I live in Virginia and our state does a fairly good job investigating complaints of neglect and abuse in Virginia nursing homes. I do believe the office which investigates these complaints is under-staffed and over-worked but acknowledge they do the best they can.
While Virginia may get a passing grade for taking complaints seriously and looking into the allegations…many states do a poor job of protecting the elderly and U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R- Iowa) wants to know why. Senator Grassley has called for a national investigation into the way states handle complaints of poor nursing care. He acted after receiving a serious complaint regarding a nursing/rehab center from a constituent.
Senator Grassley is asking the Government Accountability Office to look at all state agencies to determine how they respond to nursing home related complaints. He also is asking the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to give him four years of reports dealing with state inspections.
Kudos Senator Grassley!