New York State’s nursing homes and home caregiving systems need fixing. Oversight of conditions at the 1,400 nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other licensed adult care homes statewide could be vastly improved by boosting funding for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP).
Years of underfunding by the state severely hamper LTCOP’s watchdog function. During the third quarter of 2022, nearly 80 percent of NYC facilities received NO VISITS from an ombudsman, while statewide, 52 percent of all facilities did not receive an ombudsman visit at all during that same three-month period. Adding $15 million in the next state budget would allow LTCOP to hire 235 full-time staff, ensuring a weekly ombudsman visit to all facilities.
The State should provide better support for unpaid family caregivers by increasing funding for in-home services for the elderly to reduce waiting lists – and by requiring public disclosure of waiting lists by county to pinpoint greatest need.
On February 22, 2023, we gathered leaders from across New York for a webinar discussing these issues. Click below for the video recording.
