[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6350624,"mediaKeyId","2232078-95aea8300d651339ca18e97a0caba6e8","parentId",2232078,"title","Health Facilities Commission reports spike in nursing‑home complaints and outlines certificate-of-need transition timeline","audioSeconds",1399,"startMs",2139000,"endMs",3538000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2232078-95aea8300d651339ca18e97a0caba6e8&start=2139&end=3538","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2232078-95aea8300d651339ca18e97a0caba6e8/thumbnail_2139000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6350624/Tennessee/Health-Facilities-Commission-reports-spike-in-nursinghome-complaints-and-outlines-certificate-of-need-transition-timeline","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6350624-53f34080fa8da8834683b7912503dbcf/orig.mp4?Expires=1775382291&Signature=eui65wQC~yMtrrtAqN6y9ohXVzBSTMLluQxCpn2yW187r5dfLTyC~omlVmUAAKSqXDj9rNySGjidxRR3CiRKSdeuAYfk0AIunI1OGDZnlttQnk~DOh3CTj61WVdATeiq~XjAmgGyBaODArCAjhe0RtaByhkeonNStU-g2xTW5kO-~3jzWWpvV0gV5lvDp4K5aOfioVpJx1-swAeqWUmp5tUPpUR3bilSeS70kQLiaywig-MWDvU3wFsi6sytTmuZhpYX4MfOw~ezXLXWMpPTlSIUMgOH9XQyigC5UXQNEUVof~uGo6fOVB0HeV5F7F~MPMDLxqdQaV~tjzFBKYuXlQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","TN State Legislature","date","2025-02-05T00:00:00Z","article","Logan Grant, executive director of the Health Facilities Commission, and Caroline Tippens, director of licensure and regulation, briefed the Health Subcommittee on the commission’s responsibilities, complaint intake trends and the multi-year implementation of Public Chapter 985, which shifts certain services from certificate-of-need regulation to licensure with quality standards.

Grant said the commission now combines licensure and certificate-of-need work, and Tippens described complaint intake and triage performed by registered nurses on a dedicated hotline. Tippens said changes CMS made to the State Operations Manual (chapter 5) in October 2022 produced a 63 percent increase in complaints to Tennessee, creating a backlog that reduced the commission’s recertification throughput because staff must prioritize complaint investigations.

Tippens gave year‑specific figures: 3,703 nursing‑home complaints received in 2024; 2,353 complaints investigated that year; and about 54 percent of investigated allegations substantiated (1,273 substantiations). She said Tennessee has about 309 nursing homes, 294 of which received at least one complaint in the period reviewed, and 128 facilities had more than 10 complaints in a year. The commission has issued 1,320 total federal citations to nursing homes; its top cited health deficiencies included infection prevention and control, quality of care and nursing services. Life‑safety deficiencies top the physical‑plant list, led by sprinkler-system issues and fire-alarm maintenance.

Grant said the commission is addressing the recertification backlog in multiple ways: recruiting to reduce vacancies (from a 28 percent vacancy rate in 2022 to 5.4 percent as of January 2025), converting some positions to mobile workers, and budgeting additional staff to create a statewide high‑priority complaint-investigation unit so normal survey teams can complete scheduled recertifications. He told members the commission completed 94 long‑term‑care recertifications in the previous year while handling an increased complaint workload.

On CON reform and licensure transitions, Grant said technical advisory groups have proposed quality standards for services scheduled to move from CON to licensure. The commission will initiate rulemaking on standards proposed this year for neonatal intensive care units (NICU), burn units, and MRI/PET services. A statutory carve‑out for freestanding emergency departments takes effect July 1, 2025; subsequent phases move ambulatory surgical treatment centers, linear accelerators and long‑term‑care hospitals in 2027, and open‑heart surgery services on Dec. 1, 2029.

Committee members pressed the commission on whether the decline in “immediate jeopardy” findings reflected changed facility behavior or reclassification under new CMS guidance. Tippens said the numbers decline mainly because CMS changed definitions and guidance and the commission retrained staff to apply the revised standard; she said that did not necessarily reflect immediate behavioral change within facilities. Grant and Tippens said they are conducting provider trainings and outreach on top deficiencies and the state operations manual changes.

