Disability Law Center Report Criticizes Utah Long-Term Care Oversight Utah Disability Law Center report says weak oversight of long-term care facilities leads to abuse and neglect, and calls for greater transparency and staffing. SALT LAKE CITY — A new report released Monday by Utah's Disability Law Center criticizes the state’s regulation of long-term care facilities, alleging that some providers have caused serious harm to vulnerable populations while prioritizing profits. The report, titled Profits Over People: Utah’s Oversight Failures Create a Lifetime of Harm, highlights cases of abuse, neglect, and maltreatment in nursing homes, residential teen treatment facilities, and programs for people with disabilities. Report Details Allegations of Abuse and NeglectThe report describes unsanitary conditions at a Utah nursing home where residents were observed wearing soiled clothing and some rooms had mattresses on the floor. It also recounts the deaths of three men at a day treatment program for people with disabilities from carbon monoxide poisoning after they were left without supervision in a closed garage for multiple hours. Additionally, children in a residential treatment center reported a pervasive sense that they were not safe amid allegations of self-harm, fights, and sexual assault.Common concerns across these facilities include a lack of transparency over how large amounts of public funds are spent, failures to prioritize resident care over the potential for profits, and a weak state oversight system that lacks necessary resources. The Disability Law Center said it often sees providers engage in the same type of harm for years without increased fines or repercussions from the state.That exposes residents to repeat and escalating incidents that can sometimes lead to a loss of life and also allows public funds allocated for patient care to be diverted from their intended purpose, the nonprofit contends. I think this is a statewide failure, said Nate Crippes, an attorney with the nonprofit watchdog group, in an interview with FOX 13 News. I don't think our policymakers are aware of some of these issues. I don't think often the Legislature or the governor have taken enough of their own power to really try to reform the system.State Health Department Responds to CriticismsIn an unsigned statement provided to FOX 13 News, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said it shares the Disability Law Center’s goal of ensuring health and safety, particularly in licensed programs. This is at the core of our purpose and the stories outlined in the Disability Law Center’s report weigh heavily on us, the statement continued. When safety is compromised and lives are lost, we feel it deeply. We absolutely agree that taxpayer dollars should be used as intended.The department noted that it has already identified many of the concerns raised in the report after internal reviews and is working to implement changes. DHHS hired a contractor last year to assess and mitigate the risk of abuse, neglect, and exploitation for people with disabilities and has focused on strengthening oversight and identifying areas of weakness. The department has also hired new staff members and a quality assurance administrator to improve oversight.Moving forward, DHHS said it is looking at ways to keep problematic providers from getting contracts and is also exploring new qualifications for providers that serve people with disabilities. The report calls on the state to improve transparency around spending, enhance requirements for providers, and increase staffing levels for state entities tasked with oversight. That's what we'd like the state to do: do everything you can to minimize these kind of harms from happening, Crippes said.Nursing Home Funding and Oversight ConcernsAs Utah nursing homes have received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds through the state’s Upper Payment Limit Program in recent years, we can’t necessarily say where it went to, Crippes noted. And yet we have nursing facilities that are understaffed and people living in conditions that aren’t sufficient for what they should live in, Crippes said.A recent state audit found about 51% of the funds facilities have received through the program went to administrative costs, owner compensation, and hospital operating expenses rather than direct patient care. At Paramount Health and Rehabilitation, the nursing home where Disability Law Center investigators observed unclean conditions, the report noted that there have been some recent cosmetic upgrades. But the nonprofit said it was otherwise not readily apparent how the facility has spent the $22.8 million in Upper Payment Limit funds it has received since 2017.