California Nursing Home Regulators Fail to Collect Fines
A report by the state auditor has found that the California Department of Public Health has done a poor job of administering and collecting fines from nursing homes that violate regulations. The lax collection of fines has allowed nursing homes to go without punishment for violating regulations and has deprived the department of nearly $ 9 million in revenue that could have been used to fight nursing home abuse and neglect.
The auditor found that the Department of Public Health failed to collect millions in fines between the years of 2003 and 2010. The department inappropriately reduced financial penalties to some facilities, failed to adjust fines to the rate of inflation, and did not always conduct surveys in a timely manner as required by law.
In addition to depriving the department of revenue, the department's lax enforcement also sends a message to nursing home operators that safety regulations are not taken seriously. "The state is not collecting money from nursing homes that violate the rules, and that sends a message to the industry," said Carol Herman of the nonprofit group Foundation Aiding the Elderly. "Nursing homes have no incentive to clean up their acts, because the regulators are not doing their jobs."
This story illustrates that, while state regulatory agencies play an important role in preventing nursing home abuse and neglect, they do not always do their job to the best of their ability. This is why friends and family of nursing home residents should be diligent in looking for signs of abuse and neglect.
For more information on identifying signs of abuse and neglect, visit the Nursing Home Advocates' Abuse Detection information page.
