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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Frank Andrews Shimkus |
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Bill for better treatment of Pa. seniors advances
House unanimously passes Shimkus bill protecting seniors in long-term care facilities
HARRISBURG, May 12 – By a vote of 199-0, the House today passed a bill crafted by state Rep. Frank Andrews Shimkus that would protect seniors in long-term care facilities.
Shimkus, D-Lackawanna, introduced his legislation, the so-called "Peggy's Law," after learning of the plight of 69-year old Peggy Rogers, an Alzheimer's patient whom authorities say died after being neglected at a Lackawanna County long-term care facility her attending physician owned.
"He may have been Peggy's primary care physician, but he is accused of never examining her, and allowing her cancer to grow to a point where there was an open wound on her breast and it invaded other parts of her body," Shimkus said. "In addition, Peggy was neglected. Her hair was matted and dirty and she was left to lie in her own filth. No one should ever have to suffer such abuse."
House Bill 2114 would require attending and primary physicians to disclose to prospective and current residents or their legal representatives any financial or ownership interest they have in a long-term care facility. Residents would have the right either to choose to keep their doctor, move to another facility, or change primary care physicians.
A physician who fails to disclose such information would be subject to discipline by the State Board of Medicine or the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine.
"Our ill seniors can't slip through the cracks," Shimkus said. "They can't wind up in a bed without medical care. And anyone who maliciously ignores or doesn't care for them, that's equivalent to elder abuse."
The bill now moves to the state Senate for consideration. Shimkus is calling on the Senate to take swift action so that the state's senior citizens and their families can have peace of mind that they will be well cared for in long-term care facilities.
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