A Delaware bill would open nursing home directors and managers to felony charges if they fail to “promptly take corrective action” after the discovery of resident abuse or neglect that leads to serious physical harm, sexual abuse or death.
The bill, SB 127, would be the first of its kind in the country and has been pushed for by the state Department of Justice, according to expert testimony from Stephen McDonald, director of Delaware’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. It came up for a committee hearing in the Delaware Senate Wednesday morning.
State law currently holds directors and high-level managers accountable for failing to promptly correct abuse with class A misdemeanors. The new bill downgrades the default criminal liability to a lesser misdemeanor, but it adds six exceptions that are classified ranging from class A misdemeanors to two types of felonies. The harshest class B felony designation is reserved for failure to correct abuse that leads to a resident’s death.
In Delaware, all misdemeanors carry penalties of less than one year of jail time and less than $2,300 in fines — less than six months and $1,150 for a less severe class B misdemeanor. Class D felonies have a maximum prison sentence of eight years, while class B felony sentences range from two years minimum to 25 years maximum.
Long-term care leaders in the state have supported the goals behind the bill, but worry that it would cause a chilling effect in the sector if signed into law in its current form.
“We do not tolerate any abuse, neglect, medical diversion, or financial exploitation and support the goal of the bill,” Cheryl Heiks, executive director of the Delaware Health Care Facilities Association told McKnight’s Wednesday. “However, the way it is written may deter valued employees and volunteer board members from participating in the industry. It is not clear how the bill will achieve the goals it is trying to achieve without having significant negative consequences.”
Federal and state regulators have increased their legal scrutiny of nursing home operations in recent months, shining a particularly bright spotlight on cases of elder abuse.
“We already face a severe shortage of qualified staff, including… up-and-coming leaders to care for vulnerable residents,” Heiks said. “There are a few directors of nursing and nursing home administrators standing in the wings to take on these crucial rolls in the future. In Delaware there are already existing tools to penalize staff if they are guilty of misconduct. Adding the threat of criminal charges for staff or boards of directors will dissuade individuals from being involved in Delaware’s long-term care industry — right when we need them most.”
