The Maryland Department of Health and Laura Herrera Scott, MD, the state's secretary of health, are being sued by nursing home residents who say their care has been affected by lack of state inspections, dangerous conditions and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Washington Post reported May 17.
The nursing home residents filing the lawsuit are being represented by the nonprofit Justice in Aging. They allege that lack of timely inspection as well as neglect in care have left some residents with severe injuries, health complications and ADA rights violations.
In one instance, a plaintiff in the case, Irene Connor, 54, alleges that she has been left for hours in soiled clothing in her wheelchair, with some calls for assistance at times placing another incontinence diaper over her already soiled one, the Post reported. Others involved with the case say, as patients, they have suffered severe bed sores from not being moved often enough.
The plaintiffs in the case say failing to inspect nursing homes should disqualify some of the nursing facilities from receiving federal funding through CMS.
While the COVID-19 pandemic did create a backlog of pending inspections to tackle across several industries and states, Maryland is still behind in getting back up to speed. Maryland has the second-highest rate of overdue annual nursing home inspections in the U.S., according to data analyzed by the Post obtained from CMS. More than 80% of overdue inspections are at least 17 months late or more.
Becker's reached out to the Maryland Department of Health and Dr. Scott for comment and a spokesperson said, "The Maryland Department of Health is committed to providing the best care to Maryland residents," but noted that the agency does "not have any further comment on active litigation."