More than 50 residents at a Prescott nursing home fell ill with COVID-19, and 15 died after a felon forced employees to work while sick with the pandemic illness. It’s one tragic example of how loose nursing home regulations are in the state, which required quick and decisive action by the state’s highest authorities.
Issues with Arizona’s Nursing Home Board
The Arizona Board of Examiners of Nursing Care Institution Administrators and Assisted Living Facility Managers is the main body that oversees nursing home care throughout the state and periodically comes up for renewal with the state Congress. Although a Senate Bill was scheduled to renew the Board until 2029, the governor announced he would veto it in response to the failure in the Board’s work concerning this particular nursing home.
An Unfortunate, Yet Uncommon Example of Nursing Home Violations
As the pandemic stretches already-thin resources even tighter, more nursing homes are at risk of violating standards that put elderly residents at risk. While exposure to COVID-19 is a big issue, others include general sanitation, care, emotional conditioning, and much more.
Now, this also includes the Board approving people obviously not fit to run nursing and care facilities. According to the story, when the person in question was being interviewed to run his care facility, the Board only spent six minutes questioning him and many questions were easy or “softballs”. More recently, the Board also claimed not to know anything about the health issues at the facility even though the Republic published two prior stories. It’s just another example of how lax standards are when it comes to nursing home care.
This is why it’s more important than ever to hold nursing homes accountable if your loved ones are not getting the care they deserve. The team at Rabb & Rabb, PLLC understands the seriousness of nursing home violations in Arizona and is here to help sort out all available options. Call (520) 888-6740 to schedule a free consultation.
