 

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As Congress Weighs COVID Liability Protections, States Shield Health Providers

By Susan Jaffe  | Kaiser Health News | May 14, 2020 | This story also ran on 

Coronavirus patients and their families who believe a doctor, nurse, hospital or other provider made serious mistakes during their care may face a new hurdle if they try to file medical malpractice lawsuits.

Under pressure from health provider organizations, governors in Connecticut, Maryland, Illinois and several other states have ordered that most providers be shielded from civil ― and, in some cases, criminal— lawsuits over medical treatment during the C OVID-19 health emergency. In New York and New Jersey, immunity is now part of state law….

Some legal experts and seniors’ advocates worry that the state immunity guarantees go too far, leaving patients with no way to hold providers accountable. Supporters argue that health care providers and facilities deserve protection from lawsuits as they battle a deadly virus during an unprecedented public health emergency.  [Continued at Kaiser Health News and Daily Beast. ]  

Coronavirus Stresses Nursing Home Infection-Control Practices

As coronavirus cases increase, posing heightened risks to the elderly, nursing homes will face growing scrutiny from state health inspectors.

In Connecticut and nationally, complying with federal infection-control requirements is a challenge for some nursing homes. Between 2017 and 2019, 145 of Connecticut’s 217 nursing homes – or about 67 percent – were cited for infection-control violations, according to a Conn. Health I-Team analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). [Continued here, with list of nursing home infection violations.]

 

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