Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

This week, members of the U.S. Senate will consider a bill that will establish a nationwide system of background checks for individuals who apply for jobs at long-term care facilities, The Daily Times (Farmington, New Mexico) reported today. If passed, the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act would allow nursing homes to choose not to hire potentially abusive caregivers based on a coordinated system of checks against abuse and neglect registries, state police records and the FBI national database of criminal history records.

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There is a horrifying report out of Minnesota today about nursing home residents abused by their caregivers. The patients, all suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, were teased, spit on, and sexually assaulted. The Associated Press report said four nursing assistants were involved.

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The Wall Street Journal published a disturbing new report this week, exploring the issue of elder abuse by those hired to care for them in their homes. According to the report, studies show a rising trend in cases of abuse, neglect, fraud, and even death, perpetrated by in-home caregivers on their frail and ill charges. The report estimates about 1.6 million people are employed in home care.

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This week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced plans for the establishment of a new ranking system for nursing home performance. Similar to rating systems that the public is familiar with in relation to products or facilities like restaurants and hotels, the new CMS system will rate nursing homes with a “star” system, with five stars being the best and one star the worst.

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A decision from Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller’s office on May 27 reverses an earlier decision to keep secret the names of people fired from care facilities for abusing elderly and disabled clients. According to The Des Moines Register, the new decision comes nine months after the state first began to limit access to the information.

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