U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, (D-OR), Bob Casey, (D-PA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced last week the Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act, which seeks to update federal nursing home policy addressing quality of care and oversight.
“Families must have faith that loved ones receiving long-term care or care after a hospital stay will be safe and receive good-quality care,” Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said. “The pandemic, myriad reports of abuse and critical failures during natural disasters have shattered that foundation of trust and safety. This legislation represents a big step towards nursing home care that is safer, higher quality, more accountable, and more supportive of the workers who care for our most vulnerable.”
The lawmakers maintain the legislation would modernize nursing homes, filling gaps in staffing, transparency, accountability, oversight, and facility structure.
“I have been advocating for the safety of nursing home residents and workers in Pennsylvania and across the Nation since before I was elected to the U.S. Senate,” Casey, chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, said. “The profound loss of life in nursing homes from COVID-19 was a tragedy within the broader tragedy of the pandemic. The residents, workers, and families who suffered through it are owed solutions to ensure we prevent such tragedies in the future. This legislation provides the transparency and accountability that families deserve, expanding staffing, technical assistance, and oversight efforts across the board.”