Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Care for the elderly
Virginia State House Speaker Don Scott and Del. Mark Sickles, who chairs the Health and Human Services Committee, are admonishing Gov. Youngkin and his administration for not using federal funds available to conduct nursing home oversight.
The two released the following statement in response to a recent WTVR-TV report revealing that the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) failed to use millions of federal dollars intended for nursing home oversight - even as inspections fell drastically behind schedule and consumer complaints increased.
“After Governor Youngkin’s own state health commissioner blamed a lack of federal funding for the administration’s failure to conduct nursing home oversight, we now learn that his administration failed to use the very federal funds available to address the backlog of inspections, complaints, and chronic understaffing.
“Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine fought to secure federal funding to improve nursing home oversight and ensure better care for our seniors. Governor Youngkin’s mismanagement and lack of urgency in addressing this ongoing crisis is unacceptable. Why did it take nearly three and a half years for this administration to realize there was a serious problem in our nursing homes? For years, Virginians have seen reports of unsafe conditions, poor quality of care, and delayed investigations – yet this administration has done little to fix it and has been quick to blame others. The buck stops with him.
“Failing to use available federal funds to strengthen oversight is another stain on the administration’s record and is not just irresponsible – it’s a betrayal of the families who trust the Commonwealth to protect their loved ones. While VDH has faced challenges for a long time, this administration needs to stop bragging about all the ‘progress’ they’ve made and do what they can to use all resources at their disposal, including federal dollars, to turn this mess around.
“We should be providing the best care to our seniors – the people who spent their lives taking care of us. This failure of oversight has real human consequences, and it’s time for accountability.”
This comes after a 2023 federal performance review by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found that Virginia failed to initiate investigations into the most serious complaints within the required three-day window. Currently, seven out of 10 nursing homes in Virginia are overdue for inspection, ranking the Commonwealth as third worst in the nation for overdue nursing home inspections.
In August, Youngkin signed Executive Order 52 to strengthen oversight of Virginia's nursing homes through several new measures:
- Recruiting inspectors: The Virginia Department of Health's Office of Licensure and Certification (OLC) is directed to fill a 42% vacancy rate among its medical facility inspectors to improve the pace and quality of inspections.
- Creating an advisory board: A new Nursing Home Oversight and Accountability Advisory Board was created to recommend policies and practices for improving resident well-being and care quality.
- Modernizing operations: The OLC is tasked with using technology, including artificial intelligence, to streamline licensing and inspection processes.
- Increasing transparency: The initiative includes the creation of a new public information portal to increase transparency for families and residents.
- Full funding for inspectors: The executive order builds on bipartisan legislation signed earlier in 2025 to fully fund nursing home inspector positions.
Earlier this month, more than 180 Virginia nursing homes announced they are suing the Commonwealth after Youngkin vetoed a budget provision that would have increased Medicaid funding for their facilities, Virginia Business reported. The homes argue the governor’s move is unconstitutional and has left them short on money needed to hire staff and care for residents.
