Newly inaugurated Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) has picked Signature HealthCare executive Adam Mather to be his inspector general for the state’s Health and Family Services Cabinet.
Mather was Louisville-based Signature’s regional vice president of operations. He started his new role Dec. 30.
As OIG, he’ll head regulatory and licensing programs for all healthcare, daycare and long-term care facilities and child adoption and child-placement agencies in Kentucky. Among Mather’s responsibilities will be monitoring the inspections of hundreds of nursing homes.
Mather has a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from Georgia State University. He started his career in 2013 at Kindred Healthcare, which was then acquired by Signature.
Some Signature facilities in Kentucky have faced media criticism for their low quality ratings, and at least one watchdog group questioned Mather’s government appointment.
“It’s troubling that someone from the industry now gets to oversee the industry,” Toby Edelman, senior policy attorney for the Center for Medicare Advocacy in Washington, told the Herald-Leader.
But the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities told the newspaper it looked forward to working with Mather, a nurse whose experience in the industry qualifies him to oversee it.
