Mo. Senate OKs sprinkler system requirement for group homes

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Nursing homes, group homes and other facilities would have to install full fire alarm systems by August 2009, and most also would need sprinklers by 2013, under a bill that won initial approval Tuesday in the Senate.

The fire safety provisions are pieces of a broader bill changing laws governing the state's mental health system.

The sprinkler requirement came after a November fire at a southwest Missouri group home killed 11 people. Gov. Matt Blunt quickly embraced the mandate after state agencies recommended it among ways to strengthen the state's fire safety regulations for group homes.

About 59 percent of facilities at all levels of care already have full sprinkler systems, the Department of Health and Senior Services said Tuesday. But those that provide the highest level of care are much more likely to already have sprinklers -- about 76 percent do -- than those providing less assistance to residents. Among group homes such as the one that burned down in November, only about 42 percent have full sprinkler systems, the health data show.

Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons, R-Kirkwood, said requiring fire alarm systems with connected smoke detectors -- which automatically notify the fire department of a problem and contain heat sensors -- is a quick, cost-effective way to give people time to evacuate.

"It buys the time necessary to be sure people can be safely removed from the premises," Gibbons told senators during debate on his bill.

Some existing homes could get an exemption from the sprinkler requirements if they meet certain national fire safety standards.

Facilities also would be eligible for loans from the state to cover costs of installing sprinkler systems, to be paid back over five to 10 years.

Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Napton, expressed concerns about requiring older facilities to retrofit sprinkler systems, saying the improvements could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and potentially lead some homes to close or raise rates too high for its residents to afford.

"The perception is sprinklers are going to save everything. They don't," Stouffer said. "My concern is we put the price so high on the cost of a room that my folks can't get in there."

The measure also changes mental health laws after research and recommendations by various special panels. The scrutiny followed an investigation by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that found 21 deaths, 323 injuries and almost 2,000 other incidents tied to abuse or neglect by caregivers at mental health facilities from 2000 through 2005. The report also found the state didn't always follow its laws and policies in responding to the abuse and neglect cases.

One notable provision of the legislation would make public final reports on substantiated abuse and neglect claims involving mental health patients, though individual identifying information would be removed. Information on claims that proved false would be released only to the family involved.

The measure also creates a new crime of "vulnerable person abuse," with the most serious cases eligible for the highest level felony and a sentence of up to life in prison. It also requires employees, medical personnel and others to report suspected abuse and imposes increasing penalties for those who fail to do so and those who make false reports.

Also, when the Mental Health Department receives a complaint about abuse of a patient, it would begin investigating. If the complaint has merit, the department would be required to notify the appropriate law enforcement agency and prosecutor.

Plus, the measure creates a review board to look into deaths of mental health patients, similar to an already existing state panel that reviews child deaths.

The bill needs a second vote to go to the House.