《新贝德福德光报》记者格蕾丝·弗格森报道，马萨诸塞州公共卫生委员会周三批准了一系列旨在加强对长期护理机构监管、防止不负责任的疗养院业主危及居民的新规。
GRACE FERGUSON/The New Bedford Light The Massachusetts Public Health Council on Wednesday approved regulations designed to strengthen oversight of long-term care facilities and stop irresponsible nursing home owners from putting residents at risk.
新规扩大了公共卫生部审查申请经营疗养院许可证的公司往绩的权力，并在疗养院违规时采取行动。新规还引入了新标准，包括员工培训要求。
The new rules expand the Department of Public Health’s authority to review the track records of the companies seeking licenses to run nursing homes, and to take action when nursing homes break the rules. They also introduce new standards, including staff training requirements.
这些法规自2月份起一直待批，旨在最终确定立法机构2024年通过的一项里程碑式长期护理法案所做的修改。法律与最终法规之间两年的延迟让老年倡导者感到困惑和沮丧。
The regulations had been pending since February and were written to finalize changes the Legislature passed in 2024 in a landmark long-term care law . The two-year delay between the law and final regulations had puzzled and frustrated elder advocates.
老年倡导团体马萨诸塞州尊严联盟支持这项长期护理法案及随后提出的法规。
The elder advocacy group Massachusetts Dignity Alliance had supported the long-term care law and the proposed regulations that followed it.
“迟做总比不做好，对吧？”联盟的一位老年倡导者吉姆·洛马斯特罗说，他有领导和检查医疗机构的经验。
“Better late than never, right?” said Jim Lomastro, an elder advocate with alliance who has experience leading and inspecting healthcare facilities.
委员会周三召开会议，这是自《波士顿环球报》9月28日发表关于疗养院收购的聚光灯调查以来的首次会议。《环球报》发现，公共卫生官员批准了来自州外、护理记录不佳的新疗养院业主。
The council came together on Wednesday for the first time since the Boston Globe published a Spotlight investigation into nursing home acquisitions on Sept. 28. The Globe found that public health officials had approved new, out-of-state nursing home owners with track records of poor care.
《光报》在过去几周也报道了拟议的疗养院出售，包括将当地疗养院转让给在其他州没有往绩或有受监管审查历史的新业主。
The Light has also reported on proposed nursing home sales in recent weeks, including transfers of local nursing homes to new owners with no track record or a history of regulatory scrutiny in other states.
公共卫生专员罗比·戈德斯坦在周三会议的开场白中提到了《环球报》的聚光灯调查，称该调查对该部门监管长期护理机构的工作“提出了严肃的问题”。
Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein referenced the Spotlight investigation in his opening remarks at Wednesday’s meeting, saying it “raised serious questions” about the department’s oversight of long-term care facilities.
“我们必须对公众负责，”戈德斯坦说。“我们可以做得更好，而且必须做得更好。”该专员表示，该部门正在撤销伊莱·米尔利斯的执照，米尔利斯是一家疗养院老板，据《环球报》报道，他收购设施并将资金从居民护理中转移出去，同时在执照申请中虚假陈述其资质。戈德斯坦说，米尔利斯的疗养院目前正处于“加强”监管之下。
“We must be accountable to the public,” Goldstein said. “We can do better, and we must do better.”The commissioner said the department is moving to revoke the licenses of Eli Mirlis, a nursing home owner highlighted in the Globe report for buying up facilities and rerouting money away from resident care, while misrepresenting his credentials on license applications. Mirlis’ nursing homes are now under “enhanced” monitoring, Goldstein said.
他补充说，居民及其家属应该能够相信疗养院会负责任地照顾他们。他说，该部门正在努力为行业提供更好的监管，包括通过新的法规。
He added residents and their families should be able to trust that nursing homes will care for them responsibly. He said the department is working to provide better oversight of the industry, including with the new regulations.
