Lawmakers propose nursing home fire safety legislation
Hoping to have more success with a Democratic-controlled Congress, legislators have reintroduced a nursing home fire safety bill.
The Nursing Home Fire Safety Act of 2007, which Reps. John Larson (D-CT) and Peter King (R-NY) introduced late last week, would require that every nursing home in America is equipped with automatic fire sprinkler systems. The legislation would authorize $450 million for loans and $100 million for "hardship" grants over five years to qualifying nursing homes. Larson introduced similar legislation during the last Congress."This legislation offers providers the resources they need to secure contractors and finance the costs of systems that will keep [nursing home residents and staff] safe," Barbara Gay, director of information with the American Association of Homes and Services for Aging, told McKnight's.
