State should beef up nursing home oversight

If New York's federally mandated oversight program for long-term care facilities worked as it should, every nursing home, assisted living facility and other care location would be getting one visit a week from an ombudsman. That person would assess conditions at the facility, talk to residents and register complaints and concerns with the state Health Department.

Across Long Island, far too many long-term care facilities aren't getting that attention. More than half the region's facilities didn't see an ombudsman for a full three months, according to data from AARP New York. Some didn't get any visit at all over a six-month period.

Just 9% of New York's facilities met the federal weekly standard. In Nassau County, the figure was 9.5%, while Suffolk did a bit better, at 29%.

Even when ombudsmen do show up, the volunteers who do the work told Newsday their concerns and reports sometimes go unaddressed. The adverse impact on our most vulnerable residents is deeply disturbing and unacceptable.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed already-existing problems in nursing homes and other facilities. Troubling issues continue to emerge, including the most recent incident at Water's Edge Rehab and Nursing Center in Port Jefferson, where a woman pronounced dead was later found to be alive.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has begun to address the industry's needs, from staffing to equipment to funding, this year proposing a 5% increase in Medicaid rates paid to nursing homes and other health care facilities. That's a start, as long as the money goes to patient care, not profits.

But her budget does not adequately fund the ombudsman program, which relies mostly on volunteers who are less willing to go into nursing homes since the pandemic. It's time to further professionalize the effort.

Hochul's budget provided just $3.69 million for long-term care ombudsmen, the same as last year. Advocates say an additional $15 million would allow the hiring of 235 full-time people — enough to supplement volunteers with paid ombudsmen across the state and allow for the critical weekly visits. It's a relatively tiny ask, in the context of a $227 billion budget, but it could go a long way.

Beyond filling that hole, Hochul and the state Office for the Aging, which oversees the program, need to pay attention to whether the ombudsmen's work is having the intended impact. Are state officials adequately following up on watchdog reports? Are regulators and home operators addressing concerns? State officials should make necessary changes to provide needed teeth. In the meantime, long-term care residents and their families can reach out to the program, even without an ombudsman's visit, by calling 1-855-582-6769.

The ombudsmen effort is just a piece of the complex long-term care puzzle. Solving it will require attention to training, staffing, funding, oversight, family involvement, and more. There's still much to do to provide the care our residents need and deserve.