NEW REPORT
CARE AND OVERSIGHT OF ASSISTED LIVING IN NEW YORK STATE
The report, which analyzed both Department of Health data from 2002 to 2011 and Ombudsmen complaint data from 2006 to 2011 indicates that:
- While the number of citations went down, the three areas most cited by the Department of Health have remained the same for nine years: resident care; medication and environmental issues.
- Medication issues are still rampant with almost a quarter of the medication citations repeats from previous years.
- Few violations cited led to enforcement actions unless they were “endangerment” violations. State law that does not permit a fine if the facility corrects must be changed.
- Of the 86 facilities found to have endangered their residents during this time period 63 have been sanctioned; 20 cases are still pending, eight from three to five years ago.
- The mentally ill are still suffering. Even after the investigations of the early 2000's and the succeeding state workgroups, the impacted homes (adult homes with 25 percent or more mentally disabled) still have many problems. Department of Health surveyors are now finding twice as many violations in the impacted homes as the non-impacted homes.
Written by
Cynthia Rudder, Ph.D., Director of Special Projects
Richard J. Mollot, J.D., Executive Director
Lucia A. Caltagirone, J.D., MPH, Public Policy Intern
Supported by a grant from the
Robert Sterling Clark Foundation
May, 2011
Click here for the Executive Summary.
Click here for the full report.
Click here for DOH quarterly inspection findings.
See brief for policy makers urging them to make changes to improve both assisted living quality and Department of Health oversight and enforcement of state rules and regulations.
See what you can do to help improve quality of care and life for our state's assisted living residents.