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Tennessee Conservative News [By Paula Gomes] –
According to a NewsChannel 5 Investigates report and a project from ProPublica, the state has removed reports regarding Tennessee nursing homes from its website, and with them, transparency about how those facilities are being run.
In the past, those looking to make an informed decision about a nursing home for a loved one could research information on the state’s website easily where the investigation and inspection reports were posted. Relying on what is now available on the website leaves Tennesseans in the dark about what is happening in some of the facilities.
Olivia Kritsch’s father died earlier this year at the Waters of Springfield nursing home after taking a fall in his bathroom and hitting his head. The facility told 911 dispatchers that Waters of Springfield employees performed CPR on Jay Kritsch after finding him unconscious. State investigators later found this to be untrue.
The facility was forbidden from accepting new patients while it developed a corrective action plan and fined over $26,000 but this incident is missing from the state’s website. The only information on the site regarding the facility is a 2020 fine for $250.
Logan Grant, Executive Director of Tennessee’s Health Facilities Commission which is now in charge of inspecting nursing homes within the state told NewsChannel 5 that it was his decision to remove the reports from the website. Grant claims that keeping the reports online would be a HIPPA violation as they contain Personal Health Information and that the commission does not have the resources to redact the reports.
These same reports are available online through ProPublica’s Nursing Home Inspect site where a search of any nursing home in the country will yield staffing numbers, all investigation and inspection reports, and other data.
The investigative journalism non-profit does not redact any information before posting the reports according to Ruth Talbot who oversees the website. Talbot says that the reports do not have resident names or specific medications listed when she receives them. The federal government takes such personally identifiable information out before releasing the reports.
A search for Waters of Springfield on ProPublica’s site reveals the investigation into Jay Kritsch’s death as well as four other reports within the last five years. The facility has had multiple violations. One incident three years ago resulted in a fine of almost $10,000 after inspectors found patients to be in harm’s way.
The Nursing Home tracker shows multiple serious incidents at many of the nursing homes in Tennessee, along with huge fines, while the state’s website sometimes shows nothing.
The Health Facilities Commission thinks the answer to the lack of transparency on their website is for Tennesseans to file public records requests, which is both costly and not feasible when doing research on where to place an ailing parent.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Director Grant needs fired and Tennessee’s Health Facilities Commission needs investigated.