JEFFERSON CITY -- Sen. John Griesheimer, R-Washington, has successfully added three important provisions onto an omnibus nursing home bill that will provide Missouri's senior citizens with greater protection. The Missouri Senate today approved Senate Bill 556 and sent it to the House of Representatives for consideration.

"This is a very good bill and I believe it will make nursing homes more accountable for their actions," said Sen. Griesheimer. "After all, the companies that operate these homes are dealing with people's lives."

One of the most difficult issues in the bill was whether nursing homes should be allowed to correct violations without paying fines.

"In an effort to reach a compromise, I successfully passed an amendment which would make fines stick for the most serious or Class I violations, while allowing the nursing homes 30 days to correct the less serious, or Class II violations. I think this is a good compromise."

Fines could range from $50 to $25,000, depending on the severity of the offense. Revenue from these fines would be distributed as follows:

• 25 percent to the Elderly Home-Delivered Meals Trust Fund.
• 25 percent to the Nursing Facility Quality of Care Fund to be used for the sole purpose of supporting quality care improvement projects within the Office of State Ombudsman for Long-Term Care Facility Residents.
• 50 percent to the Nursing Quality of Care Fund to assist qualified nursing facilities to improve the quality of service to the residents.

In addition, Sen. Griesheimer added language that restricts and controls the state's choice of vendors when a nursing home is placed in receivership.

"Over the past several years a number of homes, including ones in our district, have been placed under new ownership with connections to the good 'ol boy network and the executive branch of state government," he said. "My language creates a revolving vendor list allowing all qualified firms the opportunity to restore these needed nursing homes to credibility in our communities.

"Another amendment that I successfully added to the bill would allow volunteer ombudsman or their regional supervisor to call the state ombudsman hotline to report cases of abuse and neglect. Additionally, if the volunteer ombudsman or their regional supervisor feels that the nursing home administrator is not willing to resolve problems in a particular home, the state ombudsman shall be notified."

The bill would also change the inspections of high-quality nursing homes from twice a year to once each year. At the same time, it would create a fund for improvements of nursing homes, require increased background checks of care providers and require patient deaths to be reported to the coroner before the body is moved.

The measure would also shield employees of all nursing homes from retributions for reporting suspected abuse or neglect and requires state officials to immediately investigate any reports of suspected abuse or neglect.

"I feel this work was a very important part of the nursing home reform process," said Sen. Griesheimer. "I was very proud to be an important part of the effort."