EKB News

KENTUCKY....
Although the state sends reports of the most serious nursing home regulatory violations to the attorney general's office, permission of local prosecutors is required before they can prosecute, and local prosecutors say they seldom hear about the cases. Governor Steve Beshear has asked Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Janie Miller to conduct an immediate review of the way state government handles reports about abuse and neglect of residents in Kentucky's nursing homes and to complete the review by September 1st. Beshear has asked Miller to review the effectiveness of the coordination of efforts among state agencies, local prosecutors and law enforcement. In addition, he said, she should look at delays in sending the most serious citations to local law enforcement or the attorney general. Beshear says abuse of any nursing home resident is unacceptable and we must make sure that we are fulfilling our responsibilities to those residents.