Nursing home ombudsman program at risk because of 'callous and apparenly clueless' move by feds, advocate writes

The Kentucky long-term care ombudsman program is at risk in Kentucky due to a change in federal policy. The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services is "quietly telling some state aging leaders that by Jan. 1 they will no longer be allowed to use civil monetary penalty funds to help pay for the nursing home ombudsman program in their states," Bernie Vonderheide, president and founder of Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform, writes an op-ed piece in The Courier-Journal.

The civil penalties are assessed for violations in nursing homes. In Kentucky, the fund contains about $15 million. But if the move by CMS goes through, Kentucky "stands to lose more than a half million dollars a year from the CMP fund that has gone into supporting full-time ombudsmen in all of the 15 area development districts in the state," Vonderheide writes. "We are concerned about the callous and apparently clueless action by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It is obvious that the Washington bureaucrats who make decisions like this have never been in a nursing home and are oblivious to the needs of the people."

Nursing-home ombudsmen investigate alleged abuse and neglect in facilities, and visit residents. "In the average nursing home, surveys show that more than half the residents never have a visitor — family member or friend — except for one, and that's the ombudman," Vonderheide writes. "We can't lose our nursing home residents' best friends — those angels of mercy, the ombudsmen." (Read more)

Justice Dept. accuses Erlanger nursing home of collecting on 'worthless services;' suit is first of its kind in Kentucky

The U.S. Justice Department has filed a civil complaint against Villaspring Health Care and Rehabilitation in Erlanger and its parent company, Carespring Health Care Management, claiming they "billed Medicare and Medicaid for services purportedly provided to its residents despite knowing that the services were so inadequate that they were essentially worthless," Valarie Honeycutt Spears of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

The complaint was the first in Kentucky alleging that a nursing home violated the federal False Claims Act. "Today's filing represents an important milestone in the effort to ensure effective care for Medicare and Medicaid recipients in long-term care facilities," U.S. Attorney Kerry Harvey said.

The list of allegations include failures to follow physicians' orders, treat wounds and pressure sores, update resident care plans, give enough to drink, give regular baths and monitor diabetics' blood-sugar levels, Spears reports. The complaint alleges there were numerous injuries and at least five deaths from 2004 to 2008 due to improper care.

Officials of the nursing home officials invited journalists to tour the facility and denied any wrongdoing. "We do not feel that the government's case has any merit, and we will defend ourselves vigorously," Carespring spokeswoman Kim Majick said. "Villaspring has consistently provided high-quality care to the residents of Kenton County and looks forward to doing so in the future." (Read more)