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KDSN RADIO News
Agency chief disputes State Auditor’s conclusion on nursing home inspections
A state administrator says a report from the state auditor on the frequency of nursing home inspections is “inaccurate” and “incomplete.”
State Auditor Rob Sand released an analysis Monday showing nursing home inspections were occurring, on average, every 17 months and that’s about four months beyond the federal standard. Larry Johnson, director of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, says the federal data the state auditor relied upon did not provide a snapshot of all the inspections that had been conducted before June 1 because there’s a lag time in completing the paperwork.
“Had he contacted us both before, during, and after his audit, we would have provided accurate information,” Johnson says.
Johnson says data for the current federal fiscal year shows the statewide average time between Iowa nursing home inspections is now under 13 months, “So we are exceeding what is expected of us.”
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pays 86% of the salaries of state nursing home inspectors. Johnson decided to use some of that funding to pay overtime to state inspectors, speeding up the annual reviews of Iowa nursing homes. “We only have 13 nursing homes left to do and we have two weeks left to do it,” Johnson says.
The federal fiscal year ends September 30.
