This curated news feed of stories related to nursing home and long-term care around the country includes articles and reports from media outlets and press releases from Families for Better Care.
Texas Nursing Home Blistered with "Massive" Fine
Families for Better Care - Oct 28, 2020
Texas’ Health and Human Services imposed a “massive” $120,000 fine against River City Care Center in San Antonio after inspectors discovered conditions that placed residents in “immediate jeopardy” of harm.
The fine dates to a July 4th investigation when the facility’s HVAC system failed. Indoor temperatures rose above 80 degrees in some...
New Jersey Governor Signs Nursing Home Staffing Law
Families for Better Care - Oct 23, 2020
Governor Phil Murphy (NJ-D) signed legislation today that would increase New Jersey’s nursing home staffing levels starting next year.
The reform law (S2712) establishes a minimum staff to resident ratio and would increase the number of caregivers facilities must have working on all shifts. The law was enacted after an investigation criticized the state’s management...
Florida Governor Relaxes Nursing Home Visitation Restrictions
Families for Better Care - Oct 22, 2020
Governor Ron DeSantis today ordered Florida’s senior care facilities to further reopen their doors to visitors at a news conference in Fort Myers.
The governor wants kids to be able to visit facilities, claiming “they aren’t major vectors of the virus,” and for facilities to begin making allowances for residents to “leave for overnight holiday visits with...
Florida Nursing Home Fined $67,000 After COVID Deaths, but “Dodged a Bullet”
Families for Better Care - Oct 22, 2020
Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration fined the Fair Havens Center in Miami after dozens of residents died earlier this year when they became infected with the Coronavirus.
The $67,000 fine was part of a larger settlement agreement that permitted the nursing home to stay open. In June, state officials sought to revoke Fair Havens Center's license, but...
Hundreds of Florida Nursing Home Residents Likely Died Indirectly from Hurricane Irma
Bailey LeFever (PHOTO CREDIT: Carline Jean, South Florida Sun-Sentinel) - Oct 12, 2020
Hurricane Irma caused the deaths of 134 Floridians in 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. But the indirect death count likely was much higher, according to a study released last week that examined the deaths of 695 seniors living in nursing homes in the 90 days after the storm.
Researchers at the University of South Florida and Brown University used data from the...