Oversight of New York State Nursing Homes Inadequate, Audit Says

The New York Department of Health has inadequately investigated "thousands" of nursing home complaints in recent years, according to an audit from state Comptroller H. Carl McCall (D), the Albany Times Union reports. In his report, McCall, a gubernatorial candidate, said many complaints on the state's 685 nursing homes were not investigated, were handled by untrained staff or were not completed expeditiously. The audit found that between Jan. 1, 2000, and Dec. 10, 2001, 43% of randomly sampled complaints were investigated late or not at all. Furthermore, nearly 1,000 cases were assigned to investigators who no longer worked for the health department. "When a family member, caretaker or friend of a nursing home resident sees a problem and calls for help, they have a right to expect that help is on the way. Calls for help were ignored all too often," McCall said. John Signor, a spokesperson for the health department, called the audit "political" and said it ignores the department's efforts to improve its response to complaints. "Once again, Carl McCall is unnecessarily scaring seniors and their families in a shameless attempt to further his political ambitions," Signor said. According to the Times Union, health department officials say they have a "record high" 246 inspectors. In addition, the department levied $576,000 in fines against 95 nursing homes last year, another record (Benjamin, Albany Times Union, 7/26).