Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lawsuit Claims Nursing Home Fired Nurse For Covid Whistle-Blowing
The Courier-Journal: Nurse Says She Was Fired By Nursing Home Over COVID-19 Complaints
A former nurse at a Louisville nursing home claims in a lawsuit she was fired last year after raising repeated concerns about infection control and lack of personal protective equipment, such as masks, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Donna Frank, a registered nurse, alleges in the lawsuit filed June 3 she was wrongly fired by Signature Healthcare at Jefferson Place Rehab and Wellness Center after about six months on the job. Frank was fired Sept. 9, 2020, the day after an investigator from the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services Office of Inspector General showed up to investigate conditions at Signature-Jefferson Place, following a complaint from Frank. (Yetter, 6/9)
Buffalo News: Lawsuit Over Couple’s Covid-19 Deaths Challenges Nursing Homes' Immunity
The Covid-19 deaths of a husband and wife who died two days apart in an Albion nursing home has set the stage for what's believed to be among the first lawsuits challenging the controversial pandemic immunity the state granted to medical facilities. The lawsuit alleges William F. Ames, 89, and Martha F. Ames, 88, contracted the virus at the Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center because the nursing home lacked adequate preventative infectious control policies, sufficient staffing and enough personal protective equipment. (Michel, 6/9)
New York Post: Feds Subpoena Top Cuomo Aides Over Nursing Home Policy, COVID Book
Federal investigators have sent out subpoenas to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top aides, seeking information pertaining to his nursing home policies in his $5.1 million pandemic memoir, the Wall Street Journal reported late Monday. The report said the Brooklyn US Attorney’s office has asked for documents including contracts and other materials used to pitch the book, “American Crisis” to publishers. According to the Journal, the subpoenas were sent last month to people involved in early edits of the poor-selling tome — including state officials. (Hogan and Chamberlain, 6/7)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Senate Republicans Aim To Nix Some State Nursing Home Oversight
The sway of Ohio's nursing home industry over the state legislature is holding steady, despite a pandemic where many such centers became COVID-19 hotspots. Senate Republicans last week in the state budget bill greatly reduced, if not outright eliminated, key provisions put forth by Gov. Mike DeWine that would put more checks on skilled nursing facilities. The industry praised the changes as a fight back against unnecessary government overreach, but opponents fear they could put nursing home residents at more risk. In contrast, the House had made relatively minor modifications, if not left the two provisions untouched. The Senate's harder stance sets the stage for needed negotiations in order for a compromise to be reached by the end of June. (Wu, 6/8)
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Axios: America's Nursing Homes Fight To Find Enough Caregivers
Skilled nursing and assisted living facilities across the country are having trouble hiring enough caregivers, and many have turned to perks like referral bonuses and transportation to lure more talent. The industry historically grappled with high employee turnover for its lower-skilled jobs. But now nursing facilities are facing reputational hits from the pandemic and a red hot market for minimum wage workers. (Fernandez, 6/9)
KHN: Zooming Into The Statehouse: Nursing Home Residents Use New Digital Skills To Push For Changes
Patty Bausch isn’t a Medicaid expert, lawyer or medical professional. But she still thinks Connecticut legislators need her input when they consider bills affecting people like her — the roughly 18,000 residents who live in the state’s nursing homes. With help and encouragement from Connecticut’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, Bausch signed up and testified remotely before a legislative hearing this year. Nursing home residents who have been using digital technology to reach out to family and friends — after the covid pandemic led officials to end visitation last year — could also use it to connect with elected officials once the legislature moved to remote hearings. Speaking into an iPad provided by the ombudsman’s office, Bausch testified without ever leaving her room at the Newtown Rehabilitation & Health Care Center, where she has lived since having a stroke three years ago. (Jaffe, 6/9)
