Mecklenburg leaders call out ‘unacceptable’ gaps in nursing home oversight
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Mecklenburg County commissioners are pleading with the public to volunteer for short-handed boards responsible for inspecting local nursing homes and assisted living communities.
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The county’s Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee and Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee presented their annual reports to the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, saying it’s difficult to find people to serve.
The committees’ responsibilities include regular visits to area nursing homes and assisted living communities and helping look into complaints at facilities. Members receive a stipend for their work.
The nursing home committee can have up to 35 members responsible for helping oversee 3,737 beds across 32 facilities, according to Tuesday’s report. But it currently has just nine members. The adult care committee is supposed to have up to 47 members to help inspect 3,107 beds across 40 assisted living communities and 208 beds at 29 smaller “family care” facilities. It currently has only six members.
“You have less people to go to a multitude of facilities, so facilities don’t get visited,” said Hillary Kaylor, the regional ombudsman for Mecklenburg County nursing homes. That leaves more work for the existing team and makes it harder for them to build rapport with facilities they’re supposed to be visiting frequently, she added.
County commissioners called the shortage “unacceptable” and pledged to look into recruiting more volunteers.
“We can’t be at the same point again next year,” board Chairman Mark Jerrell said.
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The “rigorous orientation process” for new volunteers can make it difficult to get interested residents to commit, Kaylor told commissioners. The nursing home committee requires 36 hours of initial orientation and field training, plus 18 hours of continuing education training yearly. The adult care committee requires 15 hours of initial orientation and field training.
Commissioners floated ideas including recruiting social work and nursing students from local colleges and universities, increasing the stipend committee members receive for their work and working with the state to streamline the training process for new volunteers as possible solutions.
District 3 Commissioner George Dunlap said there’s “no reason why these positions should go unfilled” in a county as populous as Mecklenburg.
“The only way we can ensure (facilities) are doing their job is to have volunteers,” he said.
Commissioners see addressing the lack of volunteers as a “critical issue,” Jerrell said.
“It’s an issue of safety. It’s an issue of protection,” he said.
Mecklenburg residents interested in volunteering can find more information at bocc.mecknc.gov/AdvisoryBoards.
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