To the editor:

The Kansas House is hearing HB 2471 this week. It requires the Board of Adult Care Home Administrators to reserve a seat for each of the three nursing home provider associations. The bill codifies their power on this public board. Rep. Bob Bethell, a former president of one of the associations, is a chief proponent.

BACHA, like most professional oversight boards, exists to protect the public. It is key in holding administrators accountable for management of the home.

Unfortunately, BACHA’s disciplinary actions are mostly private. From 2003 to 2010, BACHA took final, public action against only five administrators. Clearly, in eight years, more than five administrators failed enough in their duties to warrant discipline. In 2011, the Kansas Department on Aging cited nearly 100 facilities for actual harm to residents. HB 2471 ignores the real problem: BACHA is soft on enforcement.

Tragically, the need for strong enforcement was exemplified in the Jan. 19 Lawrence Journal-World story about the late Jean Allen and Brandon Woods, a nursing home in Lawrence. Her family filed suit against its corporate owner and administrator, alleging that Mrs. Allen was sexually abused by an employee and that Brandon Woods attempted to cover it up. The lawsuit includes an allegation that the staff failed to promptly report the suspected abuse and destroyed important evidence.

No criminal charges were ever filed. Although this “incident” was reported in 2010, KDoA never issued a citation against Brandon Woods. BACHA never published any disciplinary action against the administrator. Where is that public protection now?