Gov. Scott breaks law again

Gov. Rick Scott under fire: Did Gov. Rick Scott break law in ousting nursing home watchdog? - OrlandoSentinel.com Scott broke law ousting state's long-term-care ombudsman, watchdogs say



By Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel

6:15 p.m. EST, February 26, 2011 Watchdogs of the nation's nursing-home industry are calling for an investigation into Gov. Rick Scott's abrupt dismissal of the state's long-term-care ombudsman, claiming that the governor's "interference" was illegal.

For two weeks, advocates for patients' rights have waged a campaign to persuade officials of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the federal Administration on Aging to look into the Feb. 7 ouster of Florida ombudsman Brian Lee.

Lee, who had held the post for seven years, previously worked under Govs. Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist and was considered an aggressive champion of residents' rights. In recent months, though, he'd had an increasingly contentious relationship with the industry and said he was ultimately told that the governor had ordered him to resign or be fired. He chose to resign.

"This is really a disaster for the residents of Florida nursing homes," said Kate Ricks, chair of Voices for Quality Care, a Maryland-based nonprofit that supports patients' rights and is one of the groups calling for a federal investigation. "There are problems in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the country, and there are very few resources to help ? but the ombudsman is one. The ombudsman's only job is to be an advocate for those residents. He has to be independent." For his part, Lee admits he had a "rocky relationship" with the state's nursing-home industry for years. But he said things took a marked turn for the worse when Scott ? former CEO of the Columbia/HCA hospital chain ? was elected.

"It was like, 'Oh, man, Scott is our guy ? and now we'll be able to get him [Lee] out of there," Lee said. "When the governor's transition team came to our department, half the group was made up of nursing-home providers. So right there, in December, we knew where this was going."

Late that month, the Florida Assisted Living Association, which represents about 700 of the state's assisted-living facilities, sent the governor a letter supporting the appointment of a new ombudsman. Their suggestion was Robert Emling, a Miami field-office manager for the state's Agency for Health Care Administration.....

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