On July 2^nd, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) held a Senate Committee on Aging Hearing on Patient Safety in Connecticut. The panel at the hearing answered some written questions from Consumer Voice member and resident in Connecticut Brian Capshaw.

In response to his question about nursing home staffing levels, Jean Rexford, Director of the Connecticut Center for Patient Safety, stated that there had been a consumer drive in California to raise staffing levels, and her groups would support the same effort in Connecticut.

In response to his question about civil monetary penalties, Jean Rexford stated that the fine for cruelty to animals is higher than the fine for causing a residents death in nursing home. She is working on the issue and plans on sharing information with the Senator’s office and with the Connecticut Legislature in the next session.

Listen to the full hearing here. (Scroll all the way down to find the link to the Patient Safety hearing.)

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The Consumer Voice recently filed an Amicus Brief in the case of Kindred Nursing Centers East, LLC vs. National Labor Relations Board. The issue of the case is whether CNAs could form their own bargaining unit. The Consumer Voice, along with the Direct Care Alliance and PHI, advocated in favor of CNAs being able to form their own bargaining units. The Consumer Voice argued that granting the CNAs bargaining power was well within the National Labor Relations Board broad statutory authority, and that such bargaining units may well promote quality care for nursing home consumers.

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The Office of the Inspector General released a recent report on antipsychotic use, "Nursing Facility Assessments and Care Plans for Residents Receiving Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs." The report finds that almost no doctors participate in care plans involving antipsychotic use, and very few residents or families are involved in care plans when antipsychotics are used.

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