RICHMOND, Va. — Governor Abigail Spanberger signed a bill into law that will direct extensive research into nursing home care and the industry's operational practices.
Del. Delores McQuinn (D-Henrico), who spearheaded the effort, said she hopes it will bring about industry accountability and change for vulnerable seniors.
“The expectation was that if you owned the nursing home, that you were going to be providing the kind of care that people deserve, and what we found out— it was not happening," McQuinn said.
McQuinn proposed the bill in response to a CBS 6 investigation about a nursing home in her district that was identified by the government as Virginia's worst-performing facility. Family members of residents complained about unclean conditions, low staffing levels, and poor quality of care. Inspections revealed violations for sexual abuse of residents, neglect of incontinence care, and significant medication errors.
As CBS 6 has previously reported, residents and families have expressed concerns over similar problems across many different facilities in the state. Last year, consumers filed a record number of nursing home complaints with the health department.
“I'm so grateful for you bringing this information forward. A lot of the work, the research was done by the media," McQuinn said. "I think that your bringing it to the public eye was very instrumental in making certain that someone was moving it forward."
Her bill will require the Joint Commission on Healthcare to evaluate a number of items including quality outcomes, staffing levels, inspections and enforcement, resident rights, emergency preparedness, ownership structures and operational practices, related-party transactions and real estate arrangements, and financial data including how much Medicaid money is actually supporting patient care.
“We ought to make sure that there is a certain percentage of care and funds being put toward taking care of individuals who are in those nursing homes. You cannot get rich off of individuals who are in their most vulnerable position in life," McQuinn said.
In a legislative hearing, her measure received endorsements from the non-profit sector of the nursing home industry as well as some patient advocates. However, other resident advocates have expressed disappointment that a study does not do enough to affect immediate change.
“I think that our representatives are also failing a lot of others right now, because why they show to want to try and do this and do that, nothing is actually getting done," said advocate Joanna Heiskill.
When asked for a response to criticisms that the bill does not go far enough, McQuinn said, "we had to start somewhere." She added the commission will be presenting recommendations along with its findings that lawmakers will consider for future action.
The report is due by December 2027.
The General Assembly also passed legislation this past session that will direct another study of nursing home staffing standards and will require transparency disclosures during a nursing home ownership change application.
Other reform efforts that did not advance this past session included proposals to implement an enforceable staffing standard, penalize nursing homes that pay "excessive" rent to related-party landlords, and increase doctor visits in nursing facilities.
A previous CBS 6 report includes an in-depth look at legislative outcomes, industry lobbying and political contributions, and reactions from lawmakers, advocates, and industry representatives.
Watch: Nursing home industry group among top donors to Virginia politicians as advocates decry failed reforms
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