Monday, October 2, 2017

Reports: N.Y. Slow to Investigate Nurse, Nursing Home Complaints



This report was published on September 29, 2017. 

By Claire Hughes

Two reports out Friday criticized state oversight agencies for slow responses to allegations against nurses and nursing homes that have the potential to impact the safety of patients and residents.

An audit from the state comptroller’s office found New York’s Education Department took on average five times longer than it should have to investigate complaints of serious offenses by nurses – including sexual or physical abuse, or working under the influence of alcohol.

And a federal report on states’ response to complaints against nursing homes found that New York topped other states in its number of late investigations into high-priority allegations of harm to residents, accounting for one-fifth of delayed investigations in the nation.

Officials from both state agencies said they have made improvements since the periods studied in the reports.

SED’s Office of Professions monitors nursing licensure and practice, including investigating complaints and prosecuting misconduct. 

SED is expected to investigate the most serious complaints against nurses, designated “priority 1,” within 42 days. The comptroller’s audit, covering the period from April 2014 to February 2017, found it took on average 228 days for these investigations to be complete. One case was open for 866 days – more than two years – by the end of the audit period.

SED failed to follow up in a timely way on many alleged lower-level offenses as well, auditors found. Of more than 8,000 investigations of various degrees of importance open during the audit period, more than 2,000, or 25 percent, were not conducted within the department’s established 180-day time frame. 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Times Union

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