Over the past several years AZ’s system for ensuring people who live in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities are treated properly has faced intense scrutiny—for good reason.
An (award-winning) investigative series by The Arizona Republic, titled The Bitter End, by Caitlin McGlade and Sahana Jayaraman – uncovered unacceptable conditions in care homes in Arizona.
Their reporting exposed a pattern of resident harm, neglect, and systemic regulatory failures during the Ducey/Christ/Herrington era – when the ADHS had mostly abdicated its duty to enforce basic standards of safety and care at assisted living and skilled nursing facilities.
McGlade’s stories along with a series of damning reports by the AZ Auditor General’s Office exposed agency conduct that was failing Arizona’s seniors.
AZ failed to investigate nursing home complaints, report finds
Republic series are IRE investigative journalism award winner, finalist
Auditor General’s Office Produces Scathing Review of ADHS’ Nursing Home Complaint Investigations During the Ducey Era
The revelations eventually prompted long-overdue reforms under the Hobbs Administration including leadership changes at ADHS and a growing political will at the legislature to address the crisis—including residents living with dementia.
Now under new leadership, ADHS has been working hard to rebuild trust and strengthen oversight of assisted living and skilled nursing facilities and other healthcare institutions.
The agency has been changing policies, priorities, program leadership, improving training and rebooting the licensing division’s culture. They’ve even proposed licensing fee increases to provide the revenue needed to step up their oversight.
Another step forward came last week when ADHS got final approval for a new set of dementia care regulations. The new rules, approved by the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council, require enhanced training for staff, better care planning, improved documentation, and more accountability mechanisms.
Arizona dementia-care rules for assisted living clear final hurdle
AZPHA commends the new ADHS leadership team for standing firm against industry pressure to water down the dementia care protections. Their willingness to prioritize patient care is a sharp contrast from the unchecked ambivalence & neglect that occurred during the Ducey/Christ/Herrington era.
The reform of ADHS’ licensing work and the new dementia care rules are reminders that investigative journalism and independent watchdog oversight (the AZ Auditor General) are critical to creating meaningful changes when agency and executive branch leadership allows a system to fail.
This kind of investigative journalism – which was key to getting the kinds of reform we’re now seeing – is only possible with reader support… so please subscribe to local journalism!
While there’s still a lot more work to do like hiring, training and mentoring the surveyors that do this work – the adoption of the new dementia care rules shows ADHS is doing what they can to protect seniors again.
Note: In another encouraging action, ADHS is adjusting their licensing fees for healthcare institutions – an important step that’ll l provide badly needed money to hire, train, and keep more and better inspectors.
The fees that pay for ADHS’ licensing work were set by me way back in 2009 and haven’t been adjusted since. Meanwhile, inflation has eroded the value of the licensing revenue by 48% since those fees were set. See the new (draft) licensing fee rules 9 A.A.C. 10 HCIs EIS Draft – Fees