PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has vetoed routine legislation that would have allowed the board that oversees licenses and certifications for managers of nursing homes and assisted living facilities to operate for eight more years, saying instead that the board should be eliminated.
The Republican governor cited an investigation by the Arizona Republic into lax oversight by the Board of Examiners of Nursing Care Institution Administrators and Assisted Living Facility Managers when he issued the veto Monday evening.
“It’s time for accountability and new leadership to supervise these facilities,” Ducey said in a letter to legislative leaders explaining his veto. “Our seniors - these are our grandmothers and grandfathers - deserve nothing less.”
The Republic found that the board gave a license to run a Prescott nursing home to a man with little health care experience and two felony fraud convictions. He was managing the home last June when federal investigators found he and other managers forced employees who had COVID-19 to care for residents. More than 50 residents were infected and 15 died.
The governor also cited Republic findings that the board failed to promptly investigate complaints and did not provide accurate information to the public.
The governor wants the Legislature to move the board’s responsibility to the state Health Services Department.
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