ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
What does it say about the California nursing home industry that they’re rewarding employees with raffle tickets for an iPod if they flood California Medicare & Medicaid Services with comments? Nothing good, certainly. This petty tactic is being deployed by lobbyists for the nursing home industry to try to sway CMS as it considers an update to the 1991 Requirement for Participation, the first major examination since they were written over 2 decades ago. While the lobbyists claim that the result of the rule changes with be “micromanaging” and that they go “too far, too fast,” even a brief examination of the proposed changes seems to go contrary to that statement.
California nursing home abuse attorneys say that among the ‘extreme’ amendments would be a requirement that nursing homes ensure their contract staff are competent. Though this would hardly seem objectionable to any rational person, the nursing home industry is willing to go to the trenches to avoid having to make sure that the people looking after those entrusted to their care have even the most minimal qualifications. If they would rather encourage their staff to fight these new rules with raffles and iPods than spend the miniscule amount required to determine competency, it doesn’t speak well of their judgement or commitment to providing a high level of care.
If you know of a case in which those close to you were improperly cared for in a nursing home, please contact the Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669
