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Nursing homes sue Erie County over 'Ruthie's Law'

Buffalo News - 2/25/2020

Feb. 24--The Elderwood nursing home chain, two other area nursing homes and the state association that represents them are suing Erie County officials for attempting to enforce a local law designed to create more transparency and accountability related to patient injuries.

"Ruthie's Law" requires nursing homes to inform a designated relative or guardian within an hour of a resident suffering an injury requiring hospital treatment. It gives the county's commissioner of senior services the ability to subpoena and review nursing home injury reports. And it requires nursing homes to send a report to the Department of Senior Services twice a year regarding altercations that result in injury or death.

The lawsuit, filed with State Supreme Court last week, calls the local law illegal and unenforceable because it is superseded by state law, giving the state Health Department exclusive regulatory oversight over nursing homes.

The suit was filed by the New York State Health Facilities Association; Elderwood nursing homes located in Amherst, Cheektowaga, Grand Island, Hamburg, Lancaster and Williamsville; Schofield Residence in Kenmore; and Williamsville Suburban nursing home.

"We have reached out to the County authorities in an effort to resolve this matter without litigation, but unfortunately Erie County appears to be adamant in proceeding to enforce the law and fine these facilities," said NYSHFA President Stephen Hanse in a statement.

The suit lists County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Senior Services Commissioner David Shenk and County Attorney Michael Siragusa as defendants.

Those county leaders have faced criticism from local legislators upset that the law has not been aggressively enforced since its high-profile adoption 2017. Until just recently, less than half of all county nursing homes have submitted the required county reports.

Shenk, who was appointed Senior Services commissioner last May, said he has worked hard in recent weeks to get more voluntary buy-in from nursing homes to foster greater transparency and accountability. Poloncarz has said he supported that approach to avoid litigation but did not rule out taking more aggressive action. If the local law proves to be unenforceable, Poloncarz has said he will urge state lawmakers to pass new rules to allow greater local oversight.

Ruthie's Law is named for Ruth Murray, an 82-year-old dementia patient at the now-closed Emerald South Nursing Home who was fatally beaten by another nursing home resident after wandering into his room in 2016. Family members were not notified of the extent of her injuries until hours after she had gone to the hospital after suffering broken bones and collapsed lung.

Read the full lawsuit here:

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