The subject of this blog comes from one of our readers with TLC4LTC…a resident advocacy group committed to achieving quality care for nursing home residents in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
A few days ago (May 28) I wrote about a woman whose mother was a resident at Heritage Hall nursing home in Front Royal, Virginia and had serious issues with the facility’s medical director, Dr. Lewis A. Rogatnick. According to the Board of Medicine of the Department of Health Professions of Virginia, Rogatnick gave false information when applying for a medical license in Virginia in October 1998. His license was suspended, but stayed based on the payment of a $3,000 fine.
One of our readers has informed me that, unlike hospitals, nursing homes do not have to investigate a doctor’s background (and claims history) with the National Practitioner Data Bank before hiring a doctor to serve as the facility’s Medical Director.
My fear is that nursing homes may become the “last stop” for doctors with less than stellar professional achievements.