In one county the local government is responsible for inspecting health facilities versus the other counties that have the state handle health facilities’ licenses and investigating the complaints issued against the facilities. This county has been given a $15 million increase to their budget which they say will be used to hire additional staffing, ultimately leading to increased care for the elderly. The county has been granted this money due to complaints there was a shortage of money to fund tasks to be completed in the right manner.
While the county is busy using the money to hire more staff, the state is planning to interfere and take over some of the facility’s licensure duties and inspect some of the complaints at various facilities. The county feels fortunate for the increase in their budget and thinks it is just what they need to further progress in bettering their county’s nursing homes.
However, some skeptics disagree, “The state has richly rewarded the county for its shockingly bad performance, so it seems to have little incentive to improve its performance,” said an elderly care advocate. “There don’t seem to be any new accountability measures, and we’ve seen no sign that county managers have any concern about the fate of the residents of the many substandard nursing homes in L.A. County.” For more, read the story.