“法规不是我们工作的开始或结束，”戈德斯坦说。“它们加强了每天从事这项工作的团队可用的工具。”这些规则允许卫生官员进行更广泛的审查，以确定潜在和现有疗养院老板在执照流程中的“适合性”。与这些老板相关的管理公司和房地产持有公司现在也将纳入该审查。
“The regulations are not the beginning or the end of our work,” Goldstein said. “They strengthen the tools available to a team that is doing this work every day.”The rules allow health officials to conduct broader reviews to determine the “suitability” of potential and current nursing home owners as part of the licensure process. The management companies and real estate holding companies associated with those owners will now be part of that review.
该部门现在有权在州检查员发现严重问题时为疗养院指派临时经理，并可以对不遵守州法规的疗养院处以更高的罚款。
The department now has the authority to appoint temporary managers for a nursing home when state inspectors find serious problems, and it can levy higher penalties on nursing homes that don’t follow state regulations.
为疗养院居民提供大部分直接护理的护理助理，面临新的要求，必须获得心肺复苏术和纳洛酮（一种阿片类药物过量逆转药物）的认证。但该部门推迟了这些要求生效的日期，因为疗养院行业对成本和物流问题表示担忧，该部门医疗保健安全与质量局政策与卫生传播主任马丽塔·卡拉汉表示。
Nurse aides, who provide most of the hands-on care to nursing home residents, face a new requirement to be certified in CPR and administering naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal medication. But the department pushed back the date when those requirements will go into effect, because the nursing home industry shared concerns about the cost and logistics, said Marita Callahan, director of policy and health communications for the department’s Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality.
最初拟定的规定要求：2026年11月1日之后新聘用的护理员必须接受相关培训；在此日期之前已入职的护理员则需在2027年5月1日前完成培训。最终实施的规定将这两项期限分别提前至2027年1月1日和2027年10月1日。
The original proposed regulations required nurse aides hired after Nov. 1, 2026, to have the training, and for nurse aides employed before that date to get trained by May 1, 2027. The final regulations require training for new nurse aides by Jan. 1, 2027, and for nurse aides hired before that date by Oct. 1, 2027.
新规定还针对所谓的“小型养老院”制定了相关规则。这类养老院规模较小，旨在为老人提供更贴近家庭环境的照料环境。在听证会上，委员会成员们普遍对这些规定给予了积极评价。
The new regulations also set out rules for so-called small-house nursing homes, which are smaller facilities designed to provide care in a more home-like setting. During the hearing, council members generally shared positive feedback on the regulations.
“看到卫生部门重视经营者的资质问题，令人感到安心。这对长期照护服务而言至关重要。”委员会成员卡霍尼·安德森说道。也有少数成员询问了针对米尔利斯旗下养老院的新执法措施，以及卫生部门今后如何避免类似情况发生。
“It is reassuring to see that the department has put a focus on suitability of ownership,” said council member Kahoney Anderson. “That is very important in long-term care.”A few council members asked about the new enforcement actions against Mirlis’ nursing homes and how the department can avoid similar situations in the future.
州卫生部门律师杰克林·加涅指出，吊销执照的决定仍可进入漫长的法律上诉程序。她补充道，如有必要，卫生官员可在此期间指派临时管理人员或派遣检查员对相关机构实施更严密的监控。
A license revocation can be subject to an extended legal appeal, said Jaclyn Gagne, a lawyer for the state health department. Health officials can appoint temporary managers or send inspectors to more closely monitor the facility in the meantime if necessary, she added.
针对“如何防止未来的养老院收购方削减护理人员数量”这一问题，戈尔茨坦回应称，资质审查流程允许官员们综合考量收购方已拥有的其他养老院的护理人员配置情况及服务质量指标。他还表示，今后申请或续延执照时，养老院运营方也将面临不同的审核流程。
In response to a question about how the department can prevent future nursing home buyers from cutting staffing levels, Goldstein said the suitability review process allows officials to consider staffing and indicators for quality care at other facilities a buyer already owns. Nursing home operators can expect a different process in future license applications and renewals, he said.
“我们现在明确向业界传达一个信息：我们会重点审查护理人员配置情况。”他说道。委员会最终一致投票通过了这些规定。
“We are now explicitly telling the industry that we are looking at staffing,” he said. The council voted to approve the regulations unanimously.