Residents file lawsuit to end use of feeding assistants.

A group of long-term care residents and organizations representing them have sued the federal government over the use of feeding assistants in nursing homes, claiming that feeding assistants do not meet the training and certification requirements for nonnurse care givers established under OBRA and supported by years of regulations. As of early fall the government had yet to respond to the suit (Resident Councils of Washington v. Thompson), which seeks a court order to halt the use of feeding assistants and rescind the feeding assistant regulation.

"We need more training for nursing home employees, not less," said Kary Hyre, head of the Washington State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, one of the plaintiffs. "With better training and better pay, nursing homes can retain employees and improve the quality of care for residents. The use of feeding assistants is penny-wise and pound-foolish, and it's shameful that the federal government has turned back the clock 20 years and, for the first time since the Reform Law was passed in 1987, allowed poorly trained workers to provide care."

To follow the status of the case, visit the National Senior Citizens Law Center at www.nsclc.org.