No votes were taken on the presentation; commissioners said they will continue working with facilities and the General Assembly as they implement staffing changes and the CON-to-licensure transitions.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Health Subcommittee\tFeb 5, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Health Facilities Commission told the Health Subcommittee that nursing‑home complaints rose after CMS changed complaint-reporting guidance, that recertification surveys lag, and that certificate-of-need (CON) items will move to licensure on a multi‑year schedule.","taxTitle","Health, House of Representatives, Committees, Legislative, Tennessee","taxId",35345,"location","Tennessee","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6350628,"Tennessee Department of Human Services outlines TANF, SNAP and child-care programs to health subcommittee",1579,524000,2103000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2232078-95aea8300d651339ca18e97a0caba6e8&start=524&end=2103","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2232078-95aea8300d651339ca18e97a0caba6e8/thumbnail_524000.jpg","/articles/6350628/Tennessee/Tennessee-Department-of-Human-Services-outlines-TANF-SNAP-and-child-care-programs-to-health-subcommittee","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6350628-f39fa2b0b60b034f68ef147d56c567b8/orig.mp4?Expires=1775382291&Signature=j~FNdfIbcryC~nqeFAuxN-HGgR-wVmHJ~QXUPSTx8vuCduVHW5CISW5N-5J2v-z5KSUW9y6fGW7hGCBeY5S-40IO-IIX6~Kww~UVI0rAMF9egcasBdg88OMQf1Ey62yDJnS1R94ENYJxpDLZhDdeL8sckouE2P6GuvZ4ZhHixM79-P2z7Yl1eCzWiyyWdyMfOReMdeklSJFafn4L57t7rc4CMyJfGO~EvPEuhRTnKtMLnFIyrin6viMQNuH8nsF-qDr5~pIzBhjeVHaHtbf6YjO9JHib58chmZb7OHiTQiKJsQphRg~eymJ5ph-GDJfEyYlDQ3jE625fpZCMEeNNzw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Clarence H. Carter, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services, told the Health Subcommittee on Feb. 1 that the department serves more than 2 million Tennesseans annually and administers federal programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF).

Carter said Tennessee receives a $191,000,000 annual TANF block grant and that the state budgets roughly $65,000,000 of that each year for direct cash assistance. He described TANF as a time-limited, workforce-oriented program and said recipients may receive up to 60 months of benefits in a lifetime. Carter told members Tennessee had a large unexpended TANF reserve when he arrived and that, under the TANF Opportunity Act passed with the administration’s support, the reserve is now “fully obligated” to contracts and is expected to be drawn down over the next two to three years.

The commissioner and Callan Baggett, assistant commissioner for external affairs, described SNAP as the federally administered nutrition program (USDA) that issues benefits by electronic benefit transfer cards and said eligibility is based on income, household size, residency and work status. Baggett said the Child Care Development Fund is a roughly $300,000,000 federal block grant, approximately 70 percent of which must go to subsidy programs (known in Tennessee as Smart Steps or the childcare certificate program) for low-income working parents. The remainder is used for grants to providers, including enhancement and expansion grants, and for employer-partnership projects such as a multi-party project with Tyson Foods and Gibson County described in testimony.

On the TANF reserve and pilot demonstrations, Commissioner Carter said the TANF Opportunity Act created a spend-down plan and “we obligated a hundred and $40,000,000 of the reserve to fund those 7 pilots.” He also said, in the same exchange, that “there was $25,000,000 from the reserve dedicated to each of the 7 pilots.” (Transcript statements contain inconsistent arithmetic; the department described the obligation amount as $140 million and also referenced $25 million per pilot.) Carter added the department has used reserve dollars for items such as legal services for TANF-eligible families and other non‑cash supports intended to increase self-sufficiency.

Committee members asked about allowable TANF expenditures and federal reporting. Carter and Baggett said eligible TANF expenditures include transportation, child care assistance, educational supports, job training and employment activities, and that TANF operates in practice as a reimbursement grant to contracted service providers. Carter said contracts obligate funds but are expended as providers draw down payments for services rendered.

Members asked whether changes under the new federal administration will affect state programs. Carter said he expects “some very significant proposed changes” in the broader safety-net space and that his team is monitoring executive orders and federal actions, but he said a brief federal hold on administrative draws produced no interruption in direct benefits to Tennesseans.

The department’s presentation also noted other DHS functions: child support enforcement, vocational rehabilitation services (including the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center in Smyrna) and adult protective services, which investigates reports of abuse, neglect or exploitation of vulnerable adults. Carter closed by thanking the subcommittee and offering to work with members during the session.

Members did not take formal action on the presentation.","Commissioner Clarence H. Carter briefed the Health Subcommittee on SNAP, TANF spending plans, child-care programs and related pilot projects, and said federal program changes are expected under the new U.S. administration.","actionData","errors"]

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Health Facilities Commission reports spike in nursing‑home complaints and outlines certificate-of-need transition timeline

Tennessee Department of Human Services outlines TANF, SNAP and child-care programs to health subcommittee