• 03
  • December
    2010

A lawmaker for the state of Kentucky has recently proposed a new piece of legislation that would provide more information on the cause of deaths at nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The proposed law would require all deaths that occur at nursing homes to be reported to county coroners. The legislation would be a window into the quality of treatment of individuals at nursing homes, provide additional scrutiny over caretakers and hopefully prevent nursing home negligence.

The legislative proposal is in reaction to a string of nursing home deaths in the state and in response to a journalistic series on gaps in the nursing home care system. A Kentucky newspaper found that among the deaths that occurred at nursing homes located throughout the state from 2007 to 2009, 18 resulted in citations given for the endangerment of resident life or safety. Of the 18 deaths, 15 had not been prosecuted as of the summer and three were under investigation.

Under current law the state of Kentucky does not require nursing homes to report the deaths of residents to coroners. The legislation would require coroners to report to police investigators or prosecutors if they believe any maltreatment of the deceased resident occurred. In addition, the proposed legislation also calls for increased penalties for the failure to report nursing home abuse or neglect. In order to prevent nursing home abuse the suggested law calls for abuse and neglect training for nursing home staff and nursing home inspectors. In the state of Kentucky there were almost 9,500 nursing home deaths in 2009.

Source: Lexington Herald-Leader, "Proposal Would Expand Nursing Home Death Reporting," 11/30/10