Professor Nina Kohn discussed legal aspects of nursing home licensure and patient rights with MLive for the article “Michigan used to shut down its worst nursing homes. Then it stopped.”
The article takes an extensive review of nursing homes in Michigan and how the licensing, inspection, and closure of underperforming nursing homes have changed over time.
Regarding closing underperforming nursing homes, Kohn said states have a “dormant ability to use existing state law to get the worst actors out of the system. And the thing we’ve seen is states not using their powers.”
She continued “What you’re doing when you close a nursing home that has shown it’s incapable of necessary care is you’re protecting the most vulnerable people in your community. Certainly, moving is not what most residents look forward to. It can have ramifications. But if you keep these facilities open, you’re just perpetuating the cycle of bringing in more people to be victimized.”
Kohn notes that states’ power to license nursing homes could be an effective way to get the worst companies to improve or shut down if they don’t. “Licensure, unfortunately, in many states, has become sort of paper pushing or rubber stamp function,” she said.
The article may be behind a paywall.