Pennsylvania nursing home operators would be required to provide notification of the admission of registered sexual offenders to residents and staff members under legislation introduced into the state legislature last week. The bill is meant to protect nursing home residents and employees from sexual assaults.
“Right now, when a registered sexual offender is admitted to a Pennsylvania nursing home, the home is not required to disclose this to other residents or staff — or to develop any special plans to ensure their safety,” said state Rep. Robert Matzie (D), the bill’s sponsor.
“The situation has resulted in attacks on residents, and the threat will only grow as thousands of registered sex offenders continue aging and require medical care,” he added.
HB 2341, also referred to as “Megan’s Law,” is based on a similar law in neighboring Ohio, Matzie said. Ohio, he added, is one of at least 10 states that impose on nursing homes a requirement that they provide notification of the admission of registered sexual offenders.
“It’s time to get those critical protections in place now, for Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable residents and the staff who care for them,” he said.
The bill gets its moniker from a federal law that was named for Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old New Jersey child who was abducted and murdered three decades ago by a sexual offender who lived across the street. The case made national news, promoting the federal law that requires law enforcement to make information available to the public regarding where sexual offenders live.
Matzie’s office told the McKnight’s Business Daily that dubbing HB 2341 “Megan’s Law” makes it easy for everyone to remember. The impetus for Matzie to introduce the legislation to apply the same standard to nursing homes was an incident that occured in a facility in Matzie’s district. A woman in the early stages of dementia had lost the ability to speak and was assaulted by a registered sex offender.
“Staff should know as well as the legal guardians. …Folks should be notified in the same way as Megan’s Law,” the Matzie office staff member said.
The focus of the bill is very narrow and applies only to protecting nursing home staff and residents from the threat of sexual offenders.
“It is intended for nursing homes and not other long-term care facilities yet. We figured the best approach [to getting the legislation passed] would be a narrow focus instead of applying to everybody all at once,” the staff member said.
