Maryland ombudsman ‘concerned’ over nursing home care

A Maryland state official has concerns about the care of nursing home and assisted living residents.Over the past several months, 11 News Investigates has reported on the state’s handling of serious nursing home complaints. One family claimed they never got a response to their complaint while another said the response took too long. In 2021, Mary Beam and her sister, Irene Derenzo, filed a complaint with the Maryland State Office of Health Care Quality about their sister’s care at a Maryland nursing home. They expected their complaint to be investigated but said they never heard back.”We were given a case number within a week of OHCQ receiving our complaint. How many other cases never got inspected or evaluated?” Beam questioned.”It’s a breakdown in the system and it should not be a breakdown in the system,” Derenzo said.Maryland Deputy Health Secretary Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman told 11 News Investigates that shouldn’t happen.”We’re logging every single complaint, and we don’t believe we’ve lost any complaints. If we didn’t follow up with a family, we are happy to see what communication there was to correct that if it was an issue,” Kalyanaraman said. Stevanne Ellis is Maryland’s long-term care ombudsman for nursing home and assisted living residents.”We want people to have a dignified existence,” Ellis said. “We are concerned. Our program is concerned about some of the nursing homes and a lot of the concerns are related to care. In fiscal year 2023, care was our No. 1 complaint, issues around care.”Ellis said the biggest concerns are abuse and neglect and that she has tried to resolve things like staffing problems directly with nursing homes. “I have talked to the administration about do you have adequate staff in the building? And, have you thought about perhaps maybe stopping admissions for a while until you can have enough staff to care for the residents you have? And, most facilities that I have that discussion with have not been open to that suggestion,” Ellis said.Kalyanaraman said they are willing to close down a place that doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.”We take nursing home safety very seriously,” Kalyanaraman said. Kalyanaraman would not discuss any specific complaints or nursing homes, saying, “I think the state of our nursing homes is we’re in good shape as a state, but we have to maintain vigilance and oversight of our nursing homes.”He said the OHCQ handles all kinds of complaints that are triaged and, based on the seriousness of the issue, investigated.”Staffing and not having adequate staffing is another reason we would go out quickly to make sure people are being taken care of. Not enough people to take care of those residents, that is a massive red flag,” Kalyanaraman said.As for Beam and Derenzo, they still want to know what happened to their complaint and why they never heard back.Resources from the Maryland Department of AgingAnyone trying to choose a nursing home can find resources from the Maryland Department of Aging as follows.Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ServicesNursing Home Compare allows you to find and compare information about nursing homes. It has detailed information about every Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing home in the country.Residents’ rights and quality of careMaryland Office of Healthcare QualityThe Maryland Office of Healthcare Quality maintains a Licensee Directory of all assisted living facilities. OHCQ provides a link for surveys that provide areas of deficiencies that have been cited. Call 410-402-8015 or 877-402-8221.Maryland Department of HealthAssisted Living Facilities: Uniform disclosure formMaryland Health Care Commission consumer guidesPreparing for long-term care guideInformation on assisted livingAssisted living facility fact sheetAssisted living checklistInformation on nursing homesLong-term care planning toolkitQuality — Assisted living performance measuresQuality — Nursing home performanceLong-Term Care Ombudsman ProgramFind an ombudsman in Maryland: Maryland long-term care ombudsman programConsumer Voice — “Find an ombudsman near me”Justice in AgingAdvocacy guide: 25 Common nursing home problems and how to resolve themToolkit for fighting nursing home evictions

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