Clinton seeks $1 billion for nursing homes

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Declaring that the elderly "deserve respect, not neglect," President Clinton on Saturday pressed Congress for $1 billion to increase staffing and ensure quality care for the 1.6 million Americans in nursing homes.

"The steps we are taking today will help to bring new life to our nation's seniors by bringing a new level of quality to our nation's nursing homes," Clinton said in his weekly radio address, broadcast live from the Washington Home, which he said has provided excellent care to senior citizens for more than a century.

The $1 billion in grants would raise staffing levels and give new training to caregivers at more than 16,000 nursing homes around the country, the president said.

Clinton said his proposal was prompted by a new federal report linking staffing shortages at nursing homes to bedsores, malnutrition and dehydration among patients. As a result, the president wants Congress to impose financial penalties on homes "that are endangering the safety of their residents."

The report issued in late July by the Health Care Financing Administration said that at more than half -- 54 percent -- of the nursing homes surveyed nursing aides spent less than two hours a day with patients. The study examined 1,786 nursing homes in three states.

The president said all facilities should provide compassionate, quality care.

"In too many of those homes the elderly are not getting the quality care they deserve, Clinton said, adding that too often staff members are inadequately trained. "Americans who have worked hard all their lives deserve respect, not neglect."

Meantime, Clinton said he is directing the Health Care Financing Administration to establish, within two years, minimum staffing requirements for all nursing homes that participate in the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs.

To help families in selecting a nursing home, Clinton said the government will require all facilities to post the number of health care personnel on duty.

"Of all the obligations we owe to one another, our most sacred duty is to our parents," Clinton said. "They kept us safe from harm when we were children, and we must do the same for them as they grow older. They shouldn't go another day without the care they deserve, wherever they live in whatever nursing home facility."

Clinton spoke in a sunlit assembly room at the home with about 100 residents and employees seated in front of a banner that read, "The Washington Home, A second century of caring"

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, promised on Friday to take a careful look at any staffing proposal Clinton might present.

"We might share goals and priorities for improving the number of trained staff who care for nursing home residents," Grassley said.

About 1.6 million elderly and disabled Americans receive care in approximately 16,500 nursing homes across the United States. Medicaid pays for the majority of nursing home patients. Sixty-eight percent of the patients at the facility Clinton visited receive Medicaid benefits.

Grassley said Congress is considering a proposal that would give nursing homes some extra money, but has said that based on the report, he's not willing to "give the nursing home industry a blank check."

Rick Abrams, chief operating officer at the American Health Care Association, which represents 12,000 long-term care providers, said he hoped Clinton would propose training and staffing grants to help attract new workers to the industry. His organization has set a goal of bringing 250,000 new certified nursing assistants and another 60,000 licensed practical nurses and registered nurses to the industry by January 2002.

"These jobs (for assistants) are taxing physically and given the choice, the typical person will chose the retail establishment _ the food service job or Wal-Mart -- over the long-care facility," Abrams said.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Associated Press news material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.