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State Aims to Improve Frequency of Nursing Home Inspections
By: Associated Press
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DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – The Ohio Department of Health is seeking funding to hire more nursing home inspectors and improve the frequency of its inspections, which hasn’t kept pace with federal guidelines in recent years, partly because of high turnover among the inspectors.
A state audit found Ohio’s average time between nursing home inspections was 13.5 months for the 2018 fiscal year. The federal guideline is 12.9 months or less between inspections.
The health department notes it has made progress since 2015, when Ohio’s average was 14.4 months. It also prioritizes quickly conducting inspections that involve complaints of someone being harmed or at immediate risk of harm.
The department’s director told lawmakers last month it’s seeking more funding for inspectors in the next state budget, which they’re currently deliberating.