Five months ago, Congressman Dennis Moore asked the special investigation division of the House Committee on Government Reform to run a quick check on conditions in the 46 nursing homes in Kansas' 3rd Congressional District, which he represents.
The survey's results, the Lenexa Democrat said Friday, are troubling.
U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, left, assures Kansas Advocates for Better Care that he'll continue to push for tougher regulations and better funding for the nation's nursing homes. KABC executive director Deanne Lenhart, right, said Moore is the only member of Kansas' Congressional delegation who's paying "much attention" to nursing-home issues. Moore spoke Friday at the Lawrence Country Club.
Between February 1999 and May 2000, he said, 10 of the homes were cited for conditions that "caused actual harm to residents." Seven of these homes, he said, were "repeat offenders."
Only one-third of the 46 homes were found to be in full or substantial compliance with federal standards. The homes were not identified.
"I find this disturbing," Moore told members of Kansas Advocates for Better Care, during a luncheon address Friday at the group's annual meeting at the Lawrence Country Club.
Moore said he's part of a small group backing the Nursing Home Quality Protection Act, which would impose tougher sanctions on troubled homes, while, at the same time, increasing Medicare and Medicaid payments for nursing home services.
In the past, Moore said, the bill hasn't garnered much support because it's quickly portrayed as "more government regulation" and "too expensive."
But it doesn't make sense, Moore said, for Congress to be considering a $1.6 trillion tax cut when nursing homes aren't paid enough to provide adequate care.
Moore said he'd like to see some of the proposed tax cut shared with "our most vulnerable citizens," referring to nursing home residents who are unable to look out for themselves.
Moore said he was alarmed to learn that Kansas nursing homes rely on the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to conduct in-state background checks on prospective employees, leaving open the possibility for an out-of-state felon to escape detection.
"This is outrageous, as far as I'm concerned," Moore said, noting that he's one of five co-sponsors of a bill that would require interstate record checks.
While introducing Moore, Kansas Advocates for Better Care's executive director Deanne Lenhart reminded the group that "Congressman Moore is the only member of the Kansas delegation who, so far, is giving any attention to long-term care issues."
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