Senate OKs nursing home reform bill

DON FRAZIER * dfrazier@semissourian.com

Charlie Griffith of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources adjusted the straps to his respirator before investigating a leak of corrosive chemicals from the tractor-trailer parked at the Interstate 55 rest stop north of Cape Girardeau on Tuesday. A photo gallery of the incident can be seen at semissourian.com.By Marc Powers ~ Southeast Missourian

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- After blocking nursing home reform for three straight years, the Senate Tuesday unanimously endorsed bipartisan legislation intended to protect residents from abuse and increase punishments for substandard operators.

Last week, the bill appeared in danger of following the pattern of past reform efforts when a freshman state senator surprised his colleagues by offering a substitute measure that upset the compromise carefully crafted by Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, Democratic Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell and others.

However, after nearly five hours of debate and more than a dozen amendments Tuesday, the Senate returned to a proposal close to what Kinder had offered and, according to some supporters, actually improved the underlying legislation.

Kinder, who took credit for killing last year's version because of a provision he felt would make it impossible for nursing homes to get liability insurance, said the Senate's latest effort would provide the necessary protections without being unduly burdensome for nursing home operators.

"It substantially enhances penalties for bad actors and moves us toward a goal we can all be proud of," Kinder said.

After making amendments, the Senate adopted the substitute bill offered by state Sen. Jon Dolan, R-St. Charles, on a 33-0 vote and gave first-round approval of the measure by acclamation.

A second vote is needed to forward the measure to the House of Representatives.

Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat, called the bill a bipartisan success that he would sign should it reach his desk.

Key provisions include:

Boosting fines, which haven't been adjusted since 1979, from $10,000 to $25,000 per day a violation exists.

Closing the loophole that currently allows nursing home owners to escape fines for serious violations by fixing the problem, even if death or serious injury had resulted.

Ensuring that operators can't dodge fines by selling a facility cited for violations.

Requiring more extensive background checks for home owners and employees.

Allowing less frequent inspections of homes with established records of quality care.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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