Monica Hutt, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living (DAIL), said her department has delayed its rulemaking process for state-licensed long-term care homes to implement changes based on a joint investigation by VPR and Seven Days.
The "Worse for Care" series revealed troubling patterns of inadequate care which led to dozens of injuries and indignities, and at least five deaths. Hutt said revelations from the reporting are being worked into a new set of rules for the facilities.
"You really were able to raise in that story some issues that we needed to really rethink and look at again," she said, "so I think that they're going to take a little longer than we had hoped, but I think they're going be a lot more comprehensive than they would have been."
Specifically, Hutt said her department is considering increasing the training it requires for assisted living and residential care home administrators, and the updating the process it uses to issue waivers for patients whose needs exceed a home's license.
DAIL oversees 133 of these state-regulated facilities, which accommodate more than 3,000 residents. The homes do not provide the level of care available in nursing homes and aren't regulated as vigorously.